The Pros and Cons of Self-publishing

Before you start on your literary masterpiece, you should spend some time thinking about how you want to get it published. You could try to find a traditional publisher, but it may take you a long time to find a suitable one and, even then, there’s no guarantee that they’ll take your book, especially if you are a novice writer. So, what should you do? Well, you could consider self-publishing. But, there are, as with everything, pros and cons to this route. Read through our list below before deciding if self-publishing could be a viable option for you.

The Pros of Self-Publishing

•you keep all the profits of your sales – this could be up to 70%, which is a real bonus when you think about the usually miniscule (5-25%) amount you receive in royalties from traditional publishers

•you’ll be paid monthly – most traditional publishers only pay once or twice a year

•you decide when the book is published – so as soon as you have finished you can get it out there for sale.

•you are in control of your branding – this is great if you have a website or blog that you want to tie into your book

•it’s a relatively easy process – most self-publishing websites offer step-by-step point and click services. Most even have pre-loaded templates for you to use

•you choose what cover art is used – but be careful, cover art is important as, despite the old saying, many people do choose a book by its cover

•you can switch genres whenever you like – some traditional publishers don’t like it when you want to switch genres. If you start out as a romance writer and you build a reputation, they want you to stay that way

•you are not restricted by deadlines or the expectation of the publisher – you are free to spend as much time on your novel as you like

•you are in control of the price of your book – you research the most effective price brackets and place your book in them.

The Cons of Self-Publishing

Likewise there are some pretty big cons to consider, such as:

•you are responsible for all the marketing of your book – you’ll have to put in a lot of time and effort to publicise your book.

•you don’t have the benefit of professionals – this includes proofreaders, editors, illustrators and cover designers - unless you want to shell out the cost to employ them on a freelance basis

•there’s still a stigma attached to self-published books – many people think that you are only self-publishing because you cannot get a traditional publisher interested.

•you’ll have to invest money – if you want to get your book printed so you have physical copies to send out to people, you’ll have to pay for them.

So, before you do anything, consider the pros and cons carefully and be absolutely honest about your own strengths and weaknesses. Then if you decide it’s for you – go for it!