Being a self-published author

A week ago, we had the pleasure of collaborating with Museum London in a little interactive activity as part of the Words Literary Festival. The event included writing food stories, decorating cookies, and creating a polaroid mural with photos of some of the attendees. Chatting with other authors got me thinking about what it means to be a published author. 

The Forest City Cookbook was a passion project, which means that it started out of curiosity and was powered by the excitement of creating something to call my own. I always loved books, so much that I decided to make one. My main motivation was to create, so it never crossed my mind that I was about to become a author and a registered independent publisher. I had to learn as I dived into it and understanding the publishing world was not an easy task, but at least I got a little taste of it, for better or worse. 

The editorial world is as harsh as any other creative field like music, films, theatre or visual arts. It is tough when you know you can do something, but you can't articulate your words in a way that it would make others believe you can, so they'll give you the opportunity to prove it.

I've been a freelancer my entire career. My parents and grandparents founded their own businesses, and most of my aunts and cousins were entrepreneurs before that was even a "trend." I was taught to create my own opportunities and carve my own path. The thought of having to beg countless publishers to listen to my ideas and go through multiple rejections didn't sound very exciting to me… and didn't fit the concept of the project about being welcoming, collaborative, and community-focused. 

I had the knowledge and experience of a decade in project management, production, photography and marketing, so I knew I could make it all work. I decided to self-publish because I wanted to be in full control of all the creative and financial decisions, which you can’t do if you work with a publishing house. I placed the cookbook above the profit as the intention was to create the book I envisioned and not to make a living out it (it sounds very naive now that I think back, being a “starving artist” doesn’t make any sense).

I am aware that my situation was very different from the struggle of many writers that are trying to publish their first book and don't have the means to do it. The familiar saying "everyone can do anything" is valid up to a certain point. We all need to pay rent, utilities and food first. 

Listening to other authors trying to get their books published made me wonder. Is it all about the satisfaction of having your book in your hands and the hands of others, or it is something about getting the approval and recognition of having a well-established publishing company believing in you and backing up your ideas? 

Being self-published has its own set of challenges and sacrifices. It all worked out for me this time, but I still don't feel comfortable calling myself an “author.” I made a book, printed it and sold it with the support of many many people. I'm not saying that it was easy because it would be a total lie, but sometimes it feels like I somehow "hacked" the system by not even trying to go through the traditional route. 

Would it feel any different to have a little editorial logo at the bottom of the book's spine? Would it be more or less valuable then? Would it make you a "real" author to the eyes of the traditionalists? Is creating enough or does your creations need to be legitimized by industry leaders so that others would take you seriously? Does it always have to come down to doing business and not just art?

I’d love to hear your opinion and point of view if you feel open to share it. I'm hoping to find sense to all of this before starting my next book.