Choosing self-publishing

by Behcet Kaya
(Thousand Oaks, California)

Voice of Conscience

Voice of Conscience is my first novel. I felt compelled to write a story of a troubled man and how he faces his inner demons. Voice of Conscience actually started out as a screen-play, but I soon realized how limiting that form of writing was. There was so much more I wanted to describe and express, but of course found out it was not as easy as I thought. I wanted to create a character that was honest, intelligent and successful, but experienced a life changing event. My endeavor was to show how this tragic event shaped the life of Ramzi, how he ultimately handled the situation and his quest for redemption. When I started Voice of Conscience, I knew the essence of the story - the beginning, the middle and the ending. But all the details came slowly, so I kept reading the classics and then the story (as they say) wrote itself. In the process of writing Voice of Conscience there were many times of intense emotions evoking creative expression, the need to know, the need to feel, the need to express.

After four years of labor, many rewrites and hours of editing, I finalized the writing of Voice of Conscience and I was ready to put my story ‘out there.‘ But, I was faced with a conundrum. After numerous submissions and rejections, I realized agents love to reject unpublished writers’ work regardless of the quality and I became both discouraged and disappointed. It seemed to me that getting published was like asking to be king. The choice to self-publish was not an easy one, especially with the lingering prejudice of the public and most large book conglomerates against self-published work, but, I felt it was my only choice at the time. Little did I know that getting published is just the beginning – self-promotion takes over and it is, indeed, a full time job.

I evaluated the major POD companies and finally chose Outskirts Press because they offered all the resources I was looking for, including press release services, international exposure, worldwide distribution, wholesale distribution, listing on e-retailers, E-book format, author web page, sales sheet, and an ongoing marketing coach to help guide the way.

So, now I was published. What next? I began with reviews - family, friends, colleagues, and professional reviewers. As the reviews started coming in, I began submitting my novel to local libraries. My novel is now carried by numerous libraries in the Los Angeles and Ventura County areas, as well as Portland, Boulder and Philadelphia. Next came independent book stores and with that came several book signings and book events. To help promote, I designed my own poster and postcards. Wherever I may be, I always have my postcards with me and enjoy handing them out and talking about my novel. I have submitted my novel to several book fairs including the London Book Fair in April and the Los Angeles Book Expo in May. I joined and am active with numerous blogs including Authors Den, Writers Café, Book Marketing Network, Published.com, Self Publishers Place and Axis Avenue. With blogs there is both the advertising and connections with readers and well as other writers. I also joined IWOSC (Independent Writers of Southern California) as well as Toastmasters.

With all the attention my book is now drawing, my hope is that a literary agent will notice the reviews, will notice all the Google sites where my novel is found around the world and will want to represent me to a major publisher.

In addition to Voice of Conscience, I have had several published short stories in the Taj Mahal Review, realtraveladventures.com and my short story "Blizzard" has been published on Amazon.Shorts. I have started my next two novels and both are in different stages of development. One will be a follow-up to Voice of Conscience; the story of Erin as she returns to Turkey to follow her heritage. The other novel will be on a different track, the story of a US naval officer, who again, is faced with a life altering experience.

Having grown up in Turkey, attending school in England, and now proudly calling myself an American citizen, I feel most fortunate to have been exposed to an extensive world view and I am privileged to enjoy the best of both worlds. I enjoy traveling home to my village to the house where I was born, to my roots, and I enjoy living in Southern California and hiking in the mountains which brings me closer to my inner peace, but my first love remains writing stories. My ‘day job’ is a side bar, a necessity of life, although I enjoy my machine building as another creative outlet. I am also a voracious reader, Shakespeare is my favorite, but I am working my way through the classics, Dickens, Tolstoy, Dostoyevsky, Dumas, Hugo, and Yashar Kemal.

My advice to fellow self-published authors – you’ve worked long and hard to tell your story, now go out and promote yourself!

Visit Behcet's Village.