The odds would be stacked against an unknown writer who wants to sign a contract with a publishing company. Publishing houses want a sure thing when receiving a writer’s work. There’s a catch even if a manuscript is bought, and a contract is signed along with a nice advance given to the author. The publishing company has the final say-so regarding the title of the book, the editorial slant and what the cover art looks like.
That is why more writers are taking matters into their own hands. Self publishing guarantees a degree of autonomy in deciding when a book will be published and how the final product will be designed before it hits the shelves. This article will explore some big advantages of self publishing.
Self Publishing Writers Have Greater Control
Authors can print and publish their work as they see fit. They call the shots and decide when to take action. There will be no issues with editors who might say the material has a scope of interest that is too narrow, or the manuscript is not politically correct. Additionally, writers who publish their own books will be able to keep them in print for as long as they want. Self publishers generally get to keep a much larger percentage of the profits because there is no middle man, i.e. the publisher, taking a substantial cut. This will be nice if the book is a big success.
Self Publishing Can be Much Quicker
Self publishing allows the writer to dictate the timeline. Furthermore, authors will not need to find a literary agent, who will have to like the book, and then send it to a publisher who will have to like the book and so on. A publishing house will operate to the beat of its own schedule, which doesn’t necessarily coincide with a writer who is anxiously waiting for his or her book to appear in the stores. It can take up to a year before that happens. It might be longer.
Self Publishers Who Have a Niche
Writers who are exceptionally knowledgeable in a particular subject, and want to publish a book on their own have an edge over the competition. They would have a better idea of what their audience wants than an executive sitting in an office. Non-fiction books with a well defined topic and a nice hook to them can do well. Writers can sit down, start typing and not worry about the long and potentially draining process of putting together query letters to agents, trying to convince them that the book will be a winner.
Shameless Self Promotion is Easy
Self publishers are in complete control over how they market their work. They can rent a booth at a writer’s convention and offer the book at a small discount. Self publishing writers can use the internet to their advantage to both build a website and sell the book that way, or to promote it through an online bookstore. They can get in touch with universities and agree to do a free reading in exchange for them selling copies in their bookshop. The are many possibilities.
For some authors, knowing they will get all of the rewards from their hard work is worth taking the risk. Although self publishing does have its advantages, each writer should carefully think it through before deciding how to proceed. Many well known writers have self published, and had achieved long lasting success. Consider Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, Margaret Atwood and Upton Sinclair.