Though the self-publishing bug has already bitten many authors, a lot of people still don’t know whether or not they should self-publish. However, it is not difficult to figure out whether to self-publish or not. Authors struggling with this question should know two things.
1. For work to be good enough to self-publish, it should also be good enough for a traditional publisher.
2. If an agent accepts your work, you should seriously consider self-publishing it.
Look out
An author should avoid self-publishing a book when he takes it to an agent and the agent loves it but says he doesn’t know how to market it and rejects it. The sad truth is that if an agent says he cannot market the book for you, it will be difficult to sell it if you go ahead and self-publish. If it is a really good book, you should set it aside and wait for the market conditions to improve.
Despite the concern mentioned above, publishing is a business and if you have the mind of an entrepreneur, you must have a niche market for your book. It is not cost-effective to go out of your niche to market a book. If you want to self-publish a book, chances are that the book is intended for your niche market and therefore you will find it easier to sell.
If you are offered a book contract, you should remember that self-publishing is a business that you can still decide to get into. When you decide to self-publish, you should start a small publishing company with you as the only author. You should plan on the following:
A business name
A business license for your area
Creating a website and maintaining it
Establishing a social media presence and staying active
Creating a separate bank account for your company
Promoting your book every day for the rest of its life
Unless you are willing to do these things, you should go for traditional publishing.
It is possible for you to skip some of the steps mentioned above. Many small publishers skip quite a few and it is a sign that they are not very serious about running a proper publishing business. Unless you are serious about starting a small press, don’t make a half-hearted attempt for it is doomed to fail. You should know that the harder you try to sell your book, the more successful you will become.
There are many people who have tried in vain to get book deals from traditional publishers. Some of these people went ahead to publish their own books and became very successful. Their stories are exciting and romantic but also quite rare.
The best path to follow is to make sure you pitch your book to as many agents as possible. You should be very patient and if possible you should start writing another book while waiting to get a traditional publishing deal.
When you fail to get traditionally published, you should have written a few books. If you decide to self-publish any of your books you are bound to get an audience. Sooner or later the audience will start asking for more books which you happen to have.
