Self-publishing: to print or not to print?
It is one of the big questions of self-publishing: should you opt for a print run for your book, or should you just stick with an e-book?
There is something to be said for going for print copies of your book. After all, it’s rather lovely to hold your own book in your hands, and there are still plenty of people who prefer print books to electronic ones.
It’s also nice, when you’re running promotions such as free giveaways, to be able to send people a free, physical copy of your book rather than just a download link. There’s something satisfying about print books.
However, we also can’t deny that they can add significant expense to your self-publishing costs, so if you’re trying to budget and keep all costs to a minimum, it’s definitely worth thinking carefully about the pros and cons of going for the print option.
Getting the design and formatting right on a print book is different to e-books, so you’ll need to evaluate the time and expense that will go into getting it just how you want it.
If you do want to print, you also need to think about how to do it. Which company will you go with? How will the books be distributed? One popular option is to use a print on demand service, which is generally much more cost effective than going for a massive print run straight away (it also means you don’t have to store lots of books in your house).
It also depends on where you think your market is going to come from. Do you think your readers will be the kind of people to opt for print books, or would they be happy with e-books? Increasingly, e-books are a good option no matter who you are trying to target, but it’s still worth taking into consideration when planning how to produce and promote your book.
Overall, print books can be useful, and a good option for many authors, but – in self-publishing at least – they are arguably not as essential as e-books. But what do you think? Do you think self-published authors should invest in printing their books, or do you think e-books are more than good enough?
