You call yourself published?

"You shouldn't call yourself published if you are self published."

This is a comment that I hear from time to time and it couldn't be more flawed. Self publishing is practically the way things are done now. The obvious drawback to self publishing is that anyone can do it. That means there is a lot of garbage out there to sift through when it comes to finding good stories. That's not to say there aren't talented writers out there. There absolutely are! So let me put it this way:

It's not how you publish; it's what you publish. Then, if you aren't one of the 1% who become superstars, it's what you continue to do with it after that.

That's right; 1% of all authors (if that) who publish are the superstars who don't have to do their own marketing because they have the next multi-million dollar money maker. All they have to do is keep writing. They have a full paid team for everything else. The rest of us have to bite, scratch and claw our way up the literary mountain. And if you think an agent  is what spells it all out, you're wrong again.

Sure, an agent is a good thing (or can be), but the self publish industry has put a big dent in your ability to get an agent. I've had my work complimented more than once by agents, yet it wasn't the next major best seller so I couldn't even get my foot in the door. Now that there's self publishing and every Tom, Dick and Harry can do it (your dog can do it), they are even tighter about who they'll take. What's more, 95% of authors with agents still have to their own marketing to sell books. Many of them have to work just as hard as I do to sell their work. They have to tour bookshops, do signings, and you'd be surprised at how hard that can be. And it's exactly the same if you get published through a company without an agent.

You see, there's an ocean of authors out there, and no matter how you publish, you still have to work to make yourself stand out over them all. How you publish is not what matters. The achievement should not be belittled just because of what route you chose to publish your work. Here, take a look at these ten self published authors who are now bestsellers; LINK.

So, next time someone says that you shouldn't be called published if you do it yourself, refer them to this information and deliver a publishing education.