Why Self Publish?

When I decided to leave my job and publish my first novel, I knew I was going to self-publish instead of going the traditional publishing route, but why? Why not put the full weight of a publishing house behind my novel? Well, you may be surprised by some of the reasons why I decided to self-publish.

Writing is a passion, but publishing is a business.

Time

Traditional publishing is notoriously slow. Publishers who accept unsolicited manuscripts directly from authors have an overwhelming stack of reading, and that takes time. The route of going through an agent takes even more time. All that time is added to the end of the process, once the manuscript is "done" enough to be sent off, and I wasn't willing to wait. I felt like I had waited half a lifetime to pursue my dream, and I didn't want to be stuck waiting on anyone else. By doing it myself, I could go at my own pace.

Technology

Advances in technology have transformed many fields, and publishing is no exception. Ebooks started the change, but physical books still consistently outsell ebooks, so for me, the biggest evolution is print-on-demand books. Before that, physical publishing required an upfront investment to print a minimum number of books, which was often cost-prohibitive. Now, a customer orders a book online, and that book is printed. No up-front investment required.

Once I was ready to publish, I was pleasantly surprised by how straightforward it was. Despite all of the very fair criticisms of Amazon, their technology is extremely user-friendly. Publishing was a simple matter of filling out a form and uploading a PDF. The whole thing was much easier than I expected it to be. However, there's also a downside to publishing being so easy. Scammers take advantage of the ease of publishing to push bogus books, and unfortunately, not all authors may take the best care to get their manuscript publication-ready. Still, more advances in technology are helping weed out scammers and assisting legitimate writers address quality issues. So, technology is solving the problem it created.

Money

Writing is a passion, but publishing is a business. On average, writers with a traditional publishing contract receive 10% to 15% of the sale price of a book. That means that if you buy a book for $20.00, the writer receives $2 - $3 for that sale. If the writer has an agent (and most traditionally published authors do), the agent gets a percentage of that $2 - $3, so the actual total is lower. But, the big draw of a traditional publishing contract is an advance, an upfront lump sum. However, that advance is a payout of royalties, so the writer won't see another cent until enough books are sold to cover the advance.

By self-publishing, I receive between 30% and 70% of each book sold. Print books have a formula that deducts the cost of publishing and then gives the author a percentage, so it comes to around 30% or 40% of the total price. Ebooks are simpler and give a flat 70% to the author, but Amazon caps how much can be charged for an ebook, so there's an upper limit to what an author can earn that way. It's an improvement on the per-book percentage from traditional publishing, but there's a significant trade-off. In self-publishing, the author takes on responsibility for marketing and promotion, which is not a small commitment.

Skills

I learned a lot during 15 years in corporate America. As a product manager, I managed the products of the companies I worked for. Product management centers on crafting a product from concept through launch and beyond, ensuring it meets a specific need, and making decisions based on data. I decided to take those same skills and apply them to my own products: my books. Certainly, there are differences, but launching a book is much like launching any other product. Writing Deadly Decaf may have been a purely creative endeavor, but selling it is a business undertaking.

Signed Deadly Decaf Hardcover

Buy Now

Risk

I'm not quite a recluse, but I'm close. There are some benefits to that. A key benefit for me is that I only had myself to consider when I decided to self-publish. I don't have kids to support or a spouse to consult, so when I'm taking a risk, it's mine alone. That makes the decision a lot less complicated. I'm not sure I would have made the same decision if I had someone else depending on me. After all, my cats don't know the difference between self-publishing and traditional publishing and don't care as long as their meals are on time.

Creative Freedom

I'm terrible at pitching my creative ideas. It's a significant weak point for me and always has been. I can see what it will become in my head, but I can't articulate that vision effectively. It's only when the project is completed that people can see the shape and vision. By self-publishing, I didn't have to sell anyone on my vision. That vision is for Deadly Decaf to be the first in a series and the foundation for additional products within that world. I have a lot of ideas, and by self-publishing, I can run with them on my own.

What are those ideas? Well, I'm not going to try to pitch them to you, but sign up for updates to see them as they're brought to life!

If you're considering publishing, your reasons for going the self-publishing or traditional publishing route may be different than mine, but I hope sharing my reasoning helps you make the decision that's best for you. Do you have other factors that should be considered that I missed? Add it in the comments!