Self-Publishing: What it is, Who it's For, And How it Works
Iâve talked about a lot of different things on here, but ironically, one thing I havenât actually really talked about is publishing and publishing options and quite a few of my readers donât actually know much about how the publishing process works. So, for the next few weeks on Mondays, Iâll be blogging about the publishing process. I also have a few guests who will tell us about their experiences publishing.
If youâve written a novel and want to pursue publication, you really have two main options. You can self-publish or you can publish traditionally. Self-publishing is where you publish the book instead of a publishing house. Traditional publishing is where a publishing house does it. I canât fit the basics of each in this post (heck, I can hardly fit one into one post), so Iâm going to focus on self-publication first.
In self-publishing (also known as âindependent publishingâ), you are the one in charge of publishing your book, so everything that has to do with your book is your responsibility.
What the general public doesnât realize is that in traditional publishing, authors have next to no say over things like their book covers and the advertisements and marketing done by the publisher. In self-publishing, you get to be in control of all that. You also get to upload your manuscript (novel) as an ebook straight up onto places like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Kobo. Sounds pretty great, right?
But this also leads to some pitfalls, and unfortunately, stigmas in the self-publishing route. If you donât know how to properly format your document into an ebook, or your abilities of cover design come from Paint, or youâre not a very good editor (or you didnât edit at all), you can end up publishing something perfectly crappy. Because anyone who knows how to use the internet can âself-publish,â you see a lot of âbooksâ that need ⌠help. This is why there is a stigma. Luckily, as more time goes on, the stigma gets weaker, and today youâll no longer get (as many) people looking down their noses at you for self-publishing as you did in years ago.
There are some fantastic books out there that are self-published, from authors who have worked extremely hard at getting them right. Self-publishing may be readily accessible, but that doesnât mean that being a successful self-published author is easy. In fact, in some ways itâs harder than getting traditionally publish. Your bookâs success depends on your marketing and business abilities, and you donât have a marketer to back you up.
Many wise self-published authors take advantage of professional services. After they revise and edit their story themselves, they hire a professional editor to edit their manuscripts. If they donât know how to do cover designs (and a good cover takes more than just knowing how to make things look pretty in Photoshop), they hire someone to make a cover. Same with formatting. Keep in mind that these are all expenses that must come out of the writerâs own pocket (different than traditional publishing).
Here are some examples of successful books that have been self-published.
Some genres lend themselves better to self-publishing than others. If you write romance for adults, youâll probably make more as a self-published author. Self-published picture books for kids are harder to sell, because itâs harder for them to reach their intended audience, since self-published picture books are unlikely to be in the library or local bookstore or classroom where most kids are exposed to books. It doesnât mean it canât be done, itâs just very, very difficult. Most all the books you see in those places are traditionally published. You may find the three example above in your local bookstore, but two of those three were later picked up by a traditional publisher. You should be aware that if your dream is to hit all the brick-and-mortar bookstores and end up on their bestseller shelf, self-publishing probably wonât get you there. If your dream is to climb up a bestselling ebook list on Amazon, self-publishing is an option.
Consider Self-Publishing if âŚ
- You are writing a novel that has a very narrow audience.
A traditional publishing house canât make money on an audience that is too narrow, so they probably wonât pick up your novel. Also, youâll make more money by hitting your narrow audience hard yourself, since there will be less book sales and self-publishing will give you a higher percentage of each sale.
- You are writing a very unique novel that doesnât fit into a typical genre.
Traditional publishers want books that can be easily categorized, otherwise they wonât know how to market them or who to market them to, and they are a business and need to make money. If you love your novel that doesnât seem to fit a traditional genre or audience, you might want to self-publish.
- You want absolute, complete control over your novel.
