As a writer, I am needy by definition and need ego gratification to help keep me motivated. If you’re a writer, that probably applies to you as well. It doesn’t matter if we’re talking about freelance writing, copy writing, web content authoring or your novel. You want to see your hard work in print.
I am also a subscriber to Writer’s Digest. I was perusing the latest issue when I began to take notice of the amount of advertisements of self-publishing companies. The October 2008 issue has no less than 18 ads for these services. That tells me that this is big business in the writing world.
You’re So Vain…
In the past, self publishing was partly done through what was known as a “vanity press”. (It was important that if you were a real writer, you looked down your nose and said this with a certain amount of disdain.) Self publishing was seen as something that no serious novelist would ever consider. Using a vanity press was just for that very reason – vanity.
It’s a very different world today. Technology has made it easier than ever for an author to get their work printed and bound at prices that are significantly less than they were a decade or so ago. Many authors have turned to this method to get their works out into the world. Some are very happy with their decision, others – not so much. If you think self publishing is a way to bypass the gruelling and sometimes frustrating work that is required to publish via the normal channels, then you should be prepared to be very disappointed.
No Short Cuts
Self publishing your work will result in a tangible product in your hands. A book. With your name on it. How cool is that? I agree it is extremely gratifying to hold that book and to see all of your labor in printed form. But that is just the beginning. Now the real work begins. Now, you’re not an author, you’re a salesperson. Prepare yourself for many, many hours of marketing. You’re going to be pitching to bookstores and distributors until you are blue in the face. Just be ready for it, ok?
Pros and Cons
Here’s the positives about self publishing:
- Your book. In print. A proud day indeed.
- If you do it correctly, you may do well.
- If you do it correctly, you may open doors.
- If your book has a small market, ie: a family history book, self publishing may be your only option for seeing the book in print.
- Your holiday shopping for the year is essentially done.
Ok, the not-so-positive things:
- You will have to take some valuable writing time off and become a marketer.
- You will have to prove to everyone that yours is a quality, salable book.
- Depending on how you self publish, you may have little control over distribution.
- Finding a distributor is sometimes as difficult as finding a traditional publisher.
- You must be prepared to deal with the stigma associated with self publishing your work.
If you’re going to do it
Once you have made the decision to self publish there are two critical points to keep in mind:
- Do your research! Decide which type of self publishing you’d like to do and narrow your choices to two or three companies. Find out all that you can about cost, distribution (if any) and the fine print of the publishing contract.
- Don’t you dare submit anything until you have retained the services of a professional editor and proofreader. Do not go it alone. Your manuscript has mistakes! Take the time and expense to hire the help necessary to make your book the very best it can be. This will all be returned to you ten-fold by making the marketing and distribution of your work a lot easier. If all of these things are done correctly, the quality of your book in terms of appearance, professionalism and layout will be as good or better than anything the big houses will put out for you.
The decision to self publish is not an easy one. Take the time to do your research and to ask yourself an important question: Why am I doing this? if the answer boils down to just being impatient, then maybe you should think again.
Way out of my league. Sounds like a lot of hard work. I’ll just stick to blogging and maybe an ebook or two…
Dee Langdon – BloggerNewbie´s last blog post..How Do You Balance Work and Life?
Nice post. Particularly critical point #2. To that, I would add that a professional editor is just that — someone who does this for a living. Giving it to your husband the high school English teacher to read is a good start, but he won’t necessarily know how to help you make your book better.
When you go through agents/traditional publishers, they make sure your book is polished before it hits the streets. If you do that for yourself as a self-published author, you’re giving yourself a mighty advantage over the other self-published writers.
@ Dee: Indeed. No one would blame you.
@WheatmarkSusan: Point well taken. There are trade-offs to everything, decisions need to be well thought and considered.
Nice to see you here, thanks for coming by.
Cheers!
George
WheatmarkSusan – Just FYI I went to Wheatmark and looked around a bit. It looks like a great resource so I’ve added a link to the site on my “For Writers” page.
Cheers!
Hey, thanks for the link.
Writers definitely need to think about their decisions carefully. Directions that might work for some won’t work for others. I think some authors get so caught up in getting their book in print NOW NOW NOW that they miss some good opportunities. Better an excellent book in print next year than a mediocre one three months from now.
Oooh good points. Now can you do some more in depth articles about self publishing vs not self publishing…including the top places to go for each, etc?
I’m in the process of writing a book, but the whole publishing part seems a bit daunting. I do know though that I want complete control of the manuscript and how much it sells for and where, etc. I also hate the thought of some other party getting tons of money if it sells off of something I put a lot of work into…
Ashley,
No pun intended but I’m glad to see we’re on the same page!
My next post (probably this weekend) will be to de-mystify and clarify the terminology that relates to self publishing. There are a lot of terms that are kind of misleading and a little confusing, so I’ll work on sorting them out.
Thanks for stopping by!
Cheers,
George
Great job on this article. Your graphic really pops and the content prevents valid and new (not overplayed) points.
Hi Jessie,
Always good to see you here. I appreciate the input and I’ll keep trying to keep things fresh.
Cheers
George
You are very, very good at that. I am really loving your blog. I intend to stop by very, very often.
Jessie´s last blog post..Want to be a Freelance Writer?
Would a writer be good at marketing? I mean generally. Seems like two very different skill sets.
I really liked your joke about holiday gifts
Kim Woodbridge | (Anti) Social Development´s last blog post..5 Ugly WordPress Themes
@Jessie: Thanks! I’ll be happy to see you here!
@Kim: That’s an excellent point, and one I think a writer needs to throw into their decision matrix.
Hehe, I kinda liked the holiday gifts thing myself. I am my own best audience.
Cheers
George
What with Amazon’s Create-space and Lulu and others of the same ilk, it is even easier for writers to self-publish and not have to outlay a lot of money upfront.
A blogger friend sent me his book he had done on Lulu and the quality of the book is comparable to anything mainstream publishers would produce, the writign was great too which is important.
Hey Mik.
That’s a good point. Cost is something to be considered for sure. In a lot of ways it is a viable option for folks. Again, seeking the services of a professional editor is crucial.
George