Friday, November 08, 2013

To Self Publish, Or Not To Self Publish – A Guest Post by Stella Telleria

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AcrossWire
I’ve got Stella Telleria on the blog today who recently self-published her book, Across the Wire, a paranormal universe novel with a dystopian undertone that looks great and sounds awesome. Let’s have a look at the book first, but then Stella is going to talk about her reason to self publish in a witty, hilarious guest post – oh and you can also enter to win a copy 😉

To Self Publish, Or Not To Self Publish – A Guest Post by Stella TelleriaAcross the Wire by Stella Telleria
on November 2nd, 2013
Genres: Adult, Sci-Fi
Buy on Amazon
Goodreads

When Mia Mitchell, a hardcore but lonely former Marine, steps into an alley to pull some thugs off an unlucky foreigner, she walks into a fight she expects. What she doesn’t see coming is the foreigner making her a job offer any sane person would refuse. So, she takes it. She thinks she’s headed for some third-world country; instead she’s mysteriously transported to an Earth-like parallel world. That’s a mad left-hook.

Mia discovers a matriarchal dystopia where freedom doesn’t exist and fighting for it means execution. Lethal force bends all to the law; women fear for their families and un-wed men suffer slavery. Mia’s job is to train an underground syndicate of male freedom-fighters for a violent revolution. However, the guys don’t want a pair of X chromosomes showing them the way.

Eben, an escaped slave, is encouraged by Mia to become a leader among the men. But when he turns his quiet determination on her, it spells F.U.B.A.R. for cynical Mia. Their unexpected connection threatens more than her exit strategy; it threatens the power struggle festering with in the syndicate.

Haunted by nightmares and post-traumatic stress, unsure who to trust or how to get home, Mia struggles to stay alive as she realizes all is not what it seems.



Guest Post by Stella Telleria



Why I Decided to Self Publish
by Stella Telleria

Giselle, Thank you for hosting me on your blog. I’ve heard so much about you through another blogger I feel a sort of ease at being in your internet presence. Pfft! Who am I kidding? I’m so excited to be here I feel like a monkey going through a caffeine apocalypse while holding a pair of cymbals.

Just think about that for a second…aaaaaaand we’re back.

The decision to self-publish my novel was not one I took lightly. I know many authors who only self-publish their work. Some feel it is their stance against a draconian paradigm while others want to retain full rights to their work. On the other hand I know many authors who are adamant they want their work published in the traditional manner. Some feel this is the truest test of their writing ability— to be chosen from a sea of hopefuls.

It sounds a bit like a story in its self, right? To be the fabled chosen one with cool sidekicks, gadgets, and shiny new tights, or the trailblazer who’s unsure of the adventure ahead and only has their wits to guide them. Either path has its merits.

But I know which MC I’d choose. It’s just a shame they got stuck with my wits. *shakes head* Poor misguided soul.

I confess to holding no definitive answer to this argument that has spurred many a hot debate in chat rooms across author forums. All I know is why I chose the route I did. I wanted to move forward

Like any decision, there are pros and cons to everything. But one thing is certain, the publishing industry is changing; make no mistake about that. More and more authors are making the move to self-publishing, and I’m not just talking about new authors. Well established authors are making the jump over to the indie side of publishing.

But enough about other people, I made the move because I felt I was so close to making it. Quite a few agents told me my writing was really good and my concept was intriguing. Agents requested pages and full manuscripts, and so did a publisher. These are all great signs, but in the end I waited for almost a year and a half to hear back from agents and publishers who treated me like a number. I’ve yet to hear back from some.

I know I’m as insignificant to the traditional publishing world as one more snowflake is to Mount Everest. That is why I chose to self-publish. I wanted to move forward. I wanted to get my story out there and have people read it. I wanted readers to become part of my odyssey and hopefully love my characters as much as I do. That’s why I write. I want to share.

Thank you for letting me share it with you.

Cheers!

About the Author



All my life I’ve dreamed of stories or have had my nose buried in one. I live in Edmonton, Canada with my husband and my weird sense of humor.

I love old war movies, dystopian fiction, and any story with action, a good plot, and characters I’d get into a fight at the pub for. Not that I’m a brawler or anything. Unless you think that out-of-print book or vintage piece at the thrift shop is going home with you instead of me. Then, my friend, the gloves are off.



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Giveaway

The lovely Stella Telleria has offered up 10 ebook copies of Across the Wire for giveaway to my readers.


  • Open internationally
  • Giveaway ends November 20th, 2013
  • Full contest terms and conditions found on Rafflecopter

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Canadian blogger, wife, mother, coffee lover, and sarcastic at heart! She has had a love for all things bookish since before Amazon and eReaders existed *le gasp*. You can also find her organizing tours and other fun things at Xpresso Book Tours.

Latest posts by Giselle (see all)

50 Responses to “To Self Publish, Or Not To Self Publish – A Guest Post by Stella Telleria”

    • Stella Telleria

      Melanie, it does take a while. It’s like waiting for an organ donor. They assure you they know you’re waiting, but you’re pretty sure you might die before you hear something. LOL!

      I like Eben’s name too!

  1. Mary @ BookSwarm

    I think with self-publishing, you have a bit more control over your book. It’s up to you what it looks like, how well it’s edited, when you release it…which is what makes self-publishing so hard, too.

    • Stella Telleria

      Mary, with self-publishing you have all the control, which might not be the best thing for some authors. I agree that this can make it difficult. But a lot of smaller press publishing companies expect the author to do a lot of if not all the promotions themselves. In which case, I’d rather keep my rights.

  2. Ashley

    I don’t normally read guest posts (*hides*) but I loved this one! I think you made some great points about self-publishing, and it was cool to hear your side. I think if I ever wanted to be an author, I would self-publish too. Waiting around like a number in a line would suck. I also like the idea of having full control over everything that happens.

    • Stella Telleria

      Ashley, thank you for making the time to read this guest post. Self-publishing sounds great, but it’s tough. There is still this stigma that self-published work is trash or mediocre at best. In reality I’ve read mediocre and trash from traditional publishers as well. With the changes in the publishing industry, everyone can expect more and more quality self-pub works. Count on that. 😀

  3. Melliane

    it’s true, many authors try self publishing and I’m glag they do, because for some the series are stopped and it’s sad when the story isn’t finished. I’m glad you found your way.

  4. Eileen @ Singing and Reading in the Rain

    Fantastic post Stella! I definitely see your points as to why you chose the self-publishing route. Waiting for publishers and agents to get back to you seems so frustrating, and I definitely wouldn’t have the patience to wait around for a response. I’m glad you chose to self-publish. I definitely agree; there are so many authors choosing to self-publish and a lot of their books are actually really successful.

    Thanks for sharing!

    • Stella Telleria

      Eileen, a lot of self-pub books are becoming very successful. It’s really exciting. The publishing industry is going to go the way of the music industry. More and more indie artists are breaking out into the mainstream. The publishing companies and record labels are no longer the gatekeepers. Yay, internet!! 🙂

  5. Kelsey

    There are some really great books out there that are self-published so I’m glad that more authors are going this route. It definitely can be nice to be backed by a publisher, but that sucks that they’ve been making you wait so long! I’m glad you were able to go ahead and release your book, and thank you also for this guest post!

    • Stella Telleria

      Thanks, Kelsey! It is nice to be backed by a publisher, but the downside is you have no control. Every author needs to make their own decision about what is the right move for them. Thank you for you kind words.

  6. Sam @ Realm of Fiction

    Well this is my first time coming across Stella Telleria, but I like her already! A brilliant guest post! I can definitely see how both traditional and self-publishing routes might have positives and negatives. I guess the important thing is finding what works best for each individual, and like everything else, that won’t always be the same for everyone. Thanks so much for sharing!

    Also, Stella’s author bio is pretty brilliant too. 😉

    • Stella Telleria

      Awe thanks, Sam! Each route does have its pros and cons. Every author has to decide which road they’ll take.

      Briliant? I’ll take it! It’ll even out the fact that I think Mr. Bean is quality programing and that I laugh like Fran Drescher. LOL!

  7. Chel @ The Procrastinator's Corner

    Self-publishing is such a risky thing to take by authors. I used to be under the impression that authors self-publish their works because nobody wants to publish them. That said, I refused to read self-published books. But that was about 5 years ago! I agree with Stella that the publishing industry is changing. More and more self-published novels are making their own name and I’ve started reading them too and some even made it to my all-time favorites list.

    • Stella Telleria

      Chel, thank you for sharing. A lot of people still have the opinion you held 5 years ago. One can see it in the review policies of some book bloggers where self-pubs are not welcome. I hope opinions continue to change. Do share your all-time favorite self-pubs. Good press always helps the cause. 😀

  8. Lauren

    I just saw this book on Jenni’s blog and thought it sounded SO cool, so I’m very glad you didn’t play the waiting game with agents/pubs. They really do tend to treat authors like a number, and in the meantime there are readers out there who would love to read this NOW, so why not give them the chance? Great guest post!

    • Stella Telleria

      Hello, Lauren! As the self-pub movement and eBook markets gain momentum, traditional publishers will continue to become more and more conservative in their acquisitions. This means narrower fields of books are published as publishers are less and less likely to take chances on unique novels. Publishers want a sure thing, something that fits the selling mode. This doesn’t mean what’s published isn’t great, because it is, but one has to ask what is slipping through the slush pile cracks?

  9. Emily

    Hahaha! Great post, err, Giselle and Miss Tellaria!
    I think self-publishing is rather a leap of faith – you don’t get as much publicity at times, and it can be a little difficult to sell well! But no worries there! You can always have your book on tour, and I’m sure that will help a lot! But I think it also has a certain sense of happiness that “This is MY book and I own the rights to it”! That will be definitely what I’d like as well 🙂

    Congratulations on publishing your book! 😀
    And great post you two! <3

    • Stella Telleria

      Thanks, Emily! It is a huge leap of faith. It’s like body surfing at a concert. When you decide to dive out into that crowd, you hope that crowd doesn’t part like seagulls and you land spread eagle in a painful face plant. You hope against hope that this group of strangers will catch you and prevent you from falling. You hope, but you never know what’s going to happen. You just have to find the guts to jump.

  10. Pili

    Both self-publishing and traditional publishing have their merits and none is better than the other, so each author should choose what’s better for them! I have discovered self-published books and authors that I absolutely love!

    And this book sounds very very intriguing, quite a different premise right from the start there!

    • Stella Telleria

      Pili, either one does have its merits. I hope I didn’t make it sound as if self-pub was better. That was not my intent and I apologize if that was how it came across. The author has to decide what they are willing to do and what they are not willing to do. I’m glad to hear you have found some jems in the self-pub market. What are some titles you love?

      Thank you for joining the conversation! 😀

      • Pili

        Oh no, Stella! I’m sorry if my post came across as defending traditional publishing against self-publishing! I am a firm supporter of self-publishing! As you said each author has to decide what’s the best option for them and readers need to realize that they can find books they’ll like and dislike and that they’d feel are bad and good in both traditional publishing and self-publishing.
        I recently discovered three authors that self-publish that I love: LeighAnn Kopans, Jamie Grey and Hafsah Laziaf.

  11. Jeann @ Happy Indulgence

    Great post Stella, you bring up a good point about retaining full control over your works when you self publish. The quality is definitely there for self publishing and for some reason I feel like authors tend to take more risks that way.

    • Stella Telleria

      Jeann, thank you for commenting! Retaining the rights to your work is huge! Authors can take more risks when self-publishing but’s…well, risky. LOL! 😉

  12. Terri Bruce

    Great post, Stella! I’m about to jump into self-publishing after being with a small press and it definitely is scary! My hat off to you for not waiting around for success to find you, but going out and making your own success. Good luck to you and Across the Wire – it sounds awesome!

  13. roro

    Congratulations w/ the release and best wishes. I love parallel worlds and from what I csn gather a healthy romantic relationship. Ok maybe at first they hate each othe r lol but those are my favorite part of romance in books.

    Hugs

    • Stella Telleria

      Roro, I love parallel worlds too! I used to love the shows Sliders and Quantum Leap. Especially Quantum Leap was one of my all-time favorite shows. 😀

      Mia and Eben don’t so much hate each other right-off-the-bat; they just don’t know how to trust each other and both have some serious baggage to sort out.

  14. Berls @ Fantasy is More Fun

    I loved this guest post – I’m always debating with myself the pros and cons of self-publishing. I think it takes a lot to take the plunge yourself, but I applaud you for believing in yourself (and your book) enough to do it!

  15. Jennifer Ellis

    I think you are exactly right when you said “I wanted to move forward.” I believe I said those exact words today when I explained to my proofreader why I did not want to try to get another agent. There is just so much waiting and hoping time in traditional publishing. And even if you do get accepted into the fold, there is no guarantee that it will work out. Self-publishing allows for at least that hope of seeing forward movement. I can articulate many pros and cons of self-publishing and I do on a regular basis when asked about my decision – the industry is changing, you can keep more of your royalties, it may not work out either way… but in the end, it is just about allowing me to continue to move forward.

    • Stella Telleria

      Jennifer, you are exactly right as well. Reading your comment actually gave me chills because I probably said the exact same thing to my husband when I made the decision. I found without moving forward, my writing was suffering. I felt guilty. If I’m going to spend hours away from my family every day, then I need to get my work out there. It feels productive and it works wonders for my writing.

  16. Claude Nougat

    Great post, Stella, and thanks to Giselle for sharing it with us here. I took the same decision back in 2011. Do I regret it? A little, yes, because when you are self-published there is one thing you cannot get: access to the major literary awards (thinks of the Pulitzer or the Man Booker Prize – yes, you’re a writer, you’re naturally ambitious, right? LOL!) That is the only thing that might eventually make a difference to your long-run reputation and image as a serious writer…

    Other than that, it’s been great fun, I love my life on the Net and, inter alia, enjoy not only publishing my books myself but blogging too – it’s great!

    • Stella Telleria

      Claude, thank you for reading this post and commenting. Yes, indie authors don’t get to take part in writing competitions or awards, but one day this will change. Maybe not anytime soon, but one day. 😀

  17. Stella Telleria

    Alisa, I have my shy moments too. Like when people ask me about my novel. I always feel if I talk about it, it comes off as boastful. I’m so proud of it though.

    You have a cute blog! I love the sound bites of you and your husband discussing books and how you disagree about things. I also see that you like adult sci-fi, but I can’t find your email address anywhere. Maybe I’m blind? If you’re interested in reading Across the Wire, please let me know at stellatelleria@hotmail.com. 😀

  18. Andrew Landis

    I agree with so much of what has been said on this thread. I would like to add my two small cents. I am a newly self-published author (with my writing partner of many years Julia Swift), and we find it inspiring that the cherished words and thoughts and ideas we’ve written are being spread not only throughout this country, but the world — we just sent our first copy of our YA novel, Bold, abroad to a blogger in Finland! If we had waited for a publishing house to discover us, it wouldn’t be in so many people’s hands right now.

    Second, we have written for television and we have found that one of the reasons we so love writing self-pub books, is that when writing TV for young adults, we have to follow what the network wants. Often their notes are amazing — except when it comes to trusting what teens can understand. With TV, we have to keep everything very simple. But with books, especially indies, we can write for the audience we know is out there — smart, thoughtful teens and adults who are still on the search to define who they are and what they want from life and relationships.