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Why Self-Publish Your Book? by Ceci Miller
When
I
meet an
author with a great book concept, one who’s definitely the
right person to write that book, right away I’ll often
encourage him or her to self-publish. This is because I know that, if
an author is thoroughly invested in what they have to say, and if
they’re determined to create a buzz about their message,
they’ll discover...
5
Fantastic
Benefits of Self-publishing
1.
Control. When
you enter into a contract with a major publishing house,
you’re signing an exclusive agreement that prevents your
having input into most of the important decisions that will affect your
book’s perception by the public, and its sales.
You’ll have very little say about the look and feel of your
book cover, the endorsements that appear on the back of your book, or
the wording of your press release, for example. And since all of the
above elements are critical to giving your book its best chance for
bestseller status, such loss of control can pose significant problems.
“But don’t publishers know better than I what to do
to sell a book?” you may ask. Not necessarily. Authors
usually know more about their book’s subject—and
hence, about their target audience (market)—than anyone else.
Hey, they wrote the book!
More
food
for
thought about signing with a major publishing house: If for some reason
your book doesn’t sell quickly and the publisher lets it go
out of print, there’s often a “waiting
period” before the author is allowed to self-publish the book
to get it back on the shelves. In the meantime, the reading public sees
that your book is “out of print” and a great deal
of word-of-mouth damage is done. Self-publishing means that you are at
the helm of your book project. Of course, it also means that the
responsibility for its success rests in your hands. But when you
believe in your message and know that you’re going to do
everything in your power to get that message out to your target
audience, isn’t it a good feeling to know that
you’re the one driving its success in the marketplace?
I
suggest
a
balance of control and delegation. The right publishing ally can coach
you through the process of writing and editing your book, and will also
advise you to design and market your message in a way that gets optimum
results. Your publishing ally may be a book editor, a publishing
consultant, a published author, or all three. If she’s worth
her salt, though, she’ll know what it will take to get your
book published, and she’ll know how to help you make it
happen.
2.
Money.
Why
does it make good business sense to self-publish? Consider the
following: a contract with the book publisher doesn't give you an
ironclad guarantee that your book will ever and upon the shelves. If
you’re a new author, your publisher will allocate zero
marketing dollars to promote your book. It's sink or swim! If your book
does sell well, it will be due to your own hard work and
ingenuity—and your reward will be a tiny fraction of the
book’s total profits. Self-publishing admittedly involves
more capital risk, but it also means that the extensive footwork you do
to market your book will go to producing income for the person who most
deserves it. After all, you’re the one who’s doing
all the work to ignite word-of-mouth about your book. Not only that,
you wrote it! Don’t you deserve to reap 100% of the profit?
3.
No
Waiting,
No Rejection. The Cinderella story of the little book that gets
discovered by a publisher and becomes an overnight bestseller is mostly
just that—a fairytale. Yes , it happens. But it hasn't been
happening a whole lot lately. In the current publishing climate, with
major houses paying gigantic advances to celebrity
authors—their “cash cows”—not
much is left to spend on developing new talent. Let's be honest: a
publisher isn't going to spend a dime marketing a book by an as yet
unknown author. To get your book considered for publication in the
first place, you'll need to have an extremely convincing marketing
strategy in place which you intend to implement on your own, at your
own expense! Such as the case in every genre from children's books to
alternative health to historical novels. First-time authors are being
turned away en masse. And since many nonfiction book projects are
time-sensitive—well-placed offerings intended to respond to a
specific market trend —their authors often while way their
precious window of opportunity waiting for agents or publishers to
respond to a proposal. It isn't impossible to get a major publishing
house interested in a book by a first-time author, but it’s
getting more difficult all the time. Self-publishing removes the wait
(and the accompanying weight from your shoulders) and the discomfort of
rejection from the process of getting your book into print.
4.
5.
Power
of
Belief. The power of belief in our words is what makes promises good
and turns dreams into reality. Authors who self-publish their books
believe deeply that others will benefit from reading what they have to
say. They have unshakable conviction. Such authors often tell me,
“I had to write this book. I just have to get it out
there!” Deep belief is the selfless power that drives all
true service and makes a difference in the world. Authors with a strong
sense of purpose know that they can make their books succeed. They
don't want to wait around for a publishing house to
“accept” their work. Aware that time is precious,
such authors create their own publishing opportunities. They get behind
their own message. They launch a campaign fueled with belief in the
creative power of intention.
Every
good
editor or publishing consultant knows that the best way to make your
book a true success is to create and market a message that you will
both be proud of for years to come. Creating uplifting books is a
passion. Make it yours, and every one of your books sold will be a vote
of confidence in yourself and the rest of humanity!
About
The
Author
Ceci
Miller,
MFA, President of CeciBooks Editorial & Publishing
Consultation, has been writing and editing books with bestselling
authors since 1988. A graduate of the University
of Iowa
Writer’s
Workshop, Ceci Miller has written, co-authored and edited numerous
published books, and worked as staff editor for an international
magazine. For a free initial consultation, or more information, go to http://www.cecibooks.com.
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