S is for Self-Publishing and Short Stories

This post I wish to talk about self-publishing, or going indie (independent). I honestly don't have much to say on this topic as I'm not an expert since I have not self-published. But in today's market, self-publishing has become a more viable option.

So let me tell you something I've been recently planning. Not long ago I read a blog post on why we should all be writing short fiction by Anne R. Allen. And it actually got me thinking about my old love for writing short stories.  I would like to get back into that. I've got a goal to write a short story of publishable quality by the end of the year. No idea what will happen to it, whether it goes into a short story collection like The Intergalactic Medicine Show, self-publish it on Amazon, submitted to a contest, or possibly nothing at all.

As for novels, I've promised myself that I'm not going to rush out and self-publish the first book I write. I've heard a lot of times that ones writing, with few exceptions, does not get good until you get a few "practice novels" out of the way. I'm okay with that. After all, Brandon Sanderson wrote a dozen books before publishing Elantris. I don't expect my first few novels to get published, though if they do I won't complain. However, if it is not publishable I don't want to put it out there for others to waste their time on it.

So while going indie is viable, I'm going to explore the traditional route for as long as I can before I succumb to the temptation. Well, it's what I think now anyways, the market could change even more by that point.