Many writers get too excited after writing their book that sometimes they get are ill-advised on the industry that they are about to get involved in. Once their book passed completion and they decided to go the self-publishing route, their decision is not sometimes based on what they can benefit from self publishing their book but what they can gain from the results they are after. Tricky but let me elaborate.
What writers do not know about self publishing is that:
- money does not come overnight - so is success. Like all writers, whether they published through publishing houses or not, all experience hard work. You can't just go into publishing because you wanted to get rich right away. Profit will come but it wouldn't help if your book is already published and then you sit around and wait for the next big check to come along. A large number of your books may be sold at deep discounts (up to 60%), which seriously reduces the profit-per-book. Unless you get on a marketing plan, perhaps you might get there as soon as you expect it to happen. Inject a little patience and your efforts will be rewarded.
- self-publishing is not the "easy" way to get a book on the market. Just because you happen to sport an ISBN doesn't mean that your book is automatically on everyone's wishlist. The book is yes, published faster, but no, that is just the first step to getting the bulk orders you've always dreamed of. How well a book sells is heavily dependent on what the author's goals are and how actively they choose to promote his or her book. The thing to consider in this aspect is that self-publishing lets you take on all the tasks that would have been handled by a traditional publishing house. You are the writer, the editor, the publisher, the printer and the public relations officer - multi-tasking at its best and at your expense. How well a book sells is entirely up to the investment you made for the book's marketing plan - financially wise or effort wise.
- their confidence makes them believe that their books no longer need editing and that it is good enough to hit stores right away. I have talked to several authors who were thinking of publishing their book because it is going to be next bestseller. "John Grisham will eat his heart out!" Sometimes, they send me excerpts of their book which I happen to archive on a DO NOT OPEN folder for fear of exposing such hideous literary works. Yes, a three-year old can write better than them, mind you. Their command for the English grammar baffles me and it just breaks my heart to let them know that resources alone do not make up for the fact that you can publish your own book yourself. Get help. Ask around. Collect feedback. Edit, edit and edit.
In retrospect, what writers should know about self-publishing is that it is all about their attitude. If one assumes that the reason why traditional publishers are turning their books down is simply because they are different from the mainstream market, he is committing the biggest assumption of his life. Badly written, poorly edited and mediocre book covers are the results of poor attitude and and give the entire self-publishing business a bad name. Tone down the arrogance and humble yourself to publishing stardom.
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