A Long Night’s Sing & other stories

by Jan Rider Newman

For years I turned up my nose at the idea of self-publishing before condescending to consider it as I watched self-publishing lose its vanity press stigma. It isn't only for people who want to leave a memento for their family and friends. It doesn't necessarily mean you can't get a reputable publishing house for your novel or memoir or poems. Writers now turn by choice to eBooks and books printed on demand. Turns out most readers don't care how your book is published. Ask the average reader who isn't also a writer.

So I decided I’d do it one day when I had something worth publishing. Then I realized I did have something worth publishing, several short stories that had appeared in nationally distributed journals and anthologies. A Long Night's Sing & other stories was born.

As you know, whether you’ve self-published or not, the difference between decision and deed can be an abyss. When you’ve never done something, there’s a tendency to think you can’t. There were times during this process when I felt the sides of the abyss closing in, the ground receding further and further under my feet. I had to believe if x-million other writers had done it before me, by jiminy, I could too.

Check back soon for her tutorial on self-publishing.