Today I had a phone conversation with a publishing company which claimed it was in the self-publishing business, which is an entirely oxymoronic statement. I was sat on the receiving end of a long spiel that told me absolutely nothing of legitimate use (such as who I'd need to send things to, how they market their books, where they would be sold) and in the end I terminated the call (politely) knowing nothing more than what I knew from looking at their website except for one crucial thing. I learned that they were under the parent company Author Solutions Incorporated.
Author Solutions was recently acquired by Penguin Publishing, which makes them seem very attractive. They are also being sued by three separate clients for fraudulent activities. Suddenly they don't seem so attractive anymore. The company I talked to, Xlibris, are essentially the modern equivalent of a vanity publisher. I would be able to say 'Yay I got published', but I would have nothing to show for it except for maybe a hole in my bank account.
I have no intention of continuing discussions with these sorts of people, and Xlibris aren't the only ones out there like this. I've come to the conclusion that I would ideally like to be working with a literary agent. This seems like it might be the harder option, but look at me, I'm 18 years old, I'm only just finishing my first novel, I have no experience in the publishing industry and I am terribly vulnerable to companies like Xlibris who won't actually do my novel any good (aside from turn it from a word document into a physical book). What I need is someone who has the know-how, the connections and a legitimate desire to see me get published and maybe even become successful. What I need is a literary agent.
Yes, I am small. I am very small. I am tiny. There are thousands like me, who want to get published. That's why there are dozens of companies like Xlibris who will publish your book for you in a way that satisfies only your sense of achievement. Don't get me wrong, I want that sense of achievement, I just also want a paycheck.
I am also big. I am very big. No matter how many companies like Xlibris there are out there, I am the one that gets to say 'no'. I am the one that decides who publishes my book. I absolutely run the risk of never getting published by holding this mentality, but I would rather hold on to what little power I have at this point so I can leverage it into a substantial amount of power. That's what I'd be losing if I went ahead with something with Xlibris. The money is something I could earn back, the power isn't. I'd be banking on having some literary agent notice my book on a shelf and I don't even know where that shelf would be. That's like paying someone to go catch a fish for you so you can eat dinner when for all you know they're trying to fish in the kitchen sink.
Am I wrong to want some level of assurance before I move into publishing? I'll find out. If I am wrong for wanting that then I wouldn't be able to help but wonder why anyone would bother with trying to publish in the first place. A few months from now I will have had some conversations with some hopefully knowledgeable people and frankly I've never been so excited in my life. I'm at 60,000 words and for the first time I actually feel just a little bit like an author.
