The bottom line for me is that I am willing to wait. I'd much rather work steadily and smartly toward a chance at big success within a proven framework, than to take a path with sales usually measured in tens and hundreds, which is what self-publishing is. Some people obviously have different goals with their writing than I, which is absolutely fine. I don't seek to spread some incredible message. I want to entertain people who enjoy reading, and I'd love to be able to make a good living at it. Others have different objectives. Great!
As I've already said, I genuinely wish you nothing but the best, but I can't count how many times I've read the same exact things by self-published authors going into the process, talk about new paradigms and such. But with the exception of cases so rare as to be the equivalent of winning the lottery, the story always turns out the same. A few dozen copies sold. Maybe a few hundred. Game over. That's reality, time after time after time after time. There will always be anomalies to point to, but when you look at the big picture, there is no new paradigm, only wishful thinking.
Let me ask you a question: How is it you plan to market your SP book? You talk about establishing a track record so that you're going to be setting terms for the publishers that come to you. Exactly how are you going to do that? If you think the chances of someone stumbling over a book on a Borders shelf are slim, what do you think the chances are of someone stumbling onto a SP book on Amazon and buying it? And remember, online sales are a tiny piece of the book-sales pie in this country. If you don't believe that, do the research. The masses still buy their books off shelves: Borders, Barnes & Noble, Wal-Mart, Sam's, Costco. That's where the numbers are sold. Other than a local manager who might put a few copies of a local author's SP on the shelf for PR purposes if the author will put them there on consignment, those places don't stock SP books. How do you plan to overcome the lack of that market, which happens to constitute the vast majority of the market?
It's easy to talk about controlling one's own destiny, but how is it you plan to do it?
Now, an area that hasn't been touched on at all: What makes you so sure your book is ready to go to market? Who vetted it? Who doled out the brutal critiques for you? What professionals looked at it and said, "This is good, Travis, but this sucks, Travis." Every author--yours truly included in the past--is sure that their book is ready, that their book is something special. But who else said so? You see, that's what's missing in self-publishing and it's why it's not taken seriously. There are no professional hurdles to jump, no vetting processes to fight through. Those processes make writers better. They toughen them, teach them to step back from their work and see it more objectively, even when it hurts. How did you handle this end of the game? Yes, a lot of crap makes it through traditional publishing channels too, but if you'll take an honest look at what's out there in SP, you'll find that 99.9% of it is utter garbage. When you join that group, that assumption will automatically attach to your work, as well, whether it's true or not.
And remember, I came into this discussion doing nothing but wishing you the best of luck. You're the one who chose to excoriate traditional publishing and lambast "Fifth Avenue" and tout a new paradigm as if you just thought it up. Believe me, you didn't. This same set of self-publishing dreams and arguments has been put forth a bazillion times out there, fueled mainly by the companies who sell self-publishing services.
MM
Make sure you tell me which 60 to 90 days they they will be available, so I can find it if I hurry.
Let's compare notes in one year, and see who is closer to a major contract which is not a newbie ripoff.