I stumbled across a Reddit “Am I The Asshole?” post that boiled my blood. A husband claimed to have self-published his wife’s novel without her permission. She’d told him at least once that she didn’t want to publish that way, but rather the traditional way, but he went ahead and got it published anyway. He also hired an editor and designed the cover himself.
Now, a lot of stuff that’s posted on Reddit is questionable. I have to hope he’s making things up for a reaction. He may even be the creation of a writer who’s having fun with a story idea. No one can be that selfish and ignorant of their spouse’s repeated wishes, right?!
I’ve had my fair share of people asking me why I don’t self-publish my novel. While there are benefits to doing so, there are also several drawbacks. It’s expensive, for one thing, if you want to do it well. Having to handle everything is another challenge. I kind of see it as a last resort; I want people to read my story, but I hope they can read it more traditionally.
Plus, having a literary agent helping me just seems wonderful. Who doesn’t want someone in their corner who has their back?
When I shared the AITA post with my husband, he said, “I guess now’s a bad time to tell you…”
He would never.
Someone commented that printing and binding one copy of the manuscript to have on the shelf is a sweet idea. I would like that. But printing copies and giving them out to family without the new author knowing should be considered a new form of treason.
Sara Mazariegos 