Saima Jamaal
When an author takes the whole of publishing process into his own hands as per his resources, without prior prop-up of any publishing company is what we label as Self-Publishing. And the process includes all such elements of publishing that of Printing, Editing, Proof-reading, Cover-designing, book-marketing, promotion, formatting and all such perks that make a person rest in authorship. As of every single process on the globe, self-publishing too is not away from both pros and cons. But the way self-publishing is getting more a ruthless business rather than a publishing platform is certainly awful.
Past a year, I was invited to a book launch ceremony, least did shock me the raw content and memoir of the book rather booklet, as did the petty age and experience of the author. The process of only “Monetary Give And Take” in the school of self-publishing is ruining the essence of writing as a skill, crucially.
As, today, anything is getting published in the name of publishing. It pains my psyche to imagine kids in the nearest future as published authors merely out of their pocket money. The whole of conscious reader and writer community must be regarding it a curse that lets just quantity flow rather than the quality. This way the actual worth and essence is taken aback.
Undoubtedly, self-publishing acts as a boon in terms of time-consumption, copyright, royalty terms and so on. But making money and circulating qualitative content are two contrast concepts.
Self-publishing houses are not though away from editors and proof-readers but most of the content I’ve gone through seems least qualitative. Either the fault lies with the editors or the money that covers the actual formation of image on the retina. Here is an open request to the self-publishing houses of the valley to maintain the actual essence of writing and literature by not letting it become every Tom, Dick and Harry’s cup of tea. Content must be edited, proof-read, scrutinized and rejected as well. I, myself, being a self-published author am liking to highlight what I take as experience.
The industrious and potential authors too get disgraced in the shade of such meager coverage. If self-publishing is taken forth balanced, both as a platform and business; it certainly provides the author with greater creative control and longer shelf life that eventually compensates even the lesser visibility, too.
If you think of publishing a book, do publish a book rather than the collection of just anything on fewer pages, paying off bucks and staining the actual grace of an author.
Let us plot an example of a teen-ager/minor who self-publishes a so-called book of 30-40 pages, there surely is no space left to dive in for the search of potential ideas and experience. On the contrary, gracing that little head as an author actually illusionizes him of what he is yet incapable of. Hereby, breaking the ice of illusions in the world of literature becomes a moral duty, too. Publishing a book must be like a publication, rather than” The cat is out of the bag”.
Saima Jamaal is an Author and an Anchor.
