People ask me all the time, “Is it better to try to find a traditional publisher or self-publish?”
My answer is always: “It depends.” It depends on your goals, your resources, your book idea, the market. There are many factors to consider.
However, there are several good reasons to consider self-publishing first.
1. It’s very, very difficult for a first-time author to get published these days by a legacy or traditional publisher. Ironically, part of the reason for this is precisely because today’s technology makes it so easy to publish. There are so many books out there, the bookstore shelves are packed (and that mode of distribution is very flawed, but don’t get me started on that!). Publishers are increasingly wary of publishing untested authors.
I do not blame them. I’ve been on the “inside” of the post long enough to be sympathetic to your version. It is very expensive to produce, advertise and distribute a book, especially given the very flawed bookstore distribution model. (Wow! I couldn’t help it.) Profit margins are usually very slim. Publishers spend anywhere from $10 to $30,000 to produce a book, and you never know which books will make it back.
In fact, 85 percent of all published books don’t even “sell” enough to pay their advances! It often amazes me that publishing is still an industry (especially given the very flawed business model they operate from, oh oh, here I go again).
2. You can earn more money, at least per book. When your book is published by a traditional publisher, you can get a royalty advance. However, it is becoming more and more true that advances for first-time authors are quite low: no more than $5,000. In fact, progress is slowing down. I just heard a publishing professional report that the most common down payment these days is $0! Any.
Even if you do get an advance, remember that most books don’t even get your advance, and that it’s an advance against (future) royalties. Typical Royalty: 7-10 percent of the network, which means after bookstores or other distributors get their discount (typically 45 percent). Let’s do the math. A book that sells for $19.95 has a base (discounted) price of $12.97 (a 45% discount means you get 65% net of the list price). Of that, you get your 7.5 percent royalty (the typical paperback hardcover is almost unheard of for a new author). Now you’re down to 97 cents per book sold. From there comes, above all, 15 percent for the agent (if he had one). So your net royalty per book is a whopping 82.7 cents per book.
Now, if you can produce the book for $10, and it’s something you can actually sell for $19.95, you’ll net $9.95 per book if you publish and sell it yourself. The tricky thing, of course, is making sure your production costs don’t exceed the price you can actually sell the book for. The problem with a lot of “publishers” like lulu.com is that you can easily get out of the market. You have to be very careful and very realistic about what the market is used to paying for your type of book.
The other trick is to make sure you have an audience, or be able to create an audience, for your self-published book. If you can talk and sell it from the back of the room, this can be very effective. If you already have some kind of platform, some kind of audience, you can learn internet marketing strategies and sell it online. The Web is becoming more and more effective at promoting and selling books, which is why I’m so excited about publishing these days.
3. You get published faster. A legacy publisher can take anywhere from 9 to 18 months to produce your book, once they receive your manuscript. It may only take half that time to do it yourself. You reap the rewards faster if you post for yourself.
What are those rewards? Publishing a book positions you as an expert, like almost nothing else. According to Kevin Hogan, author of The Science of Influence, nothing increases your credibility and expertise in the public mind like your own book in print. An advanced degree is actually the second after you have published a book. You can leverage their expertise before, during, and after writing the book, and reap the rewards of being a faster published author.
Once your book is published and you start promoting it, you’ll make connections you can’t imagine now. The doors will open for you. When you are perceived as an expert, people come to you; You don’t have to work as hard to go out and find them. You can charge higher fees for your services, products, talk, whatever your book supports.
Then there is the incomparable satisfaction of hearing someone say: “Your book changed my life…”
You might as well start reaping these rewards sooner rather than later!
4. As you learn the rules of promotion, you may attract a legacy publisher. One who will later be willing to pay you a larger advance than before. You’ll have to learn how to promote your own books anyway, no matter how you initially publish them. If you successfully promote your self-published book and build a large audience, chances are you’ll be approached by a legacy publisher.
This is another result of the self-publishing phenomenon. Increasingly, publishers are looking for successful self-published books to take on. It’s just good business. You (or perhaps a smaller publisher) have taken the initial risk and shown that you know how to promote your book. The risk is much lower for them.
Your advantage of being picked up at that point by a legacy publisher is that it will give you wider distribution (ie, in bookstores and chains and other outlets), and you might get a decent advance. (At that point, you’ll be in a position to know if you want to sacrifice revenue for further distribution and have them take on the hassle of producing, storing, and distributing the books. You may decide you’d rather keep it yourself.) -published.)
If you are chosen by a traditional publisher, you can still sell your book and build your platform while they produce it. You can usually keep selling your book up to 60 or 90 days before your new book is published. Then of course the publisher will want to be able to sell the new edition and you will have to withdraw your initial edition. (Often this will include supplementary materials, beware! For more information, see the “Know Your Copyright” article.)
I predict that more and more legacy publishers will look to successful self-published authors. They would be fools not to.
5. You are more likely to work hard for your return on investment if it comes out of your own pocket. Isn’t this human nature? Don’t you think you’d work harder to get $5000 back from your book if it’s your own invested money? And this motivation may be just what you need to propel you toward success.
Ultimately, you are the one who will have to promote and sell your book, no matter how you publish it. Always, always remember that. You are the best defender of your own book. The writing is only part of the picture. The real work comes later, promoting it and making sure your investment of time, energy, and money pays off.
But that’s where the fun begins.