fax (000) 000-0000
toll-free (000) 000-0000
Going Indie: 25 Things You Should Know Before Self-Publishing Your Book
If you choose to go independent, your luck is that self-publishing
has become a whole lot easier in the last few years since the advent
of the digital age. Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other
self-publishing platforms offer great programs for free.
Many authors, myself
included, who have published extensively with traditional houses,
are now choosing to self-publish their work. Self-publishing is no
longer a last resort, but a conscious choice that comes with many
advantages over traditional publishing.
Self-publishing
requires both knowledge and tenacity, however. Services that a
traditional publisher normally provides, such as editing,
formatting, and designing the cover must now be done by the author.
With this in mind, the
bigger question might be why you would choose to self-publish rather
than pursue a traditional approach to getting your work into the
market.
One reason is that the technology available today has made it
possible to self-publish in both electronic and paperback versions,
even if you don’t have a penny to invest in the process. Another
reason is that the electronic book market is growing, and publishers
have traditionally paid lousy royalties on electronic books, even
though they have no large sums of money invested in the electronic
version. Despite your lack of publishing experience, you might have
a better chance making money if you self-publish rather than pursue
a traditional publisher.
Self-publishing is also an attractive alternative if you write on a
specialty subject with a small audience. Even if you manage to land
a contract with a traditional publisher, you will probably only earn
a few hundred dollars over the life of the book. By self-publishing,
you control the marketing of your book, and can potentially reach a
greater audience by using the Internet to spread the word to
thousands or even millions of possible customers. Moreover, many
traditional publishers are not interested in pursuing specialty
subjects that prove difficult to sell, and you might spend years
trying to land a contract without ever succeeding.
The money you earn (I don’t like to call it royalties, because
Amazon and other book sellers technically don’t pay you royalties;
you pay them a commission on each book sold) on your self-published
book, even if you drop the price of the electronic version to just a
dollar or two, will likely outweigh anything you could hope to
collect from a traditional publisher per copy sold. While it is true
that you may not sell as many copies as you would with a
traditionally published book (although, you also may), your net
revenue income may be greater. Whereas a traditional publisher may
only pay you 8 to 10 percent of net, when you self-publish your book
on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, you typically retain 65 to 70 percent
of the profit. You will also get paid within two months after
selling your first book, and every month thereafter. A traditional
publisher, by contrast, may wait a year and sometimes two to send
your first royalty check. And if it is less than a specified amount,
say 25 dollars, you won’t get anything at all until the following
year when it exceeds 25 dollars.
