Ask the book Doctor.

Dear Dr. Rosie,

I am tired of having my manuscript rejected. I am considering the self-publishing route. But should I keep trying to get it published with a mainstream house, or should I self-publish?

Dear Author,

This question requires a long answer and some soul-searching on your part. In order to decide if self-publishing is the right route, you must first decide what your motivation is? Here are some questions you might ask yourself to help decide whether to self-publish or not?

* Are you interested in sharing your knowledge?

* Do you want the personal satisfaction of being published?

* Are you seeking credibility for your work?

* Are you a speaker with an audience, and will your book be an additional profit-making opportunity?

* Do you want fame?

* Will a book advance your career?

* Are you seeking to make writing a new career, and want to quit your job?

A word of advice: Don't quit your day job, at least not yet. The problem you're encountering, lies not in the fact that you don't have an agent to represent you or a publisher for your book, the real issue lies in the fact that you've failed to clearly understand what your motives are for publishing.

When you have been rejected over and over again, your only option may be to self-publish, if you want to see your work in print. Remember, there's nothing wrong with being a self-published author. These authors once self-published their books:

E. Lynn Harris Invisible Life John Grisham A Time to Kill Robert T. Kiyosaki Rich Dad, Poor Dad Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hanson Chicken Soup for the Soul

Writing a book and self-publishing a book require different skills. Writing is an art, self-publishing is a business venture.

Whether your book is published by a mainstream publisher or self-published, you should consider your book a "business." Even if you get a mainstream publisher, you should still view your book as a business, just not one that involves only you. You must get involved in marketing your book to make it a success. If you self-publish, you are in business for yourself, and for the most part you're in it all by yourself.

It's important that you ask yourself these questions:

* Do you have the entrepreneurial spirit?

* Are you a self-starter?

* Are you highly motivated?

* Do you have a thick skin, or will you be crushed when others reject or criticize your work?

* Are you willing to take risks?

* Can you afford to spend thousands of dollars to get your book published?

* Can you put the profits from the book back into the business? If not, you may not be able to reprint your book when it sells out?

Unfortunately, that's happened to too many self-published writers. They take money from their household budget or living expenses to publish their books, and replace the money with funds from book sales. They can't afford to plow money back into their books, and aren't able to follow through. That's not a good practice.

The book business is like any other business; you must have start-up capital. If your book is successful, oftentimes major publishers will take an interest in your work and want to publish your book. However, you may just want to reject their offer if you already have a following, a website and great distribution.

Whether your goal is to get published by a large publisher or to self-publish, you should obtain the services of a professional book consultant to help you produce a quality product.

Find a copy editor and a proofreader. Don't edit your book yourself. And don't have a friend do it for you, unless your friend is a professional editor. Even though your friend may be an English teacher, she may not be good at editing a book.

If your book is fiction, you should consider having it story-edited as well. Have your cover designed by a professional graphic artist or designer, and make sure you have your book professionally formatted. Packaging is a very important aspect in the sale of your book. The format of your book must be reader friendly. A point size that is too large is as hard on the eye as one that's too small. A 12-point type size is good. Ideally, you shouldn't go below an 11-point type size.

Today's technology with on-demand printing, the Internet, literary services and professional book packaging services have made the job of self-publishing much easier. Many on-demand publishers also provide book fulfillment services.

These services make self-publishing more attractive, since the author doesn't have to bother with packing, shipping or collecting money for book sales. Some on-demand printers, however, do not bill or collect money. They may only own the warehouse and ship books to customers. But they do charge a warehouse fee and shipping charges.

What you are left with when using these services is marketing your book and doing what you love the most--writing.

E-mail Dr. Rosie at [e-mail].