Don’t Sweat the Naysayers

In the words of Taylor Swift, "the haters gonna hate." Don't let them get to you.

There's still a stigma for self-published authors. It looks something like this:

You published a book? That's so cool. How'd you get an agent? Who published it?

Actually, I self-published.

Oh.

That's not just any Oh. That's the Oh of disappointment, let down, dare I say awkward dismissal. It can be reinterpreted quite simply as "So you didn't really publish a book," or even, "Never mind. Your book clearly sucks."

This reaction is born from the assumption that self-published novels are inferior to those traditionally published. Now-a-days, this is just not necessarily true. Sure, there are some less than stellar stories out there. But on the other hand, there's also gold in those hills.

I've heard some self-published authors say the stigma is dying. Maybe so, at least among ravenous readers. But among the general population, it's a slow death. If you self-publish, you're likely to run into it at some point.

How you deal with the stigma when it rears it's ugly head is situation dependent. Most of the time, it's not worth defending yourself. Frankly, you don't need defending. It's a reflection on their lack of knowledge concerning the current industry, not a reflection on your work's quality. If you feel the need to address it, then go ahead but be wary. One conversation may not change their mind.

Either way, don't let someone's attachment to the stigma weigh you down. Have they even published a book? Probably not. If they have, who cares? Don't let it lower your sense of accomplishment. You set out to write a story, and you did it. You had the courage to put it out there for others to read. Kudos!