Usually I reserve Mondays for guests and I know I've been having a lot of visitors lately, but I promise I'll be back in full blogging capacity soon with tales from my first book release, blog tours, promo, and working under a deadline during all of it. (As soon as I catch my breath, lol.)

But today, I have the lovely Stephanie Haefner stopping by to chat with us about her publishing journey. AND she's holding a contest to win a copy of her book Soap Dreams!

BLOG TOUR ALERT: Find out what made me strip in public in today's interview over at Romance with Attitude.

Indie Vs Self-Publishing and My Choice

by Stephanie Haefner

These days there are endless ways to get your words and stories out there for the world to enjoy. Every author has their preference and their own reasons for pursuing their publishing dreams the way they have. But for newbies just starting out, those who have just finished their book and polished it, it's sometimes really hard to know what is best.

After a couple years trying to break into publishing the old fashioned way, by querying an agent, my books were still on my hard drive, unpublished. I adored them...especially my second, I just did not want to give up. Deep down I knew it was good, but I was out of ideas. I'd been told it was well-written. I think it was a case of the market being over what I had written (Dare I say the dirty word...chick lit!). But I knew people still loved reading the kinds of stories I liked to write...and read.

At that point self-publishing was starting to get big. And I did consider it. I even got a quote from a website that other writers I knew had used. For a couple hundred dollars, my book would be available for sale on a print on demand status and I would have a copy to hold in my hands. But I just couldn't do it. I would've had no support. I couldn't afford to pay an editor to help me. I knew nothing about cover art design. And for me, probably the biggest part, I needed someone to tell me my book was good. I knew it in my heart, but I really needed that outside unbiased opinion. I needed a professional in this industry to validate my talent...that I was right to give up my prior career to pursue this dream that only a couple years earlier I didn't even know I had.

Then I came across a listing online of small independent digital publishers. I wasn't completely sold on it for my career. Was a small unknown company really the best way to get my book in readers hands? And I'd wanted to see my book on a bookstore shelf. But then I shook myself and said "What the hell?" and submitted my book to a couple of the digital publishers who'd accepted women's fiction. It might not have been my ideal, but it was a start. Two weeks later there was a contract in my inbox and I'd stared at that email in shock.

And now I sit two and a half years since that day, and have never been more thankful I sent that submission. The support of my publisher, Lyrical Press, Inc, has been completely amazing. I don't know if I've ever met anyone more organized or on top of their business. And so so personal! They seem to do more for their authors than other small presses I've come across. I have the best editor on the planet who has taught me so much. The cover art is fantastic! They have given me so much that I know I would have never been able to get on my own had I chosen to self publish.Each writer needs to find their own way. And my journey is not the ideal journey for others. But I honestly have zero regrets.

Thank you for having me Roni! And I'd love to give away a digital copy of my second chance romance called Soap Dreams. Just leave a comment!

And you can visit Stephanie over at her blog The Writer's Cocoon.