Why Self-Publish?

When I first talk with them about publishing their books, many writers ask me the same question: “Why should I self-publish my book?”

Why, they ask me, should I assume the ultimate responsibility for the content, marketing, and cost of production of my book – particularly since I’ve already invested a year (or two, or three, or ten!) writing it?

There’s one simple reason I advise almost all writers (and yes, that includes writers who have so-called mainstream or traditional publishing deals) to publish their own books:

Control.

When you sell the rights to your work to a mainstream publishing house, you give up control over your book.

You lose control over three major factors:

1. Time. Your book will be put on a production schedule and released at your publishing house’s discretion. Guess what? That means we may not see your masterpiece until 2010.

2. Marketing & Publicity. It’s a harsh truth, but one every writer would do well to keep in mind: marketing people don’t always understand the product they’re marketing. Never forget: no one understands your book and your book’s audience as well as you do – no one.

3. Profits. The vast majority of writers with mainstream publishing deals earn a royalty of about $1 a book. By contrast, it’s not unusual for writers who self-publish to earn five, ten, or even twenty times that.

Of course, the theory is that the traditional publishing house will print thousands and thousands of copies of your book, then invest thousands and thousands of dollars in marketing and publicity.

So what you lose on a per-book basis you’ll make up in volume, right?

Sadly, probably not. The mainstream house will release your book and give it a few months to succeed. If it doesn’t sell well? The books get returned, and that’s the end of it.

But don’t despair. In the last few years, incredible advances in technology have allowed writers to become their own publishers.

So if you’ve got a manuscript or two lying in a drawer somewhere, now’s the time to pull them out.

You don’t need anyone’s permission to publish your book, so what are you waiting for?

Publish your book today!