Is It Really Worth It?

So today I've been asking myself - was it worth my time publishing my book through Lulu? When I first started my book through them, I couldn't believe how ridiculously easy it was to publish a book on my own. After all, they give you a free ISBN for starters - and then once your book is published, that's it! You're a published author! Yay!

But then the curtain draws down, and you, being the new "published author" of a real book, you ask yourself: This means that pretty much anyone can be a published author. The truth couldn't be at all a lie. Anyone nowadays can be a PA. And that's been on my mind as of late. There are writers out there who've been published - and you can clearly tell they haven't even bothered to proof their own work let alone know how to write.

Before discovering Lulu, I went down the path of seeking an agent, only to find that time and time again I'd get rejected. Once I found Lulu, however, it clearly gave me a green flag to publish my work, so I was overjoyed, excited. I went through the illusions of grandeur that my book would become a best-seller while at the same time patted myself on the back, realizing I had taken some sort of a cheap short-cut into the publishing world.

There's advantages and disadvantages to going through Lulu, but the biggest disadvantage to me so far is my inability to do book signings in book stores. I am finding that as a serious slam against my wishes, because I've always felt that book signings will help get your name marketed for the least, and introduce your book in person to potential buyers who wander into bookstores.

So I've contacted another agent to see what happens. I am now thinking about releasing my book from the hands of Lulu and getting it into the hands of a publisher. I really want to do these book signings.