The Autistic Writer: Self-Publishing

tyunglebower ♦ October 18, 2023 ♦ Leave a comment

I’ve spoken of my self-publishing journey before on this blog. If you follow me on other social media platforms, you’ve heard me talk of that adventure as well, and how it relates to my Autism. But as this weekly series draws to a close soon, I wanted to share my approach to something integral to my author career.

I have self published four novels so far, and 6 other books of various type. For those who may not know the lingo, this means that certain websites, (usually Draft2Digital for me), electronically receive my final draft of a book, well-edited and proofread to the Nth degree. The system in question formats the manuscript for ebook, creates the needed files, attached my cover art, and places my book and it’s descriptors (meta data) on the various ebook retailers of my choosing for you and hopefully many others to purchase and download to your respective device.

After I have done my darndest to market the crap out of it.

This, as opposed to what they now call “traditional publishing.” In such, one must still have the best possible final draft. One shops the idea around to many of what is called a “literary agent.” If interested, this agent will ask for a sample of your book. If the agent takes you on, it becomes their job to then convince publishing companies to accept your book because it will make money.

Some changes are made depending. You may and probably will be asked to rewrite the book a few more times. The press in questions puts your book onto paper and into bookstores. (Where self-published books rarely get accepted.) Hopefully people in book stores buy it.

After I (that is to say NOT the publishing company in most cases) once again market the crap out of it.

The whole process, on the whole from final draft to available to purchase in stores takes 3-5 years on average. If you get an agent. It could also sometimes take several years to get an agent in the first place, who could in turn take many more years to find a publisher if they do at all.

It’s a wonderful rewarded process for those less interested in control of their work, and with the patience of a saint.

Unfortunately, neither trait applies to me.

As an Autistic person, I am very much uncomfortable with giving up so much control, and pace as the traditional publishing route requires. I thrive on routine and predictability of task. Adaptability of schedule if needed, as well as the freedom to change my mind. (My upcoming novel is not the novel I had planned to publish yet, originally. More on that in future posts.)

I may or may not succeed at marketing, and may or may not sell many copies. Usually I do not. But the process is 98% mine. Sink or float it will do so, by and large while at liberty to pursue my own rhythms and abilities.

Traditional publishing requires perhaps a score of people doing their job, doing it well, and doing it for many, many other people, making me, the author, a lower priority, (Another Autistic ick of mine…being someone’s low priority.)

And when all is said and done, I can look at the finished product knowing I did it all. (Or sometimes help with cover art, as I have this time around, again more on it later.)

I feel “in contact” with my books from word one to final placement in stores when I self-publish, even if I don’t generally have a book store presence. That tangible proximity couples well with my overall sense of creative vulnerability that turns up at times.

For my own money, I would advise other folks on the Spectrum to try self-publishing. Of course everyone is different, as I say all the time. But going by trends, best guesses, and my own personal experience with both being Autistic, and being a writer, (what’s the name of this series again??) I feel most Autistic authors are more likely to find more satisfaction more often with the self-publishing route.

Will I swear I will never seek an agent? No. I will never swear to it. I can’t see it occurring in a definable future, but the time could come when I choose the “traditional” route. Teamwork with publishers and agents may appeal to a different aspect of my Autism, after all. But because I am not much of a gambler, I like to keep dice roles to a minimum, and there are far too many dice flying around in traditional publishing success right now for me to consider it.

Note: Next week will mark the conclusion of this near-year long column about being both Autistic and a writer, so that I can concentrate more on the final push and additional discussion for my upcoming novel, due in November, The Rubble and the Shakespeare. —Ty