A Publisher's Conversation with Authors: Self-Publishing (Excerpt from Publishing for Smarties: Finding a Publisher)

 

Excerpt from Publishing for Smarties: Finding a Publisher

Why Would You Want To Self-Publish 

As an acquisitions editor for a small publisher, I have sometimes received proposals that clearly indicate that an author would be better off self-publishing. Typically, just one or two exchanges with that author will make that preference clear. Such authors will want full control of the book—cover, title, release date, size of the book, and the like. They will often even say something like, “I can take care of the editing; I just need the press to do the marketing.” Well, frankly, the industry does not work that way. Any press that is going to market the book is not going to turn over full control to an author, and any author that thinks he or she can manage full control in a quality fashion is clearly a neophyte. If an author cannot detach himself or herself emotionally from the “baby” (the proposed book), then no kind of functional working relationship will be able to be built with the publisher. In this case, the author is crying out to be a self-publisher but is afraid to self-publish, does not know how, or is unwilling to make the effort to market the book. As for the latter, no publisher is going to want a book if an author is not going to actively assist with marketing. 

A Word of Caution 

While there are good printers for self-publishing authors (Xlibris comes to mind, among others), there are some companies that pass themselves off as publishers who are just out there to take your money. Sometimes, they purchase all rights, and you have to buy your own copyright back. Their terms are always author-unfriendly, and many have been taken to court multiple times. Look up the BBB rating of any company you will be hiring to publish your book. Check the Internet for complaints (or kudos). There are two websites that can also prevent you from making an expensive mistake: Writer Beware (www.writerbeware.com), mentioned earlier, and Preditors and Editors (www.anotherealm.com/prededitors/pubwarn.htm). In the case of self-publishing more than anywhere else in the publishing business, caveat emptor applies in full.

Activities 

1. Control over your own product can be an important consideration. 

 a. Check which of the following are important to you to be able to control 100%: 

______ book appearance and cover design; 

______ content and wording; 

______ advertising; 

______ marketing; 

______ print run (quantity of books). 

b. Now, look at each important item and determine whether you (a) can get by without it and are willing to forego it; (b) would really like it; or (c) must have it in order for your book to see the light of day.

If you answered (c) to two or more of the items in 1a, then self-publishing may be the way to go. Perhaps your need for control is so strong that you will only be happy if you publish yourself. If you answered (a) or (b), you really do have some choices and can look at questions other than control.

2. Marketing can be very important to some authors. 

a. Which of the following items are important to you? 

_____ placement at the Library of Congress; 

_____ being carried by bookstores; 

_____ being on library shelves 

b. Now, look at each important item and determine whether you (a) can get by without it and are willing to forego it; (b) would really like it; or (c) must have it to make it worth your while writing the book.

If you answered (c) to any one of the items in 2a, then you should not consider self-publishing. It is very difficult to have any of these things for a self-published book although all of them are possible, given the right book and the right time and place. If you answered (a) or (b) and in 1a indicated a self-publishing preference, then it is more likely that you can survive the self-publishing experience and maybe even thrive on it.

3. Finally, check your emotional reaction to self-publishing. 

 a. Do you consider it (1) a stigma or (2) an opportunity? 

 b. Are you (1) ready to put in all the extra work or (2) would you rather someone else did that? 

c. Are you (1) knowledgeable enough to handle the quality control or (2) dependent upon experts for quality control

d. Do you (1) have deep enough pockets to handle the production costs or (2) will you have to cut back, scrape the bottom of the barrel, and contract with the cheapest company? 

 e. Do you (1) not really care about reviews or (2) want your book reviewed by the better reviewers? 

If you answered yes to more of the (1) questions than to the (2) questions, then you are a good candidate to become a self-published author. If you answered yes to more of the (2) questions, then perhaps you should do a considerable amount of soul-searching and researching of the various book publishing companies before taking the plunge into self-publishing. One should not self-publish simply because one is not able to interest a mainstream publisher in one’s work. Lack of interest might be a warning sign that the work is not yet ready for the market. All self-publishing will do is get a few copies into the hands of friends and relatives. Self-publishing is not a way to circumvent the need for quality control.  

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