Stand in the middle of a group of writers and say the words… you’re bound to get a whole array of very heated opinions.
On the pro side, you will hear that self-publishing is the wave of the future. It frees authors from the petty tyrannies of the big, impersonal publishing houses who ignore art for the sake of the almighty dollar. But speaking of dollars, self-pubbed authors see a bigger piece of the post-sale pie. So take that.
And then there are the cons. Self-pubbed authors are hacks. They’re wanna-be writers who couldn’t make it in the “real” publishing world. They never have been and never will be taken seriously.
The truth lies somewhere between these two extremes. Certainly, self-publishing is easier today than ever before. In days of yore, an author who wanted to publish his own book had to work with a vanity press, requiring his out-of-pocket purchase of hundreds of books. It was a significant investment in a product that could very well languish in the trunk of said writer’s car.
Self-publishing has come a long way. With the advent of print-on-demand (POD) presses such as CreateSpace and Lulu, authors can hold a bookshelf-ready copy of their work for a miniscule upfront investment.
So how do you know whether or not self-publishing is right for you? If more than one of these statements describes you, you might be ready to take the plunge.
You are a master editor (or know someone who is). One of the biggest gripes industry professionals have about self-published books is that they’re badly written. While this is not true of all self-pubbed books, the ones that do fall into this category give everyone else a bad name. Before you submit your final copy, make sure you have gone over it thoroughly. Don’t rely on your word processor’s spelling and grammar checkers to catch errors. If you want to find elusive errors lurking in your text, try this: read it backwards. It makes your brain look at the actual words rather than filling in what you know should be there. Make sure there are no loose ends. Is your writing crisp and tight? If your work is fiction, have you mastered POV, show-versus-tell, and GMC? If so (and if you even know what I’m talking about) then you’re probably ready to move on.
You just want somebody, anybody, to read your book. You’re not in it for the fame. You don’t long to sit on Oprah’s couch or see your name on the NYT Bestseller List. You just want your book to be read. Even if it’s only by your friends and family.
You have connections. Of course, if you have a lot of friends and family, that’s a good thing. Word of mouth is one of the best ways to sell books, no matter how they’re published. Perhaps you’re a member of a huge fraternal organization. Or the pastor of a mega-church. Or Oprah’s next door neighbor. (It always come back around to O, doesn’t it?) Whatever connections you currently have can assist you when it’s time to let people know about your book.
You have a marketing plan. You can write the best book in the world and it won’t matter one bit if no one knows it exists. How are you going to let people know about your brilliant new work? Do you have a web site? A blog? Are you active in social networks like Twitter and Facebook? Are you part of a group of professionals that can help you get the word out? This is where you need to access those connections we spoke of earlier.
Your financial security does not depend on book sales. This is the biggie. If your hopes and dreams of a bright future for you and your family rest on the millions you’re going to make from your self-pubbed book, it’s time for a reality check. The majority of authors with books published by traditional houses do not make enough money to live solely on their writing income. It’s even harder for a self-published author. You need to be aware of this before you jump into the pool.
You are very patient. Everything in the publishing business moves slowly, whether you’re published by a well known house, or you do it yourself. So-called overnight successes like J.K. Rowling (whose Harry Potter novels were published by Scholastic) and William P. Young (author of the most recent self-pubbed success story, The Shack) actually worked hard for years before anyone outside their inner circle knew who they were. The sad truth is, most authors will never attain even a fraction of their success. But then that’s not why most of us do this, is it?
Publishing a book? Receive this FREE publishing guide and start your journey to publication.
On the pro side, you will hear that self-publishing is the wave of the future. It frees authors from the petty tyrannies of the big, impersonal publishing houses who ignore art for the sake of the almighty dollar. But speaking of dollars, self-pubbed authors see a bigger piece of the post-sale pie. So take that.
And then there are the cons. Self-pubbed authors are hacks. They’re wanna-be writers who couldn’t make it in the “real” publishing world. They never have been and never will be taken seriously.
The truth lies somewhere between these two extremes. Certainly, self-publishing is easier today than ever before. In days of yore, an author who wanted to publish his own book had to work with a vanity press, requiring his out-of-pocket purchase of hundreds of books. It was a significant investment in a product that could very well languish in the trunk of said writer’s car.
Self-publishing has come a long way. With the advent of print-on-demand (POD) presses such as CreateSpace and Lulu, authors can hold a bookshelf-ready copy of their work for a miniscule upfront investment.
So how do you know whether or not self-publishing is right for you? If more than one of these statements describes you, you might be ready to take the plunge.
You are a master editor (or know someone who is). One of the biggest gripes industry professionals have about self-published books is that they’re badly written. While this is not true of all self-pubbed books, the ones that do fall into this category give everyone else a bad name. Before you submit your final copy, make sure you have gone over it thoroughly. Don’t rely on your word processor’s spelling and grammar checkers to catch errors. If you want to find elusive errors lurking in your text, try this: read it backwards. It makes your brain look at the actual words rather than filling in what you know should be there. Make sure there are no loose ends. Is your writing crisp and tight? If your work is fiction, have you mastered POV, show-versus-tell, and GMC? If so (and if you even know what I’m talking about) then you’re probably ready to move on.
You just want somebody, anybody, to read your book. You’re not in it for the fame. You don’t long to sit on Oprah’s couch or see your name on the NYT Bestseller List. You just want your book to be read. Even if it’s only by your friends and family.
You have connections. Of course, if you have a lot of friends and family, that’s a good thing. Word of mouth is one of the best ways to sell books, no matter how they’re published. Perhaps you’re a member of a huge fraternal organization. Or the pastor of a mega-church. Or Oprah’s next door neighbor. (It always come back around to O, doesn’t it?) Whatever connections you currently have can assist you when it’s time to let people know about your book.
You have a marketing plan. You can write the best book in the world and it won’t matter one bit if no one knows it exists. How are you going to let people know about your brilliant new work? Do you have a web site? A blog? Are you active in social networks like Twitter and Facebook? Are you part of a group of professionals that can help you get the word out? This is where you need to access those connections we spoke of earlier.
Your financial security does not depend on book sales. This is the biggie. If your hopes and dreams of a bright future for you and your family rest on the millions you’re going to make from your self-pubbed book, it’s time for a reality check. The majority of authors with books published by traditional houses do not make enough money to live solely on their writing income. It’s even harder for a self-published author. You need to be aware of this before you jump into the pool.
You are very patient. Everything in the publishing business moves slowly, whether you’re published by a well known house, or you do it yourself. So-called overnight successes like J.K. Rowling (whose Harry Potter novels were published by Scholastic) and William P. Young (author of the most recent self-pubbed success story, The Shack) actually worked hard for years before anyone outside their inner circle knew who they were. The sad truth is, most authors will never attain even a fraction of their success. But then that’s not why most of us do this, is it?
Publishing a book? Receive this FREE publishing guide and start your journey to publication.
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