One could argue books can, too, be forever, and they would be right. At least, until they get burned or damaged, but that’s another topic, and as long as there’s paper, there could be books.

That’s not what I’m talking about here – I’m not comparing durability as medium, but durability on the shelves when you’re publishing your book with one of the legacy publishers…

When published by a legacy publisher, your books can have a very small timeframe on the shelves before they’re turned into mush and forgotten. If they’re not an instant bestseller, if they’re not finding their fans instantly, they won’t last long on the limited shelve space in the bookstore. Publishers will take them down, because they’re not publishing your books because they’re your friend; they’re publishing it to make money, and if your book doesn’t make money, it will be automatically pulled out of the bookstores to make room for new titles, that may make more money than the story that you’ve spent years to polish and love.

That’s why books are not forever, unless you are a bestseller. Stephen King, Dean Koontz, Anne Rice probably won’t have that kind of problem, and their books will go on being reprinted for many years, maybe forever. Yours? Probably not.

New releases in series don’t interest fans, since most of the time you can’t find the first books in the series anymore. Why? Because the legacy publishers stopped printing them years ago, and now only people who were fans since the beginning can enjoy that story – unless you’re into used books and are lucky enough to find the one you need…

Now, e-books are forever. If you self-publish, you’re the only one to decide if your books stop being published (and why would you do that?). Virtual bookshelves have unlimited space. Your book could be there forever if you pass it on to your children.

It gives your books time to find their fans, to win over time enough money to cover the time and money spent on them, and probably more. If you’re talented, and price right, you could even make enough money to retire from your day job and write for a living, if that’s something you dream about.

With print-on-demand, you can even have your book in dead trees form for those who like them. Since the Internet has become so popular and mainstream, you can showcase your books on many platforms: your blog, but also big online bookstores like Amazon. It has never been so easy for your book to be found. My guess is that it will be een easier in the years to come.

I’ve been pondering lately what my reasons are to self-publish. Some people ask me why I won’t go the legacy publishing route, why I won’t even consider it. There’s so many of them, I guess it’s best if I dedicate a post to each one of them…

I’m very stubborn. I don’t like being told what to do in general, unless I ask for help. I like to do my own thing, make my own mistakes, and follow my own path.

When choosing the legacy road, you have to forgo a lot of options, and listen to the potential buyers re: your story. If Big Boss doesn’t like the ending, you have to rewrite it. Same if he hates one of the main characters, you have to change him, or get rid of him. You have got, in order to get the honour of being published, to allow someone to stomp on your story, with both feet.

Business is business, right? Well, no. Not for me. I am very protective of my writing, of my art. I could never stand being ordered around for rewrites – most of all if they don’t make sense to me! Also: free rewrites? They live in Disneyland, for sure.

I want the stories to be mine. That’s one of the reasons I’m choosing self-publishing. Indies have it all: the last word on the story, on the cover art, on the book format, on the price… It’s empowering, and I’m glad I’ve taken to writing now, in this digital age, at the new turn for publishing and writers altogether.