Self-publishing 101 (1): Why? How? Where? When?

Why self-publishing?

Because, simply put, it allows me to write what I want, when I want it, and how I want it. There’s no pressure except for my own deadlines and the readers asking for more. And I wanted to try something new.

Why in English?

Some people consider me an established writer because I have published short stories in several Romanian anthologies and on-line magazines, and I happened to win some awards too. I, on the other hand, think people can consider themselves writers after they published at least two books, novels or short story collections or whatever, but let’s not dwell on that.

English allows me to reach a larger audience, without losing many readers. I mainly write science fiction and fantasy, and given the way the book industry is moving in Romania, you’re forced to learn English if you want to keep up with what’s published abroad whether you like it or not. So my current readers, especially the younger generation, already know English well enough to read my stories, and it’s always good to get new readers.

How I started?

In the spring of 2012, I already had a book ready, but you know how they say that the first novel is never good enough for publishing. So instead of doing that, my plan was to start small and build a backlog first and an audience, before moving on to bigger things.

Last June, I published “Human Instincts”, an apocalyptic novella, followed in December by the short story collection “Blue Moon Café Series:Where Shifters Meet for Drinks”. Next in line is “The Impaler’s Revenge”, a vampire novella, which turned into a series (I have no idea how that happened!), and should be ready sometime in the spring. After that, I’ll be working on a fantasy trilogy, “Stolen Wings Prophecy”, and a sci fi saga, “The Flying Chair Chronicles”.

To celebrate the new release, this week I’ll write a series of blog posts and share with you what I learned during the first six months of self-publishing.

Until then, check out “Blue Moon Café Series: Where Shifters Meet for Drinks” (Amazon, Smashwords), discounted from $2.99 to $0.99 during the holidays, and let me know what you think.