Is Self publishing worth it?
I have a finished book I've been shopping around for almost a year now. I haven't gotten much interest in it yet. I'm not against self publishing but I'd like to leave it as a late option.
Are there any down sides to self publishing that I should be aware of?
Answers ( 1 )
What is the "it" in your question? How do you define "worth"?
Do you wish to publish something, keep editorial and marketing control over it and get most of the net income? Then, yes. If not, then, no.
if you do decide to self-publish, you can shape the narrative and the marketing in the way you want, but you will also be responsible for those things. From my article The Advantages and Disadvantages of Self-Publishing Your Manga.
The Advantages of Self-Publishing Are:
1) Creative Control – No one will retitle your book, or pick a cover image you hate. From start to finish, this will be your vision.
2) Cutting Out Middlemen – Because you do not have to impress an agent who then has to impress a publishing company, you can bypass other people putting their fingers into your pie. Any profit you make is yours.
3) Takes Less Time – Again, because you are not spending hours of your time looking for or communicating with an agent, your book can go from manuscript to printed matter much more quickly.
The Disadvantages of Self-Publishing Are:
1) Creative Control – it is *up to you* to make every last decision down to the color of the border around the ISBN…heck, it’s up to you to get an ISBN at all.
2) Cutting Out Middlemen – Because you do not have an agent, you may not have guidance from an experienced person in the publishing company who can help you shape the book into something that has more sellability.
3) Takes Less Time – Again, because you don’t have agent or publisher, you may also be lacking steps like editing and proofreading which are *absolutely critical* for any publication, from poetry to non-fiction.
Only you can decide if self-publishing is right for you.