Premeditating Writer

Jamie was just about to set the plate in front of Moldoun when she stopped suddenly; just at that moment, getting off a motorcycle, there was the woman with jet-black hair. Jamie’s skin prickled all over.

“Sometimes I see things I want to see all the time,” Jamie blurted. She watched the woman take off her helmet and shake her long hair free. The entire restaurant grew hushed. Dishes stopped clinking; the hum of conversations drew far into the background. A deep excitement settled on Jamie as she watched the woman inspect her reflection in the side mirror of the motorcycle.

The young woman walked in with a slight sway to her hips and sat at the table by the door, Jamie could see hidden smiles and trailing looks. At that moment, Jamie wished she didn’t look and feel so tired and that her hair wasn’t in such disarray.

After taking a few other orders, Jamie walked over to the table where the black-haired beauty was sitting. She stacked the cup on top of the plate that had been left there by a previous patron, and wiped the surface of the table. The young woman’s hands rested on her lap, and Jamie watched them, with their thin, blue veins. On her left hand she wore a silver ring etched with an intricate design. Her nails were ragged and half-eaten, the skin around them uneven.

Jamie caught the young woman studying her. She became acutely aware that she was taking in her pink uniform, her army boots, and her black bandana wrapped around her left wrist. Jamie shifted uneasily in her confining uniform. She felt ridiculous.

The young woman spoke. “You’re new here, aren’t you?” Her voice was throaty. It came up from somewhere deep inside her chest. Jamie noticed that she was braless, and the gauzy fabric emphasized her nipples.


“Not that new. Ten days old,” said Jamie, smiling.

The young woman ran a small red tongue over her upper lip. “You’re tall.”

Jamie sent her a look from under her long bangs, which nearly covered her eyes.

“And muscular.”

“I like your bike,” Jamie said.

“You do? Really?”

“Really.” It pleased Jamie to see how eagerly she had sought her approval.

“It makes me feel powerful and free. You know, being out in the open with nothing between you and the air.”

Jamie wanted to hear her voice a little longer. “A car can do that too.”

“Not the same. I like the attention I get from riding it.”

“It’s a Suzuki TC 100, right?

The girl’s face lit up. “How do you know?”

“I know a good deal about motorcycles," Jamie said. "Had one when I lived in LA, a Kawasaki. It was a real beauty. I used to take long rides to Laguna Beach, sometimes all the way to San Francisco. Fact is, I’m thinking of buying another one.”

“Really? I know this guy, Jed, he rides a Kawasaki. It’s totally cool looking. Orange with lots of chrome.”

“Cool.”

The girl threw a glance at Jamie. “I love my bike, but it runs bad when I put the carburetor cover back on.”

“Could be a restricted air flow to the carb.”

Do you self publish or go the route of traditional publishing.


I've read a lot of stuff over the years about self-publishing versus "traditional" publishing and, depending on what I've read and where I've read it, I can see pros and con arguments for either method. Mind you, I am not talking about "vanity press" here. Self-publishing does include vanity press, but I am referring specifically to POD (print-on-demand or publish-on-demand). Vanity press involves paying a company to print 500 or more copies for you to stock in your house. They are not involved in distribution and promotion.

POD, on the other hand, is a process by which you upload your manuscript to one of many online companies and have it on hand for ordering. Note that these companies print copies on demand. Some charge a setup fee for this service, while others (like Lulu.com and CreateSpace.com) are free.

This sounds easy. Right? Not so fast. It’s difficult to distribute your self-publish book to bookstores. They usually are snobs about self-publishing. On the other hand, with traditional publishing, while the publisher picks up your book, most likely they won't promote it.

There is no denying the prestige of having your book published by an established publisher. But, while having a known publisher provide some prestige, some writers prefer to have total control over their novel.

Whichever trajectory you decide to follow, the following are some examples of the advantages and disadvantages of either route:

Advantages of Self-Publishing reference

• You control the cover, marketing, content, editing, and price

• Near instant publication

• You retain the rights of the content after publication

• Most likely you will make more money per book

• Anyone can publish

Disadvantages of Self-Publishing

• Greater potential to publish substandard books

• No free professional editing, formatting, or cover art

• A stigma attached with self-publishing

• Less than 10% of current book market

• The average self-published book is likely to sell no more than 250 copies

Advantages of Traditional Publishing

• Marketing power

• Wide distribution

• Advance could be very substantial

• They edit, format, and do the cover art

Disadvantages of Traditional Publishing

• Difficult to break into

• Don’t involve you in many of the decision about your book

• Measly royalty rates, between 6% and 25%

• Six to eighteen months before your book sees the light of day

• Since they don’t use their marketing power effectively, you still have to go and promote your own book

• They pay royalties twice a year



I would be interested in hearing your experiences, opinion, or otherwise gripe about publishing in general.