Why Self-Publishing is a Bad Idea

 How do you get your self-published book into a bookstore?
It takes a lot of work.

The ease of internet publishing has made self-publishing all the more attractive for a lot of writers out there tired of rejection. After all, it seems like a lovely idea -- to have total control over what your book looks like, who sees it, and what the final edit is. It can take years to find an agent and then to find a publisher for your work, and years more until it is finally released. Why not just distribute it your own way?

The problem is that self-publishing is no picnic. I'm going to tell my readers some hard facts about self-publishing, that I was told by representatives of real publishing companies and serious publishing professionals. It might not be pretty, but it's important to hear.

First of all, it takes a ton of your own money. Seriously, you will never make a profit by self-publishing if you're going for print; it takes too much of an investment on your part if you want to see even remotely decent sales.

Second of all, it takes an absolutely massive investment of time. When you publish with a publisher, there is a team of people working for you to get your book promoted and cared for. The company runs ads and talks to booksellers so you don't have to. If you self-publish, you're on your own. You've got to make your book look good enough to buy, then you've got to endlessly promote online and in print, go around to different bookstores asking them to distribute it, call and email people asking them to review it, write about it on your site...and that's just the beginning. Self-publishing is like running a campaign for office, and just about as time-consuming if you want to be successful.

After the jump: more reasons to be wary of self-publishing.

Third, it is extraordinarily difficult to get wide distribution. While you can have your book online at Lulu and Booksurge, the real money comes from being sold in those American bookselling juggernauts, Amazon, Borders, and Barnes & Noble. You'll have to call up buyers at these companies and make a pitch for your book -- and these companies are unlikely to want to listen. They get the vast, vast majority of their books from publishing companies, and aren't very interested in the independent folks.

Fourth, no one will pay attention. A real sign of having something catching on is if people start to review your book. Book reviewers in magazines and online outlets alike already have their plates full with books from publishing companies; unless your book is a grassroots sensation, no one will want to spend valuable time reviewing it.

Fifth, it's not good for your credentials. I've actually seen it on people's resume: the proud proclamation that they self-published a book. This is not actually an accomplishment. All it tells the world is that you couldn't find a publisher for your book, and wasted a lot of your own money trying to distribute a rejected manuscript. You finished a novel-length work, but so do thousands of people with NaNoWriMo every year. In the future, if you find success, it will only seem silly that you have that self-published book sitting out there when it wasn't ready to be seen by the world.

I know, it's tough. But I figured a little tough love was necessary. Though it can be very difficult riding the road of rejections, it's the only way to really gain respect and success in the literary world. If you're getting rejections, revise and try again. And if you're still determined to self-publish, more power to you! I'll write in the future about tips for making your book and your stories as good as they can be.

Comments

[Damon Lord]

Oh thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you! This is *the* article/blogpost I've been wanting to read for ages, but didn't know I was looking for it!

People, when I tell them I write in my free time, often ask me how much it will cost to get a book published. I tell them I don't know, that's for a publisher to decide, and they look at me oddly. Many people still think that publishing involves the author paying for publication. I put them right: if a writer is any good, the writer will be eventually paid to write. I'm unpublished (apart from a few articles and stories), but a good writer does not pay for publishing, a good writer gets paid, and I aspire to be a good writer.

A few years ago I got a few writers' magazines and every other article in them seemed to be pushing self-publishing. Most of the ads were from companies that would profit from self-publishing, usually to the financial detriment of the writer.

It's interesting to note that self-publishing is also known as VANITY publishing.....

[P.C.Cross]

Yes, if you are out to make money, self-publishing is likely to be a rude awakening. But in many cases, making money on your passion is not the main objective; but instead, just to see, have, and hold it between covers. On the most inexpensive side, with no editorial assistance, it can be done for as little as $300. Or, go off the deep end and plummet into thousands with hard cover, art work, sales promotions, etc. having no assurance you will breakeven from sales.

In my case, I opted for $500 to get a teenage book published I had been kicking around for twenty years. I, now at 75, had a need for it to be done with: Summer Job, about a fifteen year old boy who hears a voice in his head—the epitome of Freud’s id. By the time I, and my wife (whose fellow teachers feel it is worthwhile reading for today’s troubled middle and high school children), purchase copies for handout and sale the bottom line will approach $1000 I am certain with little more than a return of a $100 or so, and probably with a surplus held in abeyance—hardly financially profitable—but highly satisfying.

[Susan Wenger]

Thanks for writing this. I work at a self-publishing company, Wheatmark, and while I disagree with some of your conclusions, you raise points that aspiring writers absolutely need to know. It kills us when authors say they plan to get their book on Oprah, and they don't even have a vague plan for marketing. The ones with pie-in-the-sky goals (and no idea how they'll reach them) are the ones who will probably only sell copies to friends and family.

It's possible to make a profit with a self-published book, but your post is spot on about a couple of things.

First, though traditional publishers often reject perfectly decent material, you should make sure that's the case with your book before you get it into print. Revise, get feedback from people who will be brutally honest, and for the love of gawd, GET IT COPYEDITED. Agents/publishing houses may not be vetting your self-published book, but you had better believe that the book-buying public is.

Second, yes, it takes an absolutely massive investment of time market your book. Even if you're the most talented writer of your generation, you won't come close to recouping your publishing costs if you just sit back and wait for the orders to roll in. If you simply want to see your work in printed form, and maybe give copies to your family for holidays and birthdays, that's great. If you want a broader audience, expect to roll up your sleeves and work.

Oh, and you're right about not getting into bookstores. A local bookstore or two might take a chance on your book, but forget Borders and Barnes & Nobles across the nation. Won't happen unless you've already made significant progress elsewhere, or you get picked up by a traditional publisher. Instead, self-published authors need to focus on online bookstores and special sales (outlets that don't specialize in bookselling, like gift stores, pet stores, etc.).

None of our authors have made it onto Oprah. I suspect that none of our non-retired authors have been able to quit their day jobs (same is true for most traditionally published authors). But some of our authors -- the ones who have done what it takes to write something that readers want to read, and who have really hustled -- really have found an audience.

[Susan Wenger]

Oh, and I've linked back to your post on our Wheatmark blog. If they don't believe us when we tell them about hard work and not aiming for Oprah, maybe they'll believe you. :)

[Praveen Puri]

Hi, I have to say that I respectfully disagree with some of the information and conclusions in your article.

First, it does not cost a lot of money to self-publish. I have so far self-published three books, and it did not cost me a single cent.

Second, I had no trouble getting my books sold on Amazon.com and Target.com.

I used Createspace, which is a publisher owned by Amazon.com.

Third, it does not require a lot of time to market your books, though of course more marketing certainly helps. So far, I have just depended on promoting my books through my blogs and websites, and through articles.

Using just these free resources and limited time, I've managed to sell about a couple hundred copies of my books (the oldest book was published 1 1/2 years ago). In addition, I've tried to integrate different models to make money from my writing besides book royalties - including selling advertising. Including these indirect sources of income, I've made maybe $6500.

That's not a part-time income, but it's still what I would consider a profitable micro business, since my expenses were 0.

Maybe my three books are not best-sellers but, with a model that costs $0 to publish and nets $6500, I have a recipe that I can rinse and repeat for more books. Plus, I can now use some of my earnings for advertising or publicity.

Sure, it is probably unrealistic to expect to self-publish a $1 million best seller but, if you feel a passionate need to write and express yourself, self-publishing can be a profitable micro-business.