I have been on the publishing journey since April of this year, and I have learned a lot about the industry along the way. The decision to decide between a publisher or self-publishing can be very daunting to say the least. With so many options it is important to weigh each one.

I first explored the avenue of finding a highly rated publisher. This avenue was filled with many cons for me personally. One of them being a need for a literary agent. Funds are not overflowing for me, therefore hiring an agent is out of the question. While I would love to have the platform and all the amenities that come with it, I understand that it is just not meant to be yet. (**Edit** After submitting this to my professor I was informed that literary agents do not require funds up front, they get a percentage of your contract. Isn’t learning ne things amazing?)

The next avenue I looked at was hybrid-publishing contracts. This is where you are required to pay a certain amount down if chosen by the publisher. The publisher then promises to take care of marketing for life. I was even offered one of these contracts. After reading it many times it just did not sit with me right. Some pros that had me contemplating a signature were: the promise of a platform and their funds for a lifetime of marketing. Cons that kept me from signing the contract were: I was required to pay $2600 before my book would be published, I was not in charge of cover design, I was not allowed to promote my work in any way, and the editor stopped all contact after I said I wanted to take the night to think it over.

Which brings me to my last avenue, Self-Publishing. The pros for this option outweighed any bit of struggle I may face with marketing. I can keep my poems just as they are, I can design my own cover, and I make the majority profit. The only cons I could find is it may take me longer to take off in sales and the fact that Amazon is the safest way to self-publish. (I am not a fan of Bezos) Ultimately, these cons were not deal breakers for me. As long as my work is out there, I do not mind how long it takes to reach the masses. As far as Bezos, I have told myself I will take a portion of my profits and donate them to charities to balance out my Juju 😊 With that being said, I have spent the last two weeks self-publishing my work. You can now purchase my collection of poetry The Gem in I by Britt Nichols on Amazon.

There is one last fact that stuck out to me most when deciding on how to get my poems out to the world and that is how other poets have done so. If you look at the top selling poets now and in history most of them started their writing careers as self-published writers. Giving me the confidence that I too can manage to be successful in self-publishing by utilizing tools such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, and my website!

-Britt