Every author wants to get their book published under the label of an established traditional publishing house. However, not all of them want their name to appear in the corner, with the publishing house’s logo taking center stage. However, these concerns are not so serious. The main issue with traditional publishing is that authors often wait months or years after submitting their book proposals. Even so, acceptance is not guaranteed. A very small proportion of authors are able to secure a traditional publishing deal.
Fortunately, with the introduction of self-publishing and numerous book publishing services, indie authors can now break past the publishing industry’s hurdles. A stack of rejection letters no longer decides the destiny of your books. Instead, self-publishing has provided a fantastic opportunity for everyone to try their luck in authorship.
But that doesn’t make self-publishing a piece of cake. Deciding to self-publish your book demands extensive research throughout the process. That’s why you must set realistic expectations regarding your book. And as with anything else in life, there are advantages and disadvantages to self-publishing. Continue reading to learn about the advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing. You can also read another detailed blog on The Pros and Cons Of Self-Publishing And Traditional Publishing
The Advantages Of Self-Publishing
The literary industry has witnessed tremendous growth in self-publishing as more authors are inclined toward self-publishing than traditional publishing. And there are many reasons for that. Moreover, book publishing services also take credit for contributing to the success of the self-publishing industry. You might be thinking, how? Because they have made self-publishing easier for authors. They have trained and experienced professionals by their side with enough industry knowledge that can help you achieve your long-due dreams. So, what makes self-publishing so popular? Let’s find out:
You Have Complete Creative Freedom
A writer usually has a vision in mind before they start a writing project. Imagine agreeing to a contract that gives the publisher all authority, only to have your book modified so much that it is no longer even acknowledged. But with self-publishing, you have complete creative freedom over the structure, content, and cover art of your book. You can work with editors and designers to make your manuscript bloom and create a captivating cover while adhering to your original vision for the book.
You Can Instantly Publish Your Book
Self-publishing is still the more effective method of publishing, even though it is true that a high-quality self-published book cannot be written in a week. However, you can expect that your book will be put up for sale quite quickly after your manuscript is completed. This enables you to revise your book, make necessary edits, proofread, and modify it wherever needed before publishing your book. On the other hand, it will generally take a traditional publisher eighteen months to publish your finished manuscript.
You Don’t Face Rejections
Traditional publishers have become less willing to take chances in recent years. Agents and publishers nowadays frequently stick to what they perceive to be a successful formula, leaving little space for emerging authors who write beyond their favorite genres or traditional boundaries. However, by removing the traditional publishers or gatekeepers through self-publishing, everyone can try their luck in writing. And with the freedom you get to publish anything with self-publishing, you don’t have to face any rejections and are not bound to write only in a specific genre.
You Get Higher Royalties
It’s time to take off your dreaming glasses and acknowledge that the idea of receiving a substantial advance in addition to a lucrative deal is only a fantasy. A signing bonus for a newly published author will probably be in the thousands of dollars. But no more royalties will be paid until your book’s revenues have surpassed the bonus.
Normally, a traditional publisher pays $1 per copy sold. On the other hand, with self-publishing, you can earn up to 70% of the revenue from your book sales after deducting the printing and shipping expenses. However, if you are working with book publishing services, you can save even more as they usually charge upfront costs for their services.
You Preserve All The Rights For Your Book
All ownership rights to a writer’s creative creation are forfeited when the author signs a contract with a publisher. This applies to the book itself as well as any variations, including eBooks, audiobooks, and translations into other languages. On the other hand, self-published authors retain complete editorial as well as creative control over their books’ content across all platforms. So, whether it’s the book cover, book layout, publishing platforms, target audience, or book pricing, you are in charge of making all these crucial decisions.
The Disadvantages Of Self-Publishing
Now, when we have discussed some sparkling advantages of self-publishing, let’s take a look at some of its disadvantages too. However, you need to keep in mind that most of these advantages are harmful to you and your book if you have not acquired any professional assistance. And hiring book publishing services throughout this process is the best choice you can make. So, let’s start:
You Have To Bear Upfront Expenses
When an author signs a traditional book publishing contract, all the work, including book cover design, editing, and formatting, is handled by the in-house team of a publishing house. So, authors don’t have to bear any upfront expenses.
However, with self-publishing, the situation is pretty different. The author is in charge of managing all the pre-publication work, including editing, formatting, proofreading, and book cover art designing. Apart from managing, they also have to allocate a budget for them. But you don’t need to worry. Numerous book publishing services have customized packages, including all pre-publication services, so hiring them may be a good idea. And going for an all-in-one package can save you a lot of money if compared to paying for all these services separately.
Your Book Might Get Less Attention
In case you have any doubts, bookstores still exist. People still value the experience of exploring bookstores and looking through the books they intend to purchase in person. And self-published books can be found in physical bookstores, but most of them are available in online stores and are bought online. This implies that your book will receive less attention and have a smaller audience.
You Might Face Difficulties In Marketing Your Book
The next issue is that the self-published author is solely in charge of marketing their book. The marketing budget is a crucial component for authors who self-publish. On its website, Amazon offers about 25 million different titles. Your marketing efforts will be entirely blamed if you want your book to appear on the first ten pages of Amazon search results.
However, suppose you are not tech-savvy and want some professional to do the legwork on your behalf. In that case, you can engage book publishing services as they already have some established contacts in the literary industry and can help you take your book to the top of Amazon listings.
So, Is Self-Publishing Really Worth It In 2023?
Absolutely! Keeping in mind all the above-mentioned benefits, self-publishing is your way to succeed. Authors nowadays are fed up with traditional publishing houses’ rejections, restrictions, and waiting timelines. That’s why they are moving towards self-publishing. With self-publishing, you generate higher revenues from book sales, you get complete creative freedom, and you don’t have to face the never-ending tantrums of traditional publishing houses. Can anything be better than that? So, make your decision wisely!