Writing your first book and publishing it yourself is a wonderful accomplishment. Completing a book marks the fulfillment of a lifetime goal for many. For some of you, it was an important part of your of your developing a sense of your professional identity. You now feel empowered to share your skill set with colleagues, clients and constituents in a brand new way.
It is a moment of life that should be taken in, savored, and celebrated. If you recently self published your first book, I hope you spend some time celebrating it. Congratulations.
Now, whats next?
While self publishing is a great way of putting your ideas out there, not everyone takes self published books as seriously as they do books published by traditional publishers. I know that my books with Columbia University Press, and an upcoming one with Oxford University Press, have a certain cachet that my self published book on writing for international and ESL scholars just does not have. This is not only true for academics, but for those in the business world as well. Having a book with a prestigious publisher can do things for your career that a self published book just can't do. This is not to denigrate self publishing, it has great value.
"Hold your horses Rich (you might be thinking). Not only does the idea of publishing with a traditional press seem unfeasible, but I don't even know if I am going to be able to write another book. I feel stuck! Yes, I want to write another book, but the first one was so hard. What do I do?"
If you resonate with any of the above, you are going to want to read this week's blog posts- they are being written for you!
It is a moment of life that should be taken in, savored, and celebrated. If you recently self published your first book, I hope you spend some time celebrating it. Congratulations.
Now, whats next?
While self publishing is a great way of putting your ideas out there, not everyone takes self published books as seriously as they do books published by traditional publishers. I know that my books with Columbia University Press, and an upcoming one with Oxford University Press, have a certain cachet that my self published book on writing for international and ESL scholars just does not have. This is not only true for academics, but for those in the business world as well. Having a book with a prestigious publisher can do things for your career that a self published book just can't do. This is not to denigrate self publishing, it has great value.
"Hold your horses Rich (you might be thinking). Not only does the idea of publishing with a traditional press seem unfeasible, but I don't even know if I am going to be able to write another book. I feel stuck! Yes, I want to write another book, but the first one was so hard. What do I do?"
If you resonate with any of the above, you are going to want to read this week's blog posts- they are being written for you!
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