Goodbye 2010

Should You Self-Publish Your First Novel?

I would still advise newbie writers to take a print deal, even a bad one, with a reputable house over self-publishing their first book.
--Lee Goldberg

I agree with Lee for several reasons:

1) If you can't make it past the Gatekeeper (even once), then how do you know your writing is good enough to be published?

2) A print deal is still the best way to get your name out there, and the notoriety will benefit you greatly even if you decide to go indie later on (as it has Lee Goldberg and Joe Konrath, among others).

3) The experience you gain working with in-house editors will make you a better writer.

4) There's nothing in the world like getting a call of acceptance from an agent or editor. It means all your hard work has finally paid off, you finally did it, you finally broke through. In most cases it means you busted your ass working on your craft for years. There's no substitute for writing and throwing away hundreds of thousands or words. You can't buy that. You can't learn it in a classroom.

So, even if you plan to go indie eventually, I believe a print deal with a reputable house is still the best way to go right out of the box.

Thoughts?