Frustration

Frustration is the word of the day, lately. As I sit here contemplating what needs to be done now that a major publisher of mine has folded and closed her doors, I feel frustrated because I've been through this--not once, but twice before. Those times, I simply reedited and resent my stories to other publishers. It was easier and didn't hurt too much, because less stories were involved. However, this time I don't want to go through all that again. Luckily, thanks to the ebook market, I have another choice. Self-publication.

I used to poo-poo the idea of self-publication, thinking that people will think I'm doing this out of desperation because the work isn't good enough to be published through a publishing house. A lot of prominent authors are taking this route. Not this time around. And not with these stories that have been selling on the ebook market already. Why not put them back up on those sites again myself? Do I really need a publisher to do this for me? Not really. The works are already edited. Basically, all that they need are new covers.

Ah, but that could be costly since there are many stories involved and I'm not a graphic artist. Okay, but...Let's look at the bright side of acquiring brand new covers. Putting new covers will give the stories a new look. Also, I can choose the exact cover I want. The only person I have to please is myself. Though I had some input into the covers my stories have, some were never truly what I might have created. Now I have my chance to have the covers that make my heart sing.

Then I think about some of the other things that need to be done and groan. I discover that ISBNs are needed for certain sites and are somewhat costly, adding to the cost of the covers. Sighing, I know it has to be done.

Out of all this frustration comes hope. Eventually, when the stories are back up on the ebook sites once again, the money generated will come directly to me. I don't have to wait until a publisher takes his or her cut. So I keep my eyes on the prize.