Self-published is a bad word, right?

I know, this is a tech blog, but bear with me, I have some stuff to work out.

Long story short, I have a novel that took me five years to write, and has been done since November 2009. And by done, I mean that I wrote six drafts of it (a few completely from scratch) and when I put the final period on the last draft, the book was the book that I wanted it to be, maybe not perfect, but the book I wanted to write.

Fast-forward to the present day: The book has been around to several agents and publishers, most of whom have had very nice things to say about the book and the writing, but no one has taken it. Some have blamed the market, some have said they liked it but didn't "connect" with it. The list goes on. These are common rejections if you sit around a table with writers and listen to them tell their stories. Let me say right now that, while these rejections have been disappointing, I wouldn't go as far to say they were disheartening or discouraging. In some cases they were quite the opposite. Rejection is part of the writer's life and I've been rejected a ton, so I'm as used to it as can be. A sage teacher once revealed that he sent his stuff out expecting rejection, in fact early in his career he set out to collect rejections.

As the new year arrived, I wanted to start thinking fresh about my book and where I am with my writing and my life. Not only do I have this book done, but I'm almost finished with the first draft my next novel and I have a couple more in various stages of planning and completion. I have a job that keeps me in touch with writing and teaching, so I don't need to support myself with my writing.

The question becomes why do I write, anyway? Well, a big reason, the simplest reason, is that I'm a writer. Writers write, as the saying goes. But it's not just the acting of sitting your ass in a chair and pounding out a few hundred words. I do it because I can't not do it. I'm compelled by a drive that goes beyond the need for recognition and accolade and rests somewhere in the pit of my stomach: I have to say something and I have to say it for me. I have to write or I'm not me. There's more to it than this, but I don't want to get all self-helpy.

So back to the self-publishing thing. Most of my "professional" life has been in advertising, marketing and publishing. I've been a proofreader, a copy editor, an editor, a graphic designer, a marketing manager, a copywriter; I've done just about everything there is to do when it comes to the creation and promotion of printed media. I looked into some of the self-publishing options available now and, honestly, I'm impressed, particularly with LULU.com. Lulu has everything necessary to create a professional-quality book, including ISBN numbers, voluminous print options, templates for design, eBook distribution to Amazon and elsewhere, and other promo opportunities...the list goes on.  And I have the knowledge and ability to use lulu or another service to its full extent. Do I just go for it?

The only thing that continuing to send my  book out to agents and publishers would get me is the satisfaction of knowing that someone who already does what I know how to do has told me that I'm worthy of the effort of putting my book out there, right? Do I need someone to tell me that? Am I making excuses and short-cutting if I self publish? If the reason I write is because I have something I need to say that I hope others will find merit in, then why continue to court the middle man, when their tools are available to all now?

Yes, writers write. And I am a writer. But writing is an art form that is in many ways incomplete without the other side of the equation: the reader. If a writer's job is to give a reader just enough of the world in his mind that the reader can complete the picture in theirs, then shouldn't I seek out readers for my work? I felt strongly enough about this book to spend more than half a decade with it. Don't I then owe the work an audience, no matter how small? To put this in perspective, I started it when my daughter was one and now she's seven. Her whole life has been me with this book. I've grown it and suffered with it and felt proud of it. Should it then live the rest of its life in a box because others haven't found the same wonder in it that I have?

So, in  a world where the publishing industry is failing according to many and the means of production are available at a high level to everyone, should I release my book into the world to see how it fares and move on with my new projects, or is there a reason to keep pounding away at the traditional structure in the hopes of acceptance?

Any thoughts would be most appreciated.