I clearly vowed to never self-publish again, and yet, I did. Why?

I continued to write, simply for me, not for money. I enjoy it. I certainly wouldn't MIND some money, but I'm not expecting it. I hope to be able to continue enjoying writing.

The story of "The Shopping Cart Man" came to me strong and hard one day, as I pondered how I could have done a better job in helping a homeless man that I was sure just wanted to "buy beer." Seeing him split a kid's meal with a homeless lady left a searing, indelible imprint on my memory. As I thought of how I could have done better, and the "what if" scenario of how the man could have been helped, the story for "The Shopping Cart Man" came flooding to me.

It took a year to put it into the resulting novel. But, it was an enjoyable year. I embellished the story, enhanced the characters, made the experience more intriguing. "What would it be like if one of the characters was mute?" I pondered. "Why would he be mute? What happened to him?..."

It was enjoyable writing. It was totally original. It was fun expression.

I let family and friends read it. They weren't just kind, they seemed to sincerely enjoy it. Several said it reminded them of the kind of show that would be "on the Hallmark Channel."

Around Christmas season, my new friends who ran a seasonal store in the Mall asked if I wanted to sell my other book there again. They also asked if I had anything more to sell.

Knowing I did NOT want to self-publish, I also knew that I was in no position to get my Christmas book published in time. I was still putting final touches on it...

I weighed the opportunities and risks.

It was a Christmas-themed book (although not solely a Christmas book). Theirs was a Christmas store.

They were willing to let me do a window display, signings at-will, and even a poster.

It was a smallish store, with few other books, so mine wouldn't get lost in the shuffle.

I decided to risk it. I printed 500 copies, which was 10 times what I estimated I'd sell, but was at the best cost per book ratio. Being a Christmas story, I figured that it could be sold again on succeeding Christmases, so that I wouldn't have to recoup all of my printing costs in the first year.

I also decided that I could try selling off the first printing, and then hope that it would get noticed and picked up by an actual publisher. And, if it sold well, perhaps the track record would make it more appealing to a publisher.

I went forward with it. I did several signings. This time, it continued to sell even when I wasn't there doing signings. It sold well enough that I recouped about 80% of my costs. That far exceeded what I had hoped. That means that it's still not a money-maker, but it's also not a money-pit, either. In fact, it indicates that it has potential.

So, in the succeeding months, I did pursue formal publication, but as of now, it is still solely a self-published item. I hope that no one holds that against me...

It is far from easy to break into this business. Clearly, I need an agent....

Read the original "Lines of our Times" post here.