5 Reasons Why You Should Self-Publish Your Book
Being an indie author is exciting and scary. When you become your own publisher, you have all of the control. You can read that last sentence with enthusiasm or dismay. It’s true both ways. While it’s great to have so much control and freedom to make your book match your vision, it also means that you have a lot of learning to do. With indie publishing, you are basically taking over the jobs of an entire publishing company. That means you are in charge of editing, typesetting, creating the cover, marketing, the actual act of publishing itself, and of course you still have to be able to focus on writing the book in the first place. If you can’t do everything I’ve listed yourself, then you need to find other reliable creatives to outsource your book to. That sounds scary and overwhelming, but it can also be lots of fun. With indie publishing, you are the boss.
When I was writing my first book, Fatal Heir, I never considered going the traditional route. I wanted to create a book that had my fingerprints all over it. I was excited to learn all the ins and outs of publishing. Don’t get me wrong, it was a lot of work. But I still don’t regret my decision. In fact, the more I learn about indie publishing, the more I love it. And I am still learning more everyday.
So here’s a list of my top five reasons you should consider self-publishing your book.
Traditional Publishing is Dying.
That sounds dramatic – and it is! Like it or not, indie publishers are taking over the book scene, thanks to businesses like Amazon who provide a marketplace for self-published work. Let me make one thing clear here; publishing itself isn’t going anywhere, but our traditional concept of it is. Traditional publishers no longer provide the services they once did. Even if you did manage to find a literary agent to represent you, get the attention of a big traditional publishing company, and sign a deal with them, you might still find yourself spending more time marketing and promoting your book than writing the next one. Even traditional publishing houses require their authors to have an online presence. You would end up doing a lot of the same work anyway, but you would be making an even smaller percentage per book sold. Indie publishing cuts out all of the middle men. When you sell your own published book, you make a much greater profit. Money aside, the traditional publishing industry is accepting fewer and fewer authors now. Even if your book is “too good to be self-published” you might never find a publisher willing to take on a new author. Many of the smaller traditional publishing houses who might have given your book a chance are closed already or will be soon. I know a few authors who had their books published by traditional publishing houses who closed and sold the rights to their books. So now the authors just have to sit back and watch their books sell on Amazon, without earning any of the profit, until the contract finally expires and they can claim their rights back. That’s kind of disgusting, don’t you think?
The Public Will Buy Self-Published Books.
One of the biggest fears of indie publishers is that readers don’t want to read self-published works. It is often believed that traditional publishers are the “gatekeepers of the literary world.” They were the ones who decided what was worth reading and what was rubbish. That is true, in a sense. But you have to remember that traditional publishers are businesses. Your book could be the Next Great American Novel, but if it doesn’t fit the publishing house’s formula for success, it isn’t going to be selected. Traditional publishers want to make money. That means they publish a lot of very similar books that appeal to the vast majority of the market. If your book doesn’t fit their mold, you won’t have much luck finding a publisher. But don’t despair. In my experience readers enjoy indie books. There is a bookstore in my city that makes most of its profits from the sale of books by local authors. That’s what people want to buy! Readers don’t need “gatekeepers” to tell them what is worth reading. They can figure that out on their own. An eye-catching cover, a well-crafted synopsis, and an interesting first chapter is all most readers need to decide whether to invest their time and money. In my experience promoting Fatal Heir, no one has ever learned that I self-published the book and decided not to buy it. In fact, the opposite tends to happen! Readers today are used to having a wealth of information and entertainment at their fingertips. They know how to find what they like without being told what to consume. This is good news for indie publishers! WARNING: Don’t misunderstand me here: If your cover looks like crap and your book has never been edited or even proofread, you won’t get many readers. If you act like an amateur, readers will treat you like one. You have to put in the time and the work (and often the money) to make your book look good and read well OR IT WILL FAIL. Treat your readers with respect. Put out a good product. PLEASE don’t skip the editing stages! Don’t rush your book.
The Indie Publishing Community is Awesome!
You might think that indie publishers would be very competitive, secretive, and uncooperative. I have found the total opposite to be true. Indie publishers can be some of the most friendly and open people I have ever worked with. I am amazed by how supportive other indie publishers have been. If they find something that works, they share it. If they have successes, they’ll tell you exactly how they did it. If you need help finding a specific resource (editors, book cover designers, ebook promoters), they will point you in the right direction. There are all sorts of websites, blogs, and Facebook groups full of indie authors helping each other make their books successful. It really is so neat to be a part of!
As an Indie Publisher, You Make the Decisions.
I remember reading a book when I was a teenager about a girl and her magical frog friend. The girl was specifically described as having brown hair and being overweight. The fact that she was fat was a huge part of the story. It influenced her character immensely. But on the cover of the book this same girl was depicted as this cute little blonde thing with big blue eyes and a bow in her hair. None of this was true for the actual character in the book! Imagine what the traditionally published author must have felt, after having crafted this realistic and diverse character, when she saw what her publisher had chosen for the cover. As an indie author, you never have to accept what others decide about your book. You have the control to make sure your cover accurately depicts what you want your book to portray. Your message doesn’t take a back seat to your publisher’s desires. This can be scary, having to make all of those decisions yourself, but it can also be incredibly empowering.
Indie Publishing Allows You to Create at Your Own Pace.
When you self-publish, you are your own boss. If you write fast and find a fast editor and get the cover art done quickly, you can get your books published much more quickly than traditional publishing houses, where your book could take months or even years to finally hit the shelves. Or, if you are slower or want to take the process slowly, you can choose to do so without your publisher hanging deadlines over your head. You can choose to publish a memoir and only share it with close friends and family. You can choose to write a novel and throw your whole heart and soul into creating a mass marketing plan and trying to get your book into as many hands as possible. Maybe you want to put a current project on the back burner and try your hand at something new and fresh. You can do that without having to get permission from your publisher or agent.
As you can see, there are all sorts of great reasons to consider self-publishing your book. Indie publishing isn’t the only way, of course, but for many of the authors I know, it is the best way to get their books out there. It is said that everybody has a book in them. Indie publishing makes it a lot easier to get that book out to the world. Of course, when I say easy, I mean tons and tons of work. But if you have the passion and are willing to learn, choosing to self-publish your book may be the best decision you ever make.
Leslie Colleen “L.C.” Ireland is an arts educator and writer. Her first novel, Fatal Heir, was published in Oct. 2015. She currently lives in Ogden, UT with her amazing husband.
