To Self Publish or Not to Self Publish?

This is a debate I often have with myself and other writers.  For someone who has an MFA, the goal is to get a book deal, to court publishers til they want to convince the world for you that your work is the next masterpiece, the must have library ornament and literary read of this generation.  But for me, I am a playwright and my passion is getting the production that can make a credible voice in this world.  The book, anthology, other publishing opportunities for plays come after the major production.

So why even the self-publishing conversation?  Well, I have a little blog called Peace and Praise.  It's something of a ministry to me, a talking piece to encourage and inspire.  It isn't always on time - after all, it is just a hobby I like to do.  As autumn set in and leaves were falling, so was the thought that perhaps I should compile and publish these inspirations.  The MFAer in me kicked in - thoughts of writing book proposals, formal editing, hiring a graphic designer, thinking of a plan for my book's future.  After all, I honestly, when it boils down to it, don't want to be responsible for my own bookings, distributions - not to mention the fact that I'd have to pay for the printing out of my own pocket. Goodness, that just seemed so daunting!  Was that really what I desired for my Peace and Praise?  Wasn't it just supposed to be an inspiration?  

This is when the thought came back to me: what is my desire for this book?  Am I hoping to be the next T. D. Jakes or Rick Warren?  For me, right now, in this space, not really.  I decided that 30 Days of Peace and Praise is just to be that, a little book of inspiration.  That is my ministry, my hope, my desire, my love.  If it moves, awesome.  If not, it'll then bless those persons who desired it to.  This way, I can focus on my pipe dreams to be a recognized playwright, pursuing more earnestly and strategically producing theaters. 

My decision, this very morning, was to self-publish.  For my situation, I believe it works.  Maybe later, after my plays have really taken off, I'll think of courting a larger publisher for my Peace and Praise audience, having massive sold out book tours and speaking reading/speaking in front of sold out audiences.  For now, I think I'll just stick to trying to get the blog posts out on time.  

The cover will look something like what I'm posting below.