Progress report, August 2026: The Celluloid Dungeon

I’ve only made a few edits to the manuscript since last month. Most of my energy has gone into researching the possibilities of self-publishing.

A Lover’s Pinch was published through the conventional process of finding an agent, submitting the manuscript to the agent, the agent submitting the manuscript to various publishers, and waiting for one of them to accept it. It did earn through its advance, which not all books do, and I still get a small amount of royalties from sales. However, I have some questions about the deal, and if I ever go through a publishing company again, I will do some things differently.

Conversations with other authors who write about similar topics make me wonder, however, if going through a publishing company is even the right path. The Celluloid Dungeon has a niche, controversial topic, and I might have more success promoting it than a publishing company. No matter how much (or little) effort a publisher puts into marketing a title, they still get their cut. Reviewing my royalties statement shows that the portion of total sales of paper copies that come from my direct, person-to-person sales keeps rising. In 2025, 25% of paper sales were through my own efforts.

However, self-publishing Celluloid Dungeon, in a way that meets my standards, will cost. Even if I do all the editing, copy-editing, proofreading, layout and cover design myself, I’d still want an index, and that costs thousands of dollars. I also want it to have a strong visual appeal, and that means paying licensing fees for photos, running at least a few hundred. I’m looking at four figures to do it right.

There’s also the problem of which companies to use. Amazon KDP is the 800 lb gorilla surrounded by 10 lb monkeys, at least in terms of ebooks and online sales. Getting it into brick & mortar stores means going through the IngramSpark system (even if you use another company) and they take their cut. But fighting for shelf-space in retail is no sure thing. There’s also direct sales companies to consider, if this title is best suited to that.