Last week I wrote about going the traditional publishing route - not in detail because I would be terribly misinformed - but I touched on thoughts and work I believe would need to be done.
Today is about self-publishing.
There are a lot of benefits to self-publishing, but a lot of set backs as well. There is an overwhelming desire, no matter what publishing route you are going, to get your writing out there before it's ready. I did that, granted I went through it at least three more times then I felt it needed because I knew it wasn't ready.
The problem with self-publishing is that there is no one to tell you "No, you're not ready." This then leads to many ebooks becoming available that are less then favorable. Of course, this then leads to a stigma that all self-published books are bad, which just isn't the case. As I have said before, I have read some self-published books that were great, maybe even better written than some books on the market today. Being a subjective industry, it's a plausible statement.
Self-publishing also requires a lot of work AFTER your book is available for public consumption. Yes, traditional publishing will ask you, as an author, to promote your book, but if you miss a day or two, who cares? But for self-publishing, this is even more like starting your own business because it is you, you, and yourself. You miss a day of promoting your book? That's a few sales or views your book doesn't get.
Your book, when you self-publish, is out there on its own, unsure of who wants to spend time with it. You will have to find your target market, how to reach them, and when is the best time to do so. Yes, there are some self-published books out there that received some royal treatment and have help with promotion, but you can't count on that to get the job done for you. There are many other self-pub books that are trying to get your sales, using the same methods as you.
A bright side of self-publishing is for the people who write as a hobby, and strictly a hobby. A lot of writers have full time jobs where they are away from the homestead. This isn't their sole source of income, they have that covered already. These people though may want to make a few extra bucks (because who wouldn't) or may not want to do the upfront battle of traditional publishing.
But I just said self-publishing is work after the book is in the wild!
People with other paying jobs may either 1) not mind too much if their book becomes the next bestseller and 2) it's still not their sole source of income. They put it out there for public consumption because it was written, they edited the MS into oblivion, and thought people may want to enjoy their work (because isn't that what this is about - at least in the beginning).
Another thing people love about self-publishing is that it eliminates a lot of the Wheel-of-Stress that comes with traditional publishing. There are so many gates your book has to pass through before it can sit on a bookstore shelf, and any one of these gates, for any reason, can shut you down and throw you out. With self-publishing, it's you and the company you are going through that are the gatekeepers.
A branch to this is the money. The company publishing your self-pub book and you are the ones that get the money (well, and the government, but they always get our money) vs. your agent, an editor, the publishing company, and who knows who else when you go with traditional.
Publishing is not as glamorous as it may seem, but it's still a worthwhile endeavor.
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