Self-Publishing: Is it right for you?

by Julia Paterson

Ah, the wonderful world of self-publishing. The world that strikes FEAR in the hearts of even the most courageous!!

Because you are reading this article, I assume you have decided you want to write a book. Whether you have started to write or not, one decision you will be faced with is whether or not to self-publish. This one decision will determine which path you follow as the two result in very different attitudes and activities. Throughout this article, I will not only tell my story but also give you ideas and references on how to get through this process based on your desired level of involvement.

To begin with, please let me give you a bit of my background. I was in the financial services industry for ten years. My book 'had' to get out on paper as it was burning inside me for quite some time. My purpose in this life is to serve others, and I am very honoured to be able to pass on the lessons I have learned thus far. Not only did I work through many of my own limiting beliefs, but I also helped many others do the same. I coupled this with a simple money management system that I use myself - and found others asking for this information and assistance. As I learn, I teach, and have learned to be a conduit for just a small part of the vast amount of knowledge out there. I am definitely blessed!!

Now back to the topic at hand!! Although many things happened before I got to the point of deciding HOW to proceed with my book, for the purposes of this article I am going to talk about why I decided to self-publish my book. Hopefully this will give you some insights so that you can make the right decision for yourself.

Before I jump in to the 'meat' of this article, I wanted to ensure some terminology is clear. When I refer to a publisher, this is a person or company whose business is editing, printing and distributing books, newspapers, magazines, etc. Any reference to an agent will be someone who acts on your behalf to promote you and/or your book in whatever way you choose. This could be promoting your book to a publisher or to bookstores, or promoting you as a speaker with your book as a back-end product. It all depends on how you have define their role on your 'team'. When I speak of a publicist, this is someone who handles publicity for you and/or your book (i.e. a press agent).

Because I knew more than one person who had written a book, I had an idea of the odds against getting it accepted by a publisher. It made sense that my book had to be exceptional to stand out amongst the thousands and thousands of manuscripts that publishers and agents receive every single year. I also knew that the industry was still reeling from the loss of so much talent on 9/11, as one of the major publishers was located in the Twin Towers. My decision was confirmed when I attended Mark Victor Hansen's Mega Book Marketing University. Mr. Hansen has self-published many of his books, and has been very successful at it - because he considers it a business, complete with a well-prepared marketing plan. He spends his time marketing his books, just like someone works in or on their business, and he has become successful because of it. Mr. Hansen included the following in our handouts: "The average self-published book sells only about 3,000 copies, and the average book issued by a publisher sells only a few thousand more". I also learned that the average author only gets about 20% of the selling price of their book (or sometimes less), and their agent or publicist also takes their cut from that. When I actually ran the numbers, I felt compelled to self-publish because I then knew my book would get in the hands of those who needed the information. I also had some control over the process and I could continue to be an entrepreneur, with this being another part of my overall business. Because I have no problem talking to people and marketing myself, I felt this was the right choice for me.

In speaking with other authors, I have found quite a few who are discouraged because they were not chosen by a large publisher, and they have given up on their dream. In fact, only about 2% of submitted manuscripts are chosen to be printed and carried by publishers. I have also spoken with others who have decided to self-publish their books, and they are happy with their decision, although it does put all of the onus for book sales on them, but it is something they were well prepared for.

Another important detail that I learned is even when a book is picked up by a publisher, you may NOT be off the hook regarding marketing. One case that stands out is an author who received a contract with a large, prominent publisher. Although this person received some important introductions and their books were placed in book stores, they still had to schedule their own book signings and basically handle the marketing of their book on every level to ensure success.

Another consideration when deciding to self-publish is to determine how involved you would like to be in the process. If you want to hire each person on your team, this is certainly an option; however, there are many companies out there who will take care of the whole process for a specific fee - even including the marketing and distribution of your book! This can sometimes be more cost effective, but it is essential that you take the time to determine these costs AND find a team that you can work with. I will provide some links later in this article so that you can determine who you want to hire to help you with this process.

Let's assume that you have your manuscript done, or at least started. What do you do now? As I said above, one of the first steps is to decide whether you want to self-publish or submit your manuscript to a large publisher. Regardless, you will still have to proceed with deciding on a book title (if you haven't already), have your cover designed, have an editor go through your book, and find an illustrator (if you require one). While this work is being done, if you have decided to submit your manuscript to a publisher, then you must find the names and addresses of publishers so that you are ready to send everything off as soon as you have it in your hands.

If you are going the self-publishing route, then it's time to find a printer - if you haven't hired a company to take care of everything through a package deal.

My recent research into hiring one company to handle all of the details from designing your book cover, editing, and getting your manuscript in the right format for printing shows that this is probably your best route; however, you must do the research and decide for yourself. In my experience, it was more cost-effective to do it with one company but, again, this is a personal choice depending on how involved you want to be in the process or if you have friends who can provide some of these services at a lower price while still maintaining high quality.

With self-publishing, once your book has been submitted to the printer, you can expect to receive the first 'proof' of your book (sometimes called the galley copy). You will be expected to go through this once again - very carefully, I might add - to ensure that everything is correct. This means looking at not only the spelling, and grammar, but any illustrations you may have, ensure the chapters are all in the right order, etc. It is up to you to check EVERYTHING so that your book will be correct when it is printed. Once you have signed off on the proof copy, your book will be printed - with any changes you made. Once your proof is finalized, ask when you will receive your books. This may take 8-10 weeks.

While you are waiting for your books to be printed, now is the time to develop and/or finalize your marketing plan. If you have no idea what your next steps are, you can do a search on the web to find publicists or agents who can help you, or you can choose to purchase a book at your local bookstore for this purpose, or you can purchase an e-book online which will guide you through the steps. One of the essential things is to make a list of potential buyers (don't forget to include your family and friends) and places where you can speak with others about your book (your local library, bookstores, as well as any clubs or associations that you may belong to). If you are in a relationship, ask your partner if they are willing to help you market your book by telling their circle of friends and associates about it. There are endless ways to market your book and get it into the hands of those who will benefit most by it. You were brilliant enough to write your book and share your message with the world, so you can DEFINITELY think of ways to sell it too!! By doing this, before you know it all of your books will be sold and you will be contacting your printer for more!!

Another avenue to get your message out there is to consider speaking to networking groups - even ones that you don't belong to. Many will invite you to speak (for free) so that you can share your wisdom about your topic as well as tell them about your book. I attended a networking/business group with a friend and sold EIGHT books - and I wasn't the presenter!! I was both pleased and amazed!! I firmly believe that if I can do it, so can you!!

One last point I would like to add, it is VITALLY important that you obtain your book in eBook format as well (usually an Adobe PDF file). This will allow you the option of selling it online at a later date. Literally thousands of books are sold via websites every single year, and you wouldn't want to have to pay another fee to get it done later.

Now that I have covered the basics of self-publishing and the steps involved, I would like to ensure you have some links to help you find your "team". Please be sure to read any notes I have included as there will be additional information provided, as appropriate.

Please do your own research for local companies, and ask your friends for referrals to the great companies they use. You may be able to secure a discount if you have been referred by someone who is already a customer. It certainly doesn't hurt to ask!!

Please see Julia's article on Self-Publishing: Resources!

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