Dear Mad'am VailEd

I'm a lucky writer, I'll admit that. I have friends, family and day job colleagues who all support, and encourage my writing. As a part of their supportive activities, they ask how the path to publication is going. Now, as a writer who is looking to become published yourself you would know how this entire process works.

Everyone gets rejected. Multiple times. Sometimes for years on end. It's the way the industry is. Not to mention the slow wait from time of submission to the time of rejection. That in itself can even be months. I'm not complaining; I've accepted this process. Sure, it's frustrating some days, but I'm only human.

However, I tend to run into an issue whenever giving an update on my journey to publication to anyone who isn't a writer. They tend to always, without fail, come back with a version of the following.

"Why don't you just self publish?"

Yes, why didn't I think of that myself? 

Here's why. I don't want to, that's fucking why. If I wanted to self publish, I would be taking this fucked up boat down a different river. The main issue I have with these comments is that they imply that, because a publishing house (doesn't matter who) didn't accept my manuscript that I should go and toss my work up on Amazon (one suggestion was for ebay) and start selling it. That'll make me a successful author, right? They said they would buy my book.

No. See. some of us have dignity. Or at the very least a sense of self worth. Now, I'm not saying that people who self publish are inferior. I think people who go and do it just because they got rejected by a publishing house are. I could spend a long time down that path, so I'll move along to my point.

My point is that self publishing is not a path for me. I read and enjoy quite a few self published authors, but for me, I wouldn't feel worthy of the title of 'author' if I went that way. That's not to say that others aren't, I'm talking about my own personal career here. I would feel that I sold out. I would feel ashamed. 

I don't think that the industry at this point accepts self published authors into the fold as they do people who publish with a house, big or small. Is it wrong? In some cases, yes. There is no denying that since it's so easy to publish a book yourself that the market has been flooded with sub-par works. Some that haven't even been edited professionally, which is just damn embarrassing for the author. 

Now there's authors like Amanda Hocking that have made a very successful transition from self publishing to traditional publishing. She did it right. and managed to obtain herself a very good deal when she went the traditional publishing route due to her success as a self published author. I was right there as a fan at the time, cheering her on. Even during the times that she rejected publishers, instead of the other way around. 

The Amanda's of the industry are the minority in my opinion. However, regardless of that, the 'prize' at the end of self publishing almost always seems to be traditional publishing. Now isn't that interesting...

My journey is traditional publishing. That might make me narrow minded but I know that I will have met the standard. That someone other than myself thought that my story was worth something. That I am worth investing in. To be published by a house feels like I've passed a test, it gives me some sort of worth as an author. 

I may be wrong, uneducated and ultimately misguided in my opinion. Though, it doesn't change the fact. Every writer has their journey; this is mine. I will work until I am traditionally published, then I will work more. I will feel that I am worth the title of author and will use it proudly.