AN AUTHOR'S JOURNEY TO SELF-PUBLISHING

Self PUBLISHING TRUTH VS myth

Photo by Dziana Hasanbekava from Pexels

After the quiet mornings and nights of long hours of writing, congratulations, you've completed your first manuscript or children's book--now what!  Although writing is an author's passion, every author writes because he or she feels that they have something to share with the world. Even though major profits may not be the ultimate goal, it is a goal that will allow an author to continue to write, flourish and thrive.  There is no greater feeling of accomplishment than to share one's creativity, thoughts and passion with the world.  Even better, a great compliment is when it is received, accepted and appreciated by a mass audience.  Many author's learn just how competitive the market is and how challenging it is to get the word out and sales generated once their book is complete.  This is when it is important to understand the different roadmaps to publishing.

When self publishing, whether using a "self publishing" or "vanity" publishing house, authors must understand the facts and weigh the pros and cons. Vanity publishers also known as subsidy publishers, will essentially publish almost any and everything a would-be author presents to them.  Since these publishing houses charge and upfront fee, they are not as concerned with the quality or potential market. Some of these publishers only charge and upfront fee and allow authors to keep 100% royalties, while others may charge an upfront fee and additional royalty fees for each sale of an authors work.  100% sounds fair since their efforts to get your books sold and on bookshelves pales in comparison to the vast effort and labor your will have to put into gaining recognition and success for your work.  It's true, that they will make it so that books are available for global distribution, but that is something that authors can also accomplish themselves by using self-publishing platforms--some of which I mentioned in a previous article "Print On Demand vs Offset Printing Services." 

I have to admit that I was green when I wrote my first book and had no idea of what the publishing process entailed.  I used a vanity publisher that convinced me that my book was "better than sliced bread."  They were really excited about the content which excited me.  I felt really special. I loved the fact that they provided a one stop shop.  They provided the illustrator, editor and formatter. Because of that I can honestly say, that I appreciated them.  However, it was a learning experience.  I thought I had researched them, but I wanted to publish so badly and they gave my book such a glowing review that I was only seeing what I wanted to see.  A year later, and after several phone calls from them trying to nickel and dime me, I started reading complaints of them withholding royalties among other problems authors were having.  With that being said, if an author chooses a subsidy publisher, they should go into it well informed, and perform lots of research--making sure the publishing house they choose is one of honor and ethics.  For those with absolutely no resources, but posses the skill base and have a knack for marketing and selling, this option may work. Some self-publishing houses may be expensive, but worth the effort of handling different aspects of the book publishing process.  It is all about perspective.

Before closing, one thing that I made certain of when working with the vanity publisher of my first book, is ensuring in writing that I owned the rights to my illustrations and could pull the book at any time and republish with a traditional publisher if given the chance. I cannot emphasize the importance of intellectual property.  I ultimately, decided to pull the book and publish it under my own publishing label.  I will blog later on how it is important to establish your own publishing brand if you decide to self-publish.

Stay tuned to future posts as I will, cover traditional publishing, library of congress registrations, copyrights and much more.

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