Title: The Second Mouse Gets the Cheese: How To Avoid the Traps of Self-Publishing
Author: Carolyn Poling Schriber
Genre: Non-Fiction, How-To
Reviewer: Joyce Faulkner
ISBN (links go to the MWSA Amazon store): 0982774559
You've heard the expression, "The early bird gets the worm, but the second mouse gets the cheese." Which would you prefer? You are probably not terribly fond of worms. You don't even want to think about what the first mouse gets.
What does that have to do with self-publishing? Quite a lot, actually. The publishing industry has undergone something of a seismic shift in the past year. If you follow internet discussions about traditional publishing, you'll find authors being urged to make the shift to e-books and self-publishing, because that's where the "cheese" is.
Perhaps so, but the shift is not an easy one. The self-publishing option is full of traps for unwary little mice who jump into the fray without the necessary understanding of what all is involved. Carolyn Schriber’s first self-published historical novel, Beyond All Price, was on life-support for nearly a year. Then it made a spectacular recovery, winning two book awards and remaining on some of Amazon Kindle's "Top 100 Bestseller " lists for nearly two months. That was her piece of the cheese.
Now she is willing to share her story. She blogged about her experiences, starting with the first decision about self-publication. She kept track of her success and failures. She offered snippets of advice to other would-be writers. Now all those crumbs of information come together in an anecdotal account of what she learned and what you, too, need to know in order to get your piece of the cheese.
