Self Publishing Stigma:
Walking Tall in Digital Times

I am proud to be a self-published author. There are some who aren't. There are some traditionally published authors who believe in a self publishing stigma. There are some published authors who partake in both traditional and self-publishing. Is there a right or a wrong answer in this controversial topic?

Here's the only wrong I can think of. Obviously, authors on either side of the debate have a right to their own opinions, but if some authors-to-be have tried everything possible to get published and want desperately for their work to get out there, then this self publishing stigma might prevent them from getting their work out to anybody at all.

I self-published my book, 1,000 Creative Writing Prompts: Ideas for Blogs, Scripts, Stories and More in August 2010 and since that point I've earned about $10,000 from its royalties. Would I have gotten an advance for that much if I'd gotten it published? Perhaps I would have, but it certainly wouldn't be priced as low as it is for both Kindle and paperback, which I have the choice to adjust as the book's publisher. The other books I've written since, have not earned me nearly as much in royalties and perhaps trying to get them published would have been a better decision. Who knows?

I would love to have a publishing company give me an advance to create something someday. I also won't lose sleep if it never happens because I will keep self-publishing my work in the meantime.

If you are an author who is scared to be "derided" by published authors for self-publishing your work, I have two words of advice for you: walk tall.

I'm a particularly short person at around 5'5" and when I first entered high school, I truly felt the difference between myself and the taller kids in the hallways. After gaining confidence throughout my four years there, I remember a moment when I was walking down the hall with a taller friend of mine. I felt like we were chatting eye to eye but when we passed a mirror, it was obvious that he was nearly a foot taller than me. By exhibiting self-confidence, I felt like I was able to make up the difference between our heights without much of a problem. Sure, I might get called short every once in a while, but I've developed enough confidence to weather the insult storm.

Be confident that your writing is strong enough to be read no matter how you choose to present it to the masses. When a short person walks tall, there's no telling what he'll be able to do.

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