Traditional publishing has a gatekeeping structure that does not favor debut authors writing in new genres. Large houses require an agent. Agents prefer established categories. Cozy science fiction does not fit neatly into any of them. After learning this through research and a few polite rejections, I turned to self-publishing, specifically to a hybrid publisher called Authors Publishing House. Here is what that experience has actually looked like, including cover art, professional editing, formatting, distribution, and the moment my sister texted me to say the book was live on Amazon before I even knew it had gone up.
