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Add to FavoritesThe question "Should you sign with a legitimate book publisher or self-publish?" is a loaded question. From the very beginning it implies that self-publishing isn't legitimate. Unfortunately one of the largest problems with self-publishing is the stigma. Which means that while many people just don't have the aptitude or talent to self-publish successfully, those that do often don't do it for fear of what their writing peers will think.
Something important to be considered in this question is the fact that big commercial publishing is a fairly recent invention to the history of publishing. A few hundred years ago most published books were published by the author and author's family, perhaps with the help of a patron of the arts (a kind generous soul with lots of money to spend to support writers and other artists. Now these types of people are busy saving the rain forests and the whales, so writers don't often get a patron anymore.)
Ask yourself: All the amazing writers who came before big commercial publishing, some of whose names we have idolized and strive to in some way emulate, was their status as a 'published author' illigitimate? Mark Twain, Walt Whitman, Edgar Allan Poe... these are only a few of the names of brilliant and remembered authors who have self-published at least a portion of their work.
In more recent times, folks like Stephen King have ventured into self-publishing for some projects. I'm willing to bet King doesn't wring his hands worrying that he didn't have a "legitimate publisher" for the ebook he published serially and released on his website. Turning good writing into a commercial commodity doesn't increase it's value or legitimacy.
Thinking in terms of "legitimate" for the method of publishing is self-defeating. What should matter is not how a book got to market, but the quality of that book and whether or not it finds its audience. If you're considering publishing with a "legitimate book publisher" instead of self-publishing, the only benefit remaining may be the perceived legitimacy. (And isn't that it's own form of vanity? If you make a publishing decision that isn't the best business or life decision for your personal situation but is based on what other people are going to think of you, how is that any less vain than what others have termed "vanity publishing?")
Most mainstream publishers don't heavily market the books they publish to end readers. Their marketing efforts are directed at bookstore buyers and other distributors. Those bookstore buyers and distributors can return unsold books to the publisher. Books don't sell just because they're sitting on a bookstore shelf, especially given the huge number of titles competing for reader attention as well as the many other outlets online where books can be bought. So no one but the author is really marketing to the end reader.
"Legitimate publishers" expect you to do a lot of marketing. But if you're doing all the real marketing to end readers, shouldn't you be keeping all of the profit? If end readers only find out about you from either your marketing efforts, hearing about you from someone else who has read you, or happening to see your book in a bookstore (which most likely won't have enough marketing push behind it for posters or front table displays), then doesn't it make sense to just publish and market yourself, build a fanbase online, and keep higher profits per book? (Over years and several books in your backlist, this is going to add up.)
Who cares if someone else thinks you're "legitimate?" The people who constantly question this issue are other writers who as a group are so disenfranchised that they almost have to have another group they can look down upon who aren't "real writers" like they are. The opinions you should concern yourself with are those of your readers. If your readers love your books they aren't going to put you in a lower category. And if you self-publish well (i.e. you do all the research, and you make sure every aspect of your book from cover, to interior layout, to editing is top quality), most readers aren't going to even realize you self-published. And if they do, they won't care.
The other primary complaint about self-publishing is "you can't make money at it." I beg to differ. Fiction authors, even most NY published fiction authors, rarely make enough money with a "legitimate publisher" to live on. A self-published fiction author who has the aptitude and talent to publish their own work successfully can do just as well financially or better than their traditionally published counterpart. (On average, if you crunch your numbers right, you will have to sell 1/4th or 1/5th the number of books to make the same amount of money.) If you can't make money self-publishing, you probably weren't going to make much traditionally publishing either, especially if you're publishing fiction.
Another financial long-term benefit of considering self-publishing, is that if you do it well, your odds jump of getting a much more lucrative publishing deal from a mainstream publisher. Having a book you've independently made successful picked up, will give you a much more stable writing career. And if your new shiny publisher should ever drop you, well, you know how to publish. And instead of being one of the poor writers who got dropped by their publisher and no one else will touch, you can just go back to self-publishing and just keep cultivating your fan base. No huge loss.
Non-fiction is even better. With nonfiction you must have a platform/audience before a publisher will publish you. But if you have all those ready-to-buy customers anyway, it makes more sense to sell directly to them yourself. With nonfiction you can also branch out into many ways of packaging your information: ebooks, manuals, print books, audio, video, entire systems, creating far more revenue streams than would be possible through a "legitimate publisher."
The question shouldn't be: "should you sign with a legitimate book publisher or self-publish?" but should YOU do it? You should evaluate your own situation independent from the general question. If you have the money, time, some business sense, marketing ability, and verified writing talent (by someone outside your family and friends), then yes, you should consider self-publishing. If you don't have the necessary skills and talents to self-publish successfully, only do it if you're doing it as a hobby. It's okay to publish your books as a hobby without looking for a writing career out of it.
Learn more about this author, April Wilson.
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Publisher
So you have a book and you want to publish it. You've gathered all your best thoughts in between two covers and you want the world to read it. You've had family read it and it has brought them to tears. You've had your wife read it, and edit it and she cannot put it down. Now it's complete. How do you get it into the hands of the waiting public?
Getting your book published does not have to be just a dream any longer. There are many organizations who would be more than willing to print your book, design a cover, bind it, register it in the library of congress, and provide it to several of the largest primary book distribution centers in the country. How much are you willing to pay?
Doesn't it seem as though you should be the one getting paid? You are the author. You have already done your part. You have bled your thoughts out on paper and somebody ought to be willing to publish it for you. Well, there is someone who will be your partner. Before you sign your savings away with a vanity press, just so you can see your name in print, and be able to read that clever title of yours on a book cover, you need to seriously consider speaking with a legitimate book publisher.
Real book publishers, the ones who pay you, not charge you, are difficult to get your manuscript in front of. It is going to be just that much more difficult to get them to publish it for you. But, there are those publishers out there today who are revolutionizing the book publishing industry. Using modern technology, they are able to circumvent much of the regular expense of printing your book, and are then able to accept more manuscripts. One such publisher is Publish America and there are many others. If you select one of these publishers the benefits are many;
10) QUERIES / PROPOSALS: New book publishers are open to accepting queries directly through the author. You do not have to have an agent to get your proposal in front of these publishers. Search for one of the many different web sites and you will find a link to submit your manuscript. Your book will get a professional review and a professional opinion. Much of the time your work will be accepted.
9) NEW / UNPUBLISHED AUTHORS: This new breed of publisher is accepting work from all types of authors. In fact they particularly like new, unpublished authors. One of the comments I was given was "...we like first time authors because their first book is usually full of their best ideas, the ones they have been saving up their entire life..." New, first time, unpublished authors are welcomed at these new publishers.
8) LIBRARY OF CONGRESS: Your book, once published, will be submitted to the library of congress in Washington DC and a copy will go on record forever. Your book will be cardexed in the library of congress. They do this free of charge; you don't have to do anything. One day you go to DC, go to the library and ask for your book, there it is.
7) ISBN: Your book is not going anyplace without an ISBN Number. The International Standard Book Identifier is the ten-digit number usually on the back of the book right above the UPC code. Without an ISBN, Amazon won't touch it, Barnes & Noble doesn't want it, Borders won't even talk to you, you have to have it. Your publisher automatically gets one for you. They handle the application and all the paperwork. They format it and print it on your book cover right along with the UPC code. Couldn't be any easier.
6) DISTRIBUTION & RETURNABLE: Without charge your book will be made available to many Internet book sources and even some brick and mortar book retailers. In particular, your book is placed at several book wholesalers such as Ingram Books. Books at establishments like these are generally referred to as "Returnable", meaning, a brick and mortar bookstore can return whatever books they don't sell for a full refund. This is vital in getting your book on the shelves. For a bookstore to take a chance on an unproven author they want to feel secure they will not lose their investment.
5) COVER DESIGN: I don't know about you but I fancy myself a writer, not an artist. For an effective book cover you need something that tells the story of your entire book, right there in one spot, just to get someone to open the cover. Publishers do that for you. They fully design and print your book cover.
4) FREE COPIES: This may not be a real important benefit but I placed it high on my list because I know when your first book is actually published, and you have approved the art work for the cover, you are going to be on pins and needles waiting to get your hands on a copy. You get the first copies, hot off the press. Your publisher makes sure of that.
3) ROYALTIES: Of course money has to come into play someplace. Traditional publishers act as a clearinghouse for orders and other sales. They export as well as sell domestically. For every copy they sell, you get a royalty on. You don't have to personally sell these copies; your publisher is selling them. They want to sell the books. That is how they make money. You will get royalties on every one of your books that is sold.
2) P. O. D.: Print on Demand. This is the technology that helps make it possible for your publisher to do so much for you, a brand new author, and never charge you anything. They can be set up to print off one, a hundred or ten thousand copies of your book at a moments notice. Nothing has to be warehoused. They don't have to print up the first one thousand and hope they sell. They wait until they get an order then they print the books.
And the number one reason you should sign with a legitimate book publisher instead of self publish?
1) EXPENSE: Never one cent out of your pocket. Every single thing I have mentioned is absolutely free; that and more. You never spend a dime. No expense at all; it is all shouldered by your publisher. All you do is sit back and rake in the royalties (We hope).
I have written three books, all of them published through legitimate book publishers. There is no way I would ever want to tackle the job they have. Its hard enough for me to market my own book, but that has to be done, at least until I become another Steven King. If you have seriously written something you think is worthy of being between two covers then trust me; you are much further ahead signing with a traditional publisher than you are trying to publish it yourself. You have nothing to lose; give it a try.
Learn more about this author, Gary Maclean.
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