In Good Company

What do Walt Whitman and the authors of Chicken Soup For The Soul have in common? Not much, you say? Well, okay, maybe not all that much. But there’s this: They were both self-published.

Plenty of authors have brought out their own work, sometimes because they couldn’t find a traditional publisher, sometimes for one reason or another they just wanted to go it on their own. Here are just a few examples of authors you might be surprised to know published their own work at least once in their careers:

E. E. Cummings

Beatrix Potter

Edgar Allan Henry David Thoreau

Poe (and take heart that his first efforts weren’t all that great)

Ernest Hemingway

Ezra Pound

William Blake

So there is no reason to feel second-rate if you are a DIY author. Check out the thread on Absolute Write for more examples and discussion.