Pros and Cons to Self-Publishing

Should I keep waiting for a traditional publisher, or should I self-publish?  

Can self-publishing hurt my chances to become traditionally published? 

What are the pros and cons to self publishing?   

These are just a few questions we are asked on a regular basis by aspiring authors wondering if they should dip into the alluring world of self-publishing.   

It’s a tricky conversation, whether or not someone should self-publish, and there are a lot of factors to consider: editorial support, distribution, sales, profit margins, and the like.  

One of the first questions I ask someone considering self-publishing is, what is your goal or reason for self-publishing?  Like most things, your reasons for considering self-publishing are important to know going in because they can help you discern whether self-publishing can meet your expectations for what you want to get from it. Some of your reasons might be: 

• I don’t know that I need a traditional publisher.  I’ve already been mentoring a lot of people through my platform, story, experience, or business tools.  I can write down all I’ve learned and put it into a self-published book, sell it through my platform, and take home the profits.  
• I don’t want to wait for a traditional publisher.  I know it’s going to take me a lot of time to build a platform, find an agent, find a publisher, and see my book on a shelf.  I don’t want to wait 3-5 years for that to happen.  I want to publish now. 
• I want creative control.  I don’t like the idea of a publisher owning rights to my book, making editorial changes, creating a cover, making me beholden to them in the marketing and publicity.  
• I can’t get a traditional contract.  I’ve tried to get my book traditionally published for years, and nada.  I’m sick of sending out queries and proposals, trying to find an agent or editor that believes in my book.  I’m done walking down this path that is going nowhere.  It’s time to try something different.  
• I don’t care how it’s published.  What matters most to me is that I’m honest and disciplined in getting these lessons and stories down on paper, and that I’m obedient in making it available for others.  If I sell 100 copies, or 100,000, it’s really okay with me either way.   

These are all valid reasons to seriously consider self-publishing. And self-publishing companies frequently appeal to these exact motivations in an effort to convince you to choose to go around traditional publishing.  Hoping to capitalize on your creativity and dream of having a book, they appeal to freedom, ease, and creative control as reasons to choose self-publishing over the slower, harder path of traditional publishing.  They tout the idea that for a “small” price up front you can take home all of the profits, not wait any longer to share your story with the world, and skip over the unfair, uncertain, and often cruel traditional publishing process.  

And they aren’t lying.  These are just a few of the undeniable benefits of self-publishing and the reason companies like Apple Books, Amazon KDP, Barnes & Noble Press, KOBO, Scribd, and many others have jumped on the self-publishing bandwagon.  This is no small industry with over 1.6 million self-published books in 2018 alone.  

As is often the case, there are always pros and cons when it comes to innovation and new opportunities. The ability to self-publish allows for many independent, nomadic creatives to put their art into the world, but also contributes to the massive flooding at Amazon and other online retailers, drowning the excellent books in an ocean of mediocre ones.  Authors find they can deliver content in a more timely manner, but without the same level of editorial support many books end up under-developed and factually unchecked. Perhaps the biggest fallacy being sold is the idea that self-publishing is somehow easier than traditional publishing.  It simply is not so. Like traditional publishing, self-publishing requires an author to sit down at his computer and spend days and months, potentially years, in front of the screen crafting and honing ideas, spewing vulnerabilities and truths, or “bleeding” as Hemmingway would say.  And then once the author finishes the exhausting writing process, he is left alone in isolation to launch, market, and sell his book, a task equally daunting.  

Writing is like every other craft.  You have to learn it.  And practice it.  But the more you do it, the better you become at it.  Be leery of anyone who tells you otherwise.  There are no shortcuts on the path to publishing.  Most creatives start out as starving artists, street performers, yearbook staffers in high school, bloggers, or MOPS speakers, long before they write a book or speak on a large stage.  You develop your writing most in the quiet, cultivated corners of your creativity.  Put yourself out there for critique and feedback before you throw your words into a book and expect to impact the masses.  Feedback makes you better, whether it is from an editor or a friend or both.   

Lastly, a few words of caution.  Beware of any class or workshop or e-course that makes publishing look cheap and easy. There is nothing easy about writing and publishing a book, no matter which route you go. Also, beware of any “publisher” who agrees to publish your book if you pay them a certain amount of money and commit to buying a certain number of copies.  That is not traditional publishing.  It’s a scam, and a bad investment of your resources.  

Still not sure if you should self-publish?  We’ve written a white paper on the pros and cons of traditional publishing versus self-publishing.  Click here for your free download.