I have gone over to the Dark Side....

[Pab Sungenis]

Having finally accepted my fate, and coming to grips with the fact I most likely will never be published, I took matters into my own hands.

I fired my agent (for many reasons, a few of them personal) and pulled one of my manuscripts out of the drawer.  A quick polish and some cover art later, and I had gone to the Dark Side.

I put it out through the Kindle store.

So, as of this week, "Go To Hell" is for sale on Amazon for people with Kindles or Kindle apps for their PC's or phones.

Yes, dreams die hard, but now at least a couple of people will be able to read my writing (10 people so far).

[Erika Gilbert]

Congrats, Pab. You should feel good about it. I found your book on amazon. I read the blurb and it sounds awesome. People are buying and seem to like it (according to a four star rating and no bad ones).

I want to write something and then self publish, but I've been nervous about whether I can do it.

You've inspired me to get onto it! Best of luck, hope you sell heaps.

 

Erika

[Pab Sungenis]

Thanks for the support, Erika.  This is a novel I wrote at the insistence of my former agent, who wanted something to give an editor at HarperCollins who was specifically looking for a boy's YA about a reformed bully.  I went off and wrote the first draft in 21 days.  The agent read the first three pages and threw it out.

 

After two years of rewrites and 74 rejections from other agents I decided to cut my losses.

 

It's just too bad that self-publishing has the stigma it does, which guarantees no one will look at anything else of mine seriously from this point onward.  But I invested too much emotion and effort in this one to let it go.

 

[Jennifer R. Hubbard]

"guarantees no one will look at anything else of mine seriously from this point onward."

 

Not necessarily. Self-publishing is fast losing that "stigma," and I think that authors who use both the traditional and self-published routes for different projects will become more and more common.

 

Good luck!

[Trisha Wolfe]

I agree with Jennifer. Best of luck! Please keep us posted.

[Adrienne Gelbart]

Congrats Pab, send us an email at [e-mail] to give an update on your progress or how we can help get the world out!

[Pab Sungenis]

Well, I've got a website up for it at http://gotohellnovel.com and am using Smashwords to distribute it for Apple, Sony, and Diesel.  It's in the Kindle and Nook stores, and I'm using Lulu POD for paperback and hardcover versions.  Sales are slow but not nonexistent.

 

Still, I'm making more off of it now than when it was just sitting on my hard drive.

 

[Alex Mullarky]

Kudos to you for self-publishing. I've done the same thing with the first two books I wrote for personal reasons. I didn't realise there had been a stigma attached to self-publishing when trying to get published traditionally. Do people really think this is gone now? Because I don't want to risk getting published in future because of the books I have self-published already, and now I'm a little concerned!

[Jennifer R. Hubbard]

To those worried about stigma--I really wouldn't worry, nowadays. The viability of ebooks has turned self-publishing into a venture that goes beyond the old vanity-driven ventures of the past. I think that will only continue, with reputable authors trying it and new stars building their careers in self-publishing. I think there will be more and more cross-pollination between traditional and self-publishing. Ultimately, all anyone will care about is: Do you write good books? Do you conduct yourself professionally?

[Alex Mullarky]

That's a really good way of looking at it. I think you're right.

[Georgia McBride]

I admire you but totally wish you'd let me sub the super hero sidekick story to my new agents on the panel. Seems many are seeking such a story now. Interests and market needs change. Could be worth doing. If you are willing to repost in agent mailbox, I'll resub it. Also. I'd be happy to post book cover up on homepage for you as we do all other members. Send to [e-mail].