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Self publishing / Indie forum

FarmerBrown

Troubadour
Would it be possible to create this? Since the needs of self-pubbers are a bit different than the traditional folks, it might be nice to have a dedicated place to discuss the process. I also saw a thread below asking for a place to post resources relevant to self-pubbers, and this could be it! There are more than a few of us interested who would keep the forum alive. Thanks!
 

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
The bulk of the Publishing and Marketing forums are about self-publishing. I'm not sure I see what the advantage of another forum would be.

((edit))

It looks like you buried the lede.


What would be needed, how might it proceed? Here's a possible approach, offered more with hope for discussion than with intent to execute. ;-)

Start with a sub-forum. Its purpose would be to map out a plan of action and eventually get actual people to do actual things. Or, at worst, to make it plain to all that there's just not enough oomph behind it to go anywhere. As a corollary, advertise that sub-forum on other fantasy-related sites so others interested could join.

Among the things that would need to be planned and then created:
web site (where we can collect resources)
a formal organization (with cool acronym!)
social media presence
events (physical or virtual)
some measurable victories, including at the very least some publications by authors
eventually, maybe, mechanism for membership fees
our own forums
and in general, all the stuff one can find at the SFWA and RWA web sites

So yeah, it's pretty huge. But it can be tackled incrementally, and one ought never underestimate the power of the crowd.
 
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FarmerBrown

Troubadour
The initial conversation of the "Self-Publishing support group" thread was to find other authors on Mythic Scribes who are going through the process or have gone through it. Some expressed interest in widening that goal. I for one feel like there are plenty of great resources on this site already, as you pointed out, and a forum/sub-forum/sticky thread would be a great place to consolidate those resources and provide a place for discussion solely about self-publishing fantasy. That's what I would like to see happen, because the current wordage in the publishing forum is, "Getting published in the fantasy genre. Finding success with agents, editors and publishers", which doesn't mention self-publishing necessarily, though I'm assuming the first sentence would be inclusive of it.
 

Black Dragon

Staff
Administrator
That's what I would like to see happen, because the current wordage in the publishing forum is, "Getting published in the fantasy genre. Finding success with agents, editors and publishers", which doesn't mention self-publishing necessarily, though I'm assuming the first sentence would be inclusive of it.

When Mythic Scribes started four years ago, self-publishing wasn't the phenomenon that it is today. To better reflect the reality that self-publishing is now a viable and respectable option, I've updated the description of the forum to this:

Getting published in the fantasy genre. Resources and discussion relevant to both traditional and independent publishing.

Rather than creating a sub-forum specifically about self-publishing, you may want to start a thread with all of the best self-publishing resources. If it takes off, one of the moderators can make it a sticky.

I'd prefer not to create a sub-forum just for self-publishing, as most of the discussion in the existing forum already relates to self-publishing.
 

FarmerBrown

Troubadour
Thanks very much for updating the description! The publishing world really has seen drastic changes recently! As you and Devor said, there's a lot of great material on MS already, in a number of different threads, the key is maybe consolidating it.

Is it better to link to threads containing information and links, or copy the links and info and credit the thread creator?
 

Devor

Fiery Keeper of the Hat
Moderator
Is it better to link to threads containing information and links, or copy the links and info and credit the thread creator?

I think it's better to rewrite the information in a format that's consolidated for your purposes, and to then link to other resources if your consolidated format doesn't cover it.
 
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