What is Self Publishing?

I thought I'd take a moment and make this blog post since when I was looking for information to publish The Return of Sinestra, there was so much to go through, and most of the sources weren't all that helpful at answering my questions. Now, I will preface this by saying that I am not an expert in this by any means. I still am learning this process on a daily basis. However, I wanted to talk about it for a bit since it's just us.

First of all, what is self publishing? In the simplest terms it is when an author publishes their book themselves outside of traditional publishing houses. For most, this is the only way they could get their book published. I chose this route so I wouldn't have to wait years for a chance of getting published, but also for a more important one for me: I have full creative control over my manuscripts. That was a strong pull for me since I didn't want large portions of the story to be changed from when I hand it in to the publisher to when the readers get it.

Now, I don't know if there are other aspiring authors out there that are reading this blog post, but if there are I'm going to do a little comparison between self publishing and traditional publishing. Self publishing is more expensive up front. There's no way around that. I have to pay for everything for the book. The publishing costs, the marketing costs, everything. With traditional publishing they pick up that tab and give you a lump sum of money up front. That's what you get until your book sells enough to cover that sum, then you start earning your royalties. With self publishing I get the royalties right away, and it is a higher royalty rate than traditional publishing according to the extensive research I have conducted across multiple websites.

Some key tips that I can pass on would be this. If you are going to self publish a book then there are things you need to do. First off, your manuscript needs professional editing. They are a necessary step in the self publishing process, since it makes sure the majority of the mistakes are caught and corrected. Another tip I can tell you is to do your research on self publishing services. Scams are rampant with claims that they will publish your book when in reality nothing happens to it. I almost fell victim to that very scam, but avoided it at the last second. The last major tip is you need to set reasonable goals. Don't expect to be a bestseller with millions of copies sold out of the gate. You need to set reasonable goals, and work hard to achieve those goals.

Regardless if someone self published or if they go traditional, selling a book and making it a success is hard work. Like most things in life you have to work for it in order to get it. Nothing will just be handed to you. Writing books is a business, and with self publishing you have to wear a lot of hats. You have to actually write the book, you have to market it, you have to get people to review it, and you have to make sure that the book will make you money. If it isn't selling, then you aren't earning. You can't just publish your book, quit your day job and rely on the royalties for you to live off of. Until your book covers the cost for it to be made, you have to do your main job. Once your books are making more than what your day job is making, then you can consider quitting it. You must think logically about your decisions.

Is self publishing easier to go with? I don't know. Nothing is ever truly easy, just less complicated than another thing. I will continue to do self publishing unless something remarkable happens with traditional publishing offering me deals. I like what I have, and I wouldn't change it.