TO SELF PUBLISH OR NOT TO SELF PUBLISH? That is the Question!

You’ve written that book, revised and revised it, polished it to perfection and had it professionally edited. So what now?

The next step is to decide whether you want to try your luck with a traditional publisher or whether it would be more beneficial to self-publish. Which is best for you is your choice, of course, but if you want complete control over what happens to your book (cover design, style, how it’s marketed), would like to earn more than 10% royalties on the book you worked long and hard to create, then publishing through a POD (Print On Demand) publishing site might be the answer.

There are numerous unscrupulous online publishing companies that charge independent authors excessive amounts of dollars to publish their work. DON’T go near them! No matter how good they look. Do your homework before signing up for any kind of package with these companies. I’ve known first time authors who have been tied to five year contracts with no rights to their hard copy book, and have never seen a penny from the publisher. DON’T be tempted just because you want your book in print.

POD companies such as Createspace (subsidiary of Amazon), Smashwords (eBooks only) and Lulu don’t charge fees for assisting you to get your book in print, and offer worldwide distribution. You can set up hard copy and eBook formats confident that you have complete control over the professional presentation of your books. It’s that easy.

Things you should know:

• Self-publishing gives you complete control over how your book is presented to readers. You choose the format, style, cover design and how it is marketed.

• You should not have to pay to have your book published with an online POD publisher.

• DO YOUR HOMEWORK and choose wisely.

• Make sure you understand exactly what the publishing company is offering before agreeing to become their client (see March article about signing contracts on my website).

REMEMBER: Everything about your book is a representation of YOU the author. So make sure you have a visually appealing professional cover, polished and edited story and an exciting blurb to present to your readers.

'There are three difficulties in authorship: to write anything worth publishing, to find honest men to publish it, and to find sensible men to read it.' Charles Caleb Colton - English Cleric, writer and collector.

All the best!

© 2014 M A Anderson

Brisbane, Australia