Should a First-Time Author Self-publish?

publishing path comparison chart_traditional_hybrid_self-publish

 

As a first-time author, you may be trying to decide if self-publishing is the right path for you. There is no one-size-fits-all answer to this question. There are several factors to consider, and this article will outline them so you can make the best decision for you and your book.

What exactly is self-publishing?

According to Wikipedia: “Self-publishing is the publication of media by its author at their own cost, without the involvement of a publisher. The term usually refers to written media, such as books and magazines, either as an eBook or as a physical copy using print on demand technology. It may also apply to albums, pamphlets, brochures, games, video content, artwork, and zines. Web fiction is also a major medium for self-publishing.”

Not a new concept, self-publishing dates back to the 18th Century. The internet and other advances like print-on-demand have helped make it a more accessible method for authors. Due to its popularity, self-publishing a book has evolved to include a variety of forms. Authors can take the entirely Do-It-Yourself self-publishing route or choose from professional self-publishing (also known as assisted self-publishing) or Hybrid publishing.

It helps to understand the publishing process before you decide if you want to self-publish your book.

Publishing your book is more than simply uploading your manuscript to Amazon and hitting “submit.” Preparing your manuscript for publishing includes copy editing and proofreading, formatting, typesetting, and adding other book matter. Publishing your book so that people will read it means figuring out a go-to-market strategy, a distribution plan, pricing, which formats to offer your book in, and more.

As a first-time author, you may need a handle on all the steps in the process or which ones you can (or should) do well yourself. Different kinds of self-publishing mean taking on some or all of these tasks. Our goal is for you to be fully informed about whether self-publishing is right for you as a first-time author. Then you can determine what route you want to take if you decide to self-publish.

The allure of traditional publishing

Traditional publishing means having your manuscript acquired by a publishing company. The company then takes over most of the other steps, from laying the book out, printing it, and selling it, to enjoying a substantial portion of the profit.

Traditional publishers have strong relationships with bookstores, so there is a higher likelihood that they will be able to place your book on retail bookstore shelves.

For some authors, the prestige of garnering an agent and a publishing deal is part of the appeal of writing. They believe this route aligns more with their vision and brand and may feel that self-publishing needs to be more respected or legitimate.

Traditionally published books are indeed well-produced and professional looking. The trademark of a well-known publishing house can lend a book legitimacy in the eyes of some readers, although most don’t pay attention to it.

Over the past few decades, self-publishing has gained popularity and respectability, and done right, it can achieve the same results as traditionally published books. A well-done self-published book is indistinguishable from a traditionally published book.

The publishing landscape has changed in the 21st Century. It was customary for publishers to give authors a large, up-front advance payment on their royalties. Today, though, most first-time or non-celebrity authors get little book advance. 

What a publisher does for you (and what it doesn’t)

The other main appeal of a traditional publisher can be that they handle everything for you. The publishing company’s staff oversees book production, including proofreading, formatting, cover art, etc. 

There is a perception that there are no out-of-pocket publishing expenses for the author who goes the traditional publishing route. That used to be the case, but nowadays, publishers typically don’t do marketing for most authors they publish. Instead, because publishers are very risk-averse, they do the minimum amount of publicity—perhaps issuing a press release for the book—and then sit back to see if the book gets traction on its own. If the book gets traction, the publishing house will start putting its marketing and publicity dollars to work for the author. 

So, authors need to be aware that, even with a traditional publishing deal book deal, they will still be responsible for their marketing and promotion. If the author can get attention for the book on their own, the publisher will only do a little to help.

Additionally, the publisher will be making most decisions about the book’s branding (the look and feel) and setting the timeline for publication, which can be as far as two years out. 

A final factor to consider is that the author gets the smallest percentage of royalties with a traditional publisher. If the author got an advance, they wouldn’t get paid any additional royalties until the book has “earned out” the advance. Authors will also pay a higher price to buy copies of their own books if they want them for speaking engagements or to sell on their own websites.

Hybrid publishing options

Hybrid publishing is the halfway point between self-publishing and traditional publishing. Like traditional publishing, a hybrid publishing company handles all aspects of your book publishing and some or all of your book’s marketing and promotion. They often have good relationships with distributors and retailers, increasing your book’s chance of being placed on bookstore shelves.

The difference between hybrid and traditional publishing is that there is no book advance. Instead, the author pays some of the book’s costs, and the publisher picks up the rest. As an author going the hybrid route, you have more say in creative decisions. You also maintain the rights to your work, but depending on the contract/agreement with the hybrid publisher, they may have some say or control over certain aspects of your book or decision-making.

What about the self-publishing options?

DIY, DIY Plus [DIY+], Professional and Assisted Self-Publishing

When you think about self-publishing, you may imagine having to do everything yourself, from proofreading to book layout to writing the book description and even the cover design. Do-It-Yourself, or DIY, is the most hands-on version of self-publishing, and therefore it has the steepest learning curve.

Total DIY self-publishing has the potential for your book to turn out looking less than professional. Consider that some skills needed to publish a book, such as cover design and interior layout design or formatting, are skills only some nonfiction authors have. Design not only requires skill, but it also requires an “eye” or highly developed sense of design aesthetic. 

However, there are design templates that you can use as a base, which can shorten the learning curve and could yield better results than trying to DIY your book design from scratch.

 

Important Self-publishing considerations

Consider that as an established brand, entrepreneur, coach, or consultant looking to use your book to attract high-end clients and opportunities, you will need your book to reflect that high-end aesthetic and professional vibe. That is why you will want to consider DIY+ self-publishing or professional self-publishing.

Other skills you will need to succeed as an author have little to do with publishing. For the DIY and DIY+ self-publishing paths, you will need project management skills: knowing the required tasks and ensuring that you, or any freelancers you hire, get things done correctly and on time. 

DIY+ is a middle option between total DIY and professional/assisted self-publishing. With this path, you are still DIYing it but outsourcing certain aspects of the process. For example, you can hire a professional book cover designer and an interior layout designer and handle the rest of the publishing process yourself.

If you are going the DIY + route, this can be a project unto itself, researching, interviewing, vetting, and hiring your book publication team. If this is your first time doing this or you are a novice, hiring a team can be overwhelming and time-consuming.

Like most things, it’s not black-and-white. You can still self-publish but outsource critical tasks like cover design and book formatting. In this case, you would be doing DIY+, where you act as the project manager overseeing the publishing, hiring, and managing as many creative resources as you choose to bring to your book-publishing team.

For DIY+, professional self-publishing, or hybrid publishing options, you’ll need to be able to research, vet, and hire the right creative professionals or team to assist you with your book publishing.

Professional self-publishing, our term for what is also known as assisted self-publishing or guided self-publishing, is a way to get your manuscript published by hiring a publishing consultant or firm to manage the entire process of taking your book content through all the stages of publishing and distribution. It is a done-for-you service, and you retain creative control.

With professional self-publishing, you benefit from experienced guidance and an existing, proven team who can hit the ground running to take your book through the publishing process. This can be a pricier option, often on par with hybrid publishing, but it saves you a lot of time as you don’t have to learn all the ins and outs of publishing a book. You can rely on your consultant or firm to provide guidance and make it happen. This can be a much less stressful route to publishing as you bring on seasoned professionals with years of experience publishing books. It removes the guesswork, overwhelms, and doubts of first-time authors.

In all self-publishing paths, you retain the IP, creative control, final decision-making, and royalties (less what Amazon or other publishing platforms or retailers take).

How to decide if you, as a first-time author should self-publish?

 

publishing path comparison chart_traditional_hybrid_self-publish

When deciding whether to self-publish as a first-time author, it’s important to consider yourself and what you value. Is having total control important? Then you should self-publish using one of those three options.

Is having an existing team in place a priority? Or are you confident in your ability to hire and manage a team or a few freelancers? If so, DIY or DIY+ self-publishing could work well for you. Otherwise, you’ll want to consider one of the publishing paths with an existing professional team: traditional, hybrid, or professional self-publishing.

What is your time worth? Are you busy running a business and life? While hiring a team or freelancers can seem costly upfront, you have to factor in the cost of your own time. It will take you many hours, especially as a first-time author, to figure out your author’s action plan and how to implement it. It is up to you to decide how best to use your time, as it is a precious commodity.

Do you want guidance, or do you want to figure it out on your own?

The learning curve can be steep, especially the first time you do any new activity. In addition to learning what you need to do, you must invest the time to do the publishing. Again, it’s worth considering whether your time is better spent figuring out your book-publishing process or hiring experienced professionals to guide you and implement the required tasks.

Will the results be as good if you DIY your publishing as those you get from hiring professionals? As with any first-time activity, you don’t know what you don’t know. As long as you accept that there will be some aspects you get wrong, DIY self-publishing can be for you.

Another consideration is the cost. While hiring a professional self-publishing consultant or hybrid publisher may sound expensive, it may end up cheaper than total DIY. I have spoken to many authors who made costly mistakes the first time they self-published and ended up having to redo tasks, paying again for work that had already been done, bringing up the total project budget.

The good news is nowadays, there are numerous publishing and self-publishing options for authors to choose from. Some first-time authors decide to go with professional self-publishing, as they can learn the process by looking over the shoulder of their provider. Then take this knowledge and confidently bring future books to the market using DIY + self-publishing. 

 Related Content: Choosing the best self-publishing  book company for your needs

Choosing the Best Self-Publishing Book Company for Your Needs

Choosing the best self-publishing book company for your needs_

Choosing the right self-publishing book company is an important decision in bringing your book to market successfully. If you’ve completed writing your book, it’s easy to think your author work is done. If you haven’t already decided on your publishing route, now it’s time to consider your self-publishing options. You’ll need a company to print, distribute and sell your book. However, that’s just one piece of the puzzle. When you self-publish a book, you take on many new responsibilities. You need to find the right self-publishing company, create an effective marketing plan, and choose the right printing options for your book. In this post, we’ll cover all the details you need to know when choosing a self-publishing company.

Self-publishing a book can seem like an intimidating process. After all, you’re essentially the publisher, marketer, and distributor all in one. But with the rise of self-publishing platforms such as Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), it’s now easier than ever to get your book out there. In this blog post, we’ll cover everything you need to know about choosing the best self-publishing book company for your needs and goals.

While Amazon and other platforms make it easy to simply upload a file to publish a book, many of you will want a more professional-looking product. You want bookstore quality and a book that will speak to your ideal audience and get you the results you are seeking.

The kind of self-publishing companies we are talking about in this post

It is important to frame this conversation with what kind of self-publishing book companies we are talking about.­­­­­­

Some people refer to Amazon and Ingram Spark as self-publishing companies. While some of them offer services to help you with the self-publishing process, they are best as platforms you can use to self-publish [print, sell, distribute] your book. The downside to hiring a platform to also handle your self-publishing process and book launch or promotion is that these companies will only sell you what they offer, which may or may not be the best option for you and your book.  They also may not provide the best bang for
your limited book budget.

What this post is about is self-publishing book companies that offer to guide you through self-publishing your book or offer done-for-you self-publishing.

We call it professional self-publishing. It’s also been called assisted self-publishing.

By using a separate company from the platforms to self-publish your book, you can get unbiased advice and are not get locked into one platform. You can take advantage of the best resources across multiple sites and increase your chances
of success for your book.

What exactly is self-publishing?

According to dictionary.com:
self-publishing is a verb, gerund or present participle:
(of writer)publish (a piece of one’s work) independently and at one’s own expense.

There is only one key difference between self-publishing and traditional publishing: “If the author owns the rights and royalties, then the book is self-published. If the publishing company owns the rights and royalties, then the book is traditionally published.” [souce: Scribemedia]

Self-Publishing Paths – your three options to consider

  1. Self-publish your book yourself by handling every aspect of preparing your book for publication, gathering all the necessary components, and uploading it to the selected publishing platforms

  2. Hire a company or consultant to handle all aspects of your publishing- taking your completed final draft through successful publishing and book launch

  3. Hire a company or consultant to handle a portion of the preparation or book setup for you

 While self-publishing has made it easy for anyone to become a published author without needing a book publishing deal, there are a lot of moving parts, nuances, and micro-decisions to be made. Self-publishing requires a team to handle all the different, required aspects of publishing your book. These include title, cover design, book formats, categories, keywords, etc. While anyone can do it, the question is, do you want to earn your Ph.D. in publishing, or is it a better use of your time to hire a professional self-publishing company or self-publishing consultant to shepherd you through the process.

 

DIY or hire it out – Which type are you?   

You may have a finished manuscript, but it’s not quite ready for publication. After all, you wouldn’t want to put your name behind something that wasn’t well-edited or even error-free.

As we’ve discussed, self-publishing is more than just uploading your manuscript to publishing platforms. It requires many different functions from book editing, design, copywriting, and so on. You can build your own team and then act as a project manager to oversee the process of finding your own book printing company, creating a professional cover and layout, creating front matter for your book, and several other important tasks. You can learn to do this yourself.

There are many resources available to help you understand the self-publishing process. Free resources include free courses, YouTube videos, and online Facebook groups. There are also paid classes and membership groups that provide training and a place to learn or ask questions as they come up.

As with any new endeavor, you’ll have to learn new skills and technologies. If you have never hired or assembled a team, you may not know what questions to ask, or how to properly vet the freelancers. Taking the time to understand the publishing process, being willing to ask questions, and having a measure of patience will help you succeed at doing it yourself.

 

Hire a self-publishing book company

The other option is to hire a self-publishing consultant or self-publishing company team to direct, oversee and manage the process of self-publishing your book.

When you hire a self-publishing book company or consultant, you get someone to advise you on what you need to do, and when it is needed. Then, they bring in their team as needed to accomplish the tasks and move your manuscript through the process of becoming a book and publishing and launching it. As you are the owner of the intellectual property, you will be consulted on and get the final say in all decisions. With this path, you will be making informed decisions as your company/consultant should be sharing with you the pros/cons and what to consider before making the decisions. 

You can sit back and make high-level decisions while they do all the heavy lifting and keep it on track. No details were left out and it is usually stress-free. This method takes the least amount of your time. There is no time needed to search for team members or vet them – this has already been done for you.

 

The cost of hiring a self-publishing book company

The cost of hiring a professional self-publishing book company or self-publishing consultant may create sticker shock at first glance. When you factor in the professional advice they offer, the time saved in not having to source, vet, and hire a team, project management or do the actual publishing yourself, it is probably well worth it. Outsourcing it to professionals, will save you time and likely save you from a lot of mistakes and headaches. The process will go smoothly, and you will end up with a great, professional-looking book. Plus, it was one less thing on your already busy plate.

If you go with the third option, to hire out only some of the needed parts of self-publishing your book, it will be helpful to learn as much as you can about the self-publishing process so you can decide which parts to do yourself DIY and which parts to outsource. 

cost to self-publish a book

First time authors don’t know what they don’t know when it comes to self-publishing

As an author, there are a lot of micro decisions to make along the way to publishing your book. Some of which will have long-term impacts. Impacts that you may not understand when just starting. Here is just one example of a common situation that first-time authors come up against. One example of this is the sourcing of their ISBNs.

ISBN Selection

Authors often try and conserve costs­­. Getting the required ISBNs for your book is costly. Bowker, the main player in the US market, sells one ISBN for $125, or a block of ten ISBNs for $295. If your book is in ebook and paperback formats, you will need two ISBNs, one for each version of the book.

Amazon offers free ISBNs. Sounds good right? Once you use Amazon’s free ISBN, you can’t take it with you to other platforms. Go to publish your book on B &N, or Apple Books and your ISBN is not usable. The other downside to this free ISBN is that it requires you to list Amazon as your imprint. This can detract from your book, as it is obvious your book is self-published; it may also deter other bookstores from carrying your book.

This is something first-time authors learn the hard way. If they decide later to publish the book on multiple platforms, they often must go through the process of republishing their book as a new version with a new ISBN that they own. This is because a new ISBN can only be issued if there are changes in text, format, or binding to justify it. This can be costly in terms of both time and money.

Questions to ask yourself– are you willing to live with rookie mistakes? They can be costly to your brand and your wallet, as well as drag out and delay your publishing timeline.

With all of this in mind, there are several things to consider before choosing the best self-publishing book company for you and your manuscript.

Not all self-publishing book companies are created equal

 

Here are a few examples of self-publishing book company service offerings: 

Company A – offers editing and proofreading

Company B – offers all steps from idea to published book, on sale on all major platforms – offers no marketing 

Company C – offers all steps from idea to published book, on sale on all major platforms – offers book launch, book marketing and PR

When you hire a fully staffed self-publishing company where everything is done in-house, you get a ready made team. With a solo self-publishing consultant, you will also get a team, as they will quickly assemble trusted, vetted professionals from their network. 

 

Before you hire a self-publishing company – 3 factors to consider

When you are looking to hire a self-publishing company, it’s important to understand what stage of the process you are in and what you need to bring your book to market. What are you as the author bringing to the party? Here are three questions to consider:

1. Is your manuscript written and edited? 

Some authors get as far as they can with their book and will tell us their manuscript is finished. They’ll look to us to take it through the editing and proofreading process. Other authors come to us with a fully edited manuscript that they have edited and proofread for typos and grammatical errors.

 When an author says their manuscript is finished, this can mean two things. They have taken it as far as they can and want help polishing and packaging it for publication, or, it is fully edited and ready for publication.

2. Do you know what your goals are as an author?

Understanding your goals can have an impact on the publishing strategy you need. You may think of publishing your book as separate from marketing your book and may be planning to use different companies for each phase of your book’s journey. It is important to understand what your bigger author goals are, as they can have an impact on how and where you decide to publish your book. Your self-publishing company or self-publishing consultant should inquire about this and work with you to publish your book to help it meet your goals. Different goals can mean a different strategy is needed. Here are two examples:

 A local real estate agent wants to publish a book to hand out to prospects. It will be their unforgettable business card.  Their main goal is to stand out in their local market. Being published on Amazon is simply an added boost for them so that when someone googles their name, their book listing shows in their search results, adding additional credibility to them. However, they aren’t looking for sales on Amazon or to get national recognition or visibility. They need a simple strategy – Publishing in both paperback and eBook formats, and publishing only on Amazon may be sufficient for them.

A consultant looking to increase their reach, visibility, and credibility and presell more high-ticket clients will want the broadest reach, distribution, and credibility. They will want to have their book published on every possible platform [Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Apple Books, Kobo…], and they will want multiple book formats- paperback, eBook, audiobook, and possibly hardcover, as well as the option to have their books carried in bookstores and libraries. They will probably want a visibility campaign to get the word out about their book and reach more people.

3. How willl you handle marketing and book promotion?

The typical self-published author sells about five copies of their book. The average U.S. book now sells less than 200 copies per year, and less than 1000 copies over its lifetime. Books don’t automagically sell themselves, so you will want to have some kind of book launch and promotional plan. This may be something you look to your self-publishing book company or self-publishing consultant to provide, or you may have this covered elsewhere. 

It is important to put time and thought into how your book will get out into the world, and who you want to have do that for you or with you, or if you plan to go totally solo and handle it on your own.  Some self-publishing companies offer promotional strategies, guidance, or actual implementation. It may be included in your self-publishing package, as an add-on service, or by referral to partners who they can recommend to help you with this.

Comparing self-publishing book companies – what to look for

It’s important to define what publishing a book means to you, and how a self-publishing company defines it as a service offering before you hire them. I see a lot of confusion about what it means to publish a book; often clients think that a book launch promotion is part of book publishing. It can be, but it may not be, so this is an important point to clarify in advance of hiring a book publishing company or consultant, and choosing a publishing package. It’s important to understand how and what publishing a book means and what your self-publishing company defines it as and what it is exactly that they offer.  Does your self-publishing package include any launch, promotion, or book marketing?

Define exactly what self-publishing a book means – make sure your self-publishing company is on the same page with you

Let’s go to the dictionary to shed some light on a few terms that may be being interchanged in the publishing process and can lead to some unintentional confusion.

► Publishing: The term publishing means, in the broadest sense, making something publicly known. Historically, it came to refer to the issuing of printed materials such as books and magazines.

What is the meaning of a published book? Produced or released for distribution 

► Book Launch: A book launch is any even wherein the author or their public relations (PR) team invites a group of people to celebrate the arrival of an upcoming book

► Book Marketing: A book marketing plan includes publicity and promotional marketing efforts to help sell books and reach more readers

► Book Publicity: A plan and campaign designed to raise awareness about the book and create buzz. Unlike marketing, it’s goal are not specifically tied to selling books. 

Conclusion

Choosing the right self-publishing company is an essential part of the self-publishing process. Whatever publishing path you take, you need to find the right platforms, companies, and resources to help you bring your book to market.

Before looking for a self-publishing company, as we discussed, it’s important to know your author goals, how much you want to do yourself, and how much you want to outsource before you start evaluating the self-publishing book company options.            

The best self-publishing company for you will depend on your publishing goals and which company offers the level of service and package you are seeking. It’s important to carefully consider each company and that they offer services that match your needs and goals before making a final decision.

Jane Tabachnick & Co. is a full service self-publishing book company. We work with non-fiction authors to help take them from idea through every stage of book publishing and book promotion.  Find out more about working with us here 

Listen to our podcast: The Self-Publishing Blueprint here