An Open Invitation
If I’ve learned nothing else from trying to publish my own books, I’ve learned just how damned tough it is. I mean, seriously, when I finished Like Glass, I thought it’d be simple: draw up a pretty cover, do a little formatting, submit it to the POD publisher and then kick back and watch people flock to my new work.
No, unfortunately I wasn’t on any mind-altering chemicals at the time, except my constant companions nicotine and caffeine.
So, here I sit, two years later with another book finished (Shattered, if you’ve never read any of the posts here), and this time I’m a little wiser. I’m wanting to do it “right”, and though I’m not 100% sure as to what exactly the “right” way is, I know it means I can’t do it on my own.
Side note: I was speaking with someone on Twitter last night, and they pointed out in a bit more detail something I already knew: agents and publishers don’t like self-published materials. Mainly because they don’t want something they aren’t getting first dibs on. That said, I’m still planning on spending my time and efforts in trying to self-publish Shattered. Why? Simple: my past experience has shown me that the odds of getting published are slim to none. So, the question is: do I spend several weeks in a vain search, or do I spend those several weeks prepping Shattered for publication on my own? The sooner I can get it ready, the sooner you can read it. Simple as that. And you – the person sitting there taking the time to read a random post on my blog – is the reason I’m writing in the first place, not to put money in some publisher’s pocket (maybe to put a little in mine, but let’s be honest: you and I both know this ain’t gonna break any records…)
Anyways, as the post title says, this is an open invitation. I’m looking for people to help out – we can discuss the financial aspects of it, though bear in mind I’m on a damned tight budget (otherwise I’d just go to any of the countless services on the web for this). There’s two main things I’m looking for: an editor and a cover designer. Someone to help with publicity would be nice as well, but I can take care of that to some degree.
The current plan is mainly to prep Shattered for publication, and possibly to re-release Like Glass as a hard-cover. I’m going to move from CreateSpace to Lulu. Lulu offers cover design and editorial analysis as a package for $300, so if all else fails I may just go with that. But if there’s someone out there who wants to build up a portfolio and get credit in the novel(s), I’d rather help someone out.
So, if you happen to know anyone looking for something to kill some time with, feel free to introduce me 
Of course, at the same time, if you happen to know an agent or publisher you could introduce me to, trust me: I’ll go for it. I’m just not up to wasting my time searching any more.
Alright, in the meantime, need to get back to pretending to edit and create a cover on my own 
Catch you on the flip side.
–Matt
UPDATE 1/25/09: Thanks to this post, I was able to find an editor (thanks again Ashley!). I’m still looking for a graphics editor though, so if you happen to know someone looking to fill their portfolio, let me know. Thanks!
–Matt
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