How many books have you sold?

I think it's a myth that 'self-publishing' is something you should be ashamed of. I think the only people who scorn self-publishers are the big-name publishers themselves, and the snobby reviewers in highbrow newspapers and magazines that no one reads anyway.

Yes, it's true -- most self-publishers won't sell that many books, but that's something you accept if you take this route. (Besides, most traditionally published books don't turn out to be blockbusters either as there's no marketing budget for everyone.)

Lulu.com, the company I used to set up and start distributing Drive to Nowhere, says its aim is to have one million authors selling 100 books each rather than 100 authors selling one million books each. Even Amazon has moved into the self-publishing market with CreateSpace which lets anyone sell their own book on Amazon (US).

The self-publishing of today is different to the vanity presses from ten years ago. Back then you'd have to order the stock yourself and pay for absolutely everything involved in the production. This was handy for an elderly family friend who published her memoirs and needed assistance with layout and editing. She didn't mind forking out the cost as she had the money and a story to tell. But these days, you can do it all online for free, so there's minimal risk involved. That is quite liberating!