Self Publishing
Mainstream and
Literary Fiction

Self Publishing Mainstream (non-genre) Literary Fiction

Note: If you're more interested in genre fiction, please check the navbar listings on the left margin.

It's you versus John Grisham, Jodi Picoult, James Patterson and Danielle Steel. Ready, set, go...

Whether you've been rejected by the publishing houses, or whether you've "been there, done that" and are sick of others owning your work, self publishing your novel is doable.

But it's going to require a lot of work.

Everyone who self publishes for the first time talks about just how much they had to learn. Well, the purpose of this page (and of this site) is to shortcut some of that learning.

Posted below are the real-life self publishing experiences of fiction authors who have taken on the publishing houses...and survived.

Here's your opportunity to learn from those who have been there (and many who plan to go right out and do it again!).

You'll read about successes and setbacks. You'll read about people who took

• editing
• printing
• marketing, and
• publicity...

...into their own hands.

Get some good ideas. Learn about stumbling blocks you might be able to sidestep.

These self publishing stories are posted free for your use. All I ask is that you take the trouble to Rate and Comment on each account that you read. That way the more helpful ones will rise to the top. After all, this is The SHARED Self Publishing Experience.

Best of luck spinning your own story of self publishing success!

Page down to read the literary fiction self publishing stories.

Have you written and published mainstream fiction? Share your experience!

(For genre fiction, see the navbar on the left margin.)

You'll get a link to your site as well as to an Amazon listing for your book.

Write as complete and helpful an account as you can! (These self publishing stories will be rated.)

Tell everyone what you're doing to try to succeed in the fiction publishing world! Share with everyone how you approach this market.

Please note: Your account should be about your experience, NOT about how wonderful your book is! Promotional material WILL be rejected.

Writers of mainstream and literary fiction share their experience.

Leaving a Whodunit Behind 
What a rollercoaster - I wish I'd been a nurse!

I had long been convinced that I would surely die soon. I wasn't ill, other than a pronounced penchant ...

Art and Literature on the Web 
Proud Independence!

I entrusted my masterpiece to iUniverse in 2006. Like others on this site, I felt a little orphaned once the process was complete....

School Nurse Self Publishes 
A self - published baby boomer learns the ropes

I chose not only to write and self-publish my first novel, but to create my own publishing company ...

Redneck Novel 
Novel Approach to Rednecks

After being prodded by my redneck friends for a long time, I spent a year writing a book about rednecks. We had decided ...

Novel Ideas About Self Publishing 
Self-publishing as a wall, a valuable wall

Hang around in an online community for a while, or ask strangers in the metro, and you will meet an endless ...

The Right Choice at the Right Time? 
While writing Upbound, I never thought about the issue of publishing, let alone considered self-publishing (independent publishing) as an option-ah, those ...

How I Said Yes to Myself for a Novel 38 Years in the Making 
I’ve wanted to share the story told in MRS. LIEUTENANT: A SHARON GOLD NOVEL for 38 years, ever since I was a new Mrs. Lieutenant at Ft. Knox, Kentucky,...

Workington Dynamo 
This is self-publishing only because I did it myself. The novel here is listed as published and distributed by Lulu.com, the largest print-on-demand operation ...

Publish or (and?) Die 
How do you tell the person you love most in the world that you are going to die? The doctor gave me the news late in the afternoon and after I got home ...

A Writers Dilemma.  
From the moment I learned to write I loved to doodle and write on a piece of paper. With a pencil in hand and a piece of paper,always close beside me.

As ...

Choosing self-publishing 
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 ...

After Fifty Rejections What Are We To Do With Our Four Hundred Page Manuscript? 
You just spent two years writing a novel, explored the annals of your memory, took out every book in the library to properly research the subject and even ...

Great Expectations 
I had great expectations when I published a novel through iUniverse in 2004. Above all, I expected to beat the odds; I expected my POD novel would some ...

Passionate Pursuits 
I didn't even think about publishing a book! But it's never too late to discover a new passion in life.

We had it all...a happy marriage, a thriving ...

Maintain Control of Your Manuscript by Publishing it Yourself 
I've been a writer a long time and have collected many horror stories associated with publishers, agents and editors. Over the last 30 years, media has ...

Toronto author wins U.S. awards, then gets agent - here's what happened! 
I wrote Moondance while working full-time as a communication consultant in the pension and benefit industry. After many years of work, rounds of edits,...

Don't expect self-publishing to be easy 
Genre: Literary fiction and children's fiction

Many aspiring writers and authors set out to write a novel in the expectation that a publisher out there ...

The "Minnie" Joys of Self-Publishing 
After volunteering at a nursing home during my sophomore year, a story began forming in my head. Characters began to turn three-dimensional and plot twists ...

With Regards to Promotion and Self Publishing 
In 1996, after writing my first book for four years, I finished JOHNNY MAC. I knew nothing about the publishing industry, and had no connections with any ...

AuthorHouse,UK 
I self published my first novel,Clouded Crescent:Garrulous Goon through AuthorHouse UK in July 2007.Despite of ISBN allotments,POD has no demand and according ...

• new mainstream fiction accounts posted to the site
• other ways The Shared Self Publishing Experience can be used to your advantage
• tips on crafting a website that'll attract real traffic for your book(s)!

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