Why Self publishing?
The Dream:
When I was younger and thought about writing a book, all that came to mind was the Big Names in publishing. You know who I’m talking about, you can probably think of at least one of them right now. That was the ultimate dream; write the thing, hand it off to the big wigs, and watch myself become a best seller.
The Reality:
Getting one of those crazy awesome book deals that rockets you to the top of all those bestseller lists is HARD. I mean, like, really hard. Most of the people who make it big do so because they know someone who can help them jump the line. Sure, you hear the occasional story of someone getting tons of rejections and then suddenly they get it to the right person and all their dreams come true. Then things take off and they end up with merchandising, and movies, and theme parks… Yes, that happens. And yes, all those agents and publishers who said “no” to The Boy Who Lived probably kick themselves every single day. However, the reality is that those stories are rare. Even if you land a big publisher, there’s not guarantee your book will make it to the top . Now, I’m not going to pretend I understand all the ins and outs of the publishing industry, because I don’t. But remember that saying “Fortune Favors the Brave”? Well in publishing, unfortunately, fortune favors not the brave, but the few.
Some Try Both
I went to a writers conference earlier this year (it was awesome, if you write and haven’t been to one, I would highly recommend it) and met SO many amazing people who’d been self publishing for years and just got their first traditionally published book. My first instinct was to offer congratulations, because in my mind that was a win! Who wouldn’t want that? But according to these authors, being traditionally published isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. Several of these writers told me their book came out and the blurb was incorrect. There was nothing they could do about it. Another writer said their book had blatant TYPOS, but it wasn’t selling well enough for the publisher to care, so they didn’t fix it. Can you imagine being that author? That certainly wasn’t an issue I ever imagined when I was dreaming of having a book on the shelves at Barnes & Noble. Some of these authors wished they had just stuck with their tried and true process, which, in this case, happened to be self publishing.
So Now What?
I tried the traditional publishing thing. It was just too much. First you have to land a literary agent, which from my research takes an average of about five years. Then that agent has to try and sell your book to a publisher, and that can also take years. And what happens when a publisher finally does buy your book? You lose the rights to that story. Creative control? Gone. Those characters, that world that you put your heart and soul into doesn’t belong to you anymore. They can change it however they want. That, frankly, kind of sucks. On top of that, one of the main draws of traditional publishing is not having to do any of the work (or pay for it). Editing? Done. Cover? Taken care of! Marketing? Now that’s where things start to fall apart. Those big publishers USED to take care of all the marketing stuff. That was one thing that was really drawing me in. But in today’s world, with social media and other kinds of exposure at our fingertips, most publishers expect their authors to do most of the marketing on their own anyway. I came home from that writers conference feeling totally solid in my decision to self publish.
So Why Traditionally Publish?
Because if that’s what YOU want to do, you should do it! That’s the great thing I’ve learned about the writing community: No matter what you decide to do with your story, you can find support and resources for your goals. I’m not telling you what path to take, I’m just sharing what I’ve learned about the business of traditional publication. If you go that way and find success, then congratulations! You did it, and you should be SO incredibly proud of yourself!
But Isn’t Self Publishing the Easy Way Out?
I used to have this mindset. That self publishing is for people who don’t take their writing seriously, or don’t want to make a career our of it. That you can’t be a successful author. This could not be further from the truth. There are tons of self published authors out there who are very successful. And it’s definitely not easy! If you choose to self publish, you have to do everything yourself. Find an editor, a cover designer, format the book, choose your sales platforms, and everything on top of the marketing I already mentioned. A lot of that stuff doesn’t come cheap and you have to be willing and able to pay out of pocket. It can also be hard to turn a profit. Some self-published authors make ZERO dollars on their first book. You can’t just write the thing, throw it up on Amazon and expect it to make money. Self publishing is WORK, even after the book is released. And I’m learning all these hard lessons right now. I just don’t have a head for the business or technical sides of things. Luckily, I have a software engineer for a husband, and he can help me with a lot of that stuff. I’ve also found myself a great support system of friends and other writers who can lift me up and share their knowledge and struggles. I guess that’s what’s been most helpful in this whole scary, wonderful, learning process. Find your people, lean on them, and let them lean on you. You can all help each other succeed.
So What Have We Learned Here?
Well, hopefully I’ve given you a little insight into how things work with publishing! Again, I’m not pretending to be an expert in either option, I’m just passing along the information I’ve been given. I’m also not trying to sway you one way or the other! The truth is, it’s a long, hard process, no matter what you decide to do. But my advice would be to do your own research and make the decision that’s best for you and your story. You can also just choose to keep it to yourself! That’s okay too, and it doesn’t make you any less of an author. So go do the thing! Whatever the thing may be. And if you know any authors, self-published or otherwise, go buy and read their stuff, it would mean a lot to them :)