by Krystal Russell

Created on: October 31, 2008   Last Updated: November 01, 2008

Self-Publishing is for writers who have a small or untested niche market, have books out of print they want to bring back into circulation, have a regional/ancestral focus, or a story to tell that doesn't fit neatly into any genre. The truth is there are a lot of reasons why self-publishing is a valid way to get your work out there. Whatever your reason, it cans still be a confusing and stressful experience. Here's an overview of the different forms of self-publishing to help you make your decision.

Print-on-Demand Pros

This is a great development in the printing industry for authors like you and me. Many books are printed with offset printing, which needs to print thousands of copies to be cost effective. Thanks to P.O.D. services like lulu.com, authorhouse, and iuniverse-which use the much cheaper digital printing method-writers with a small market or little start-up capital are still able to have physical, printed paperbacks and hardbacks of their books available for sale without sacrificing too much quality.

Print-on-Demand Cons

P.O.D.s are almost too easy to use, unfortunately. These services are not publishers and do not provide editing, proofreading, interior or cover design, or marketing (although they often provide contact information for outside vendors of these services). Many authors choose to skimp on these critical steps of the publishing process, and end up with a book full of typos, continuity errors, and poorly designed covers-labeling their work and themselves as amateur. This and a lack of marketing help or initiative is why many P.O.D. books sell fewer than 50 copies-and most of those to the author's family, friends, and neighbors.

Printing Offset Pros

"Old school" self-publishing involved taking out a loan, emptying your savings, and getting a second mortgage to afford an offset run. Nowadays you'll likely only do one of the three. On the plus side, you'll pay less for each book-possibly only cents per copy-and keep everything you make on each sale. For instance, you paid $1.50 per copy for the 5,000 books you had printed, and sell each one for $15.00. That's quite a profit!

Printing Offset Cons

As pretty as those pennies look, that's not counting all the costs you had to pay upfront for things like an experienced editor, a graphic designer, shipping costs, and even an ISBN. And there's no telling how long it will take you to sell those 5,000 copies-you could be giving up your garage for good to boxes full of unsold books.

Lightning Source Pros

Lightning Source is like P.O.D on steroids. They provide cheap, as-it's-needed printing for your books; they take care of inventory, shipping, and returns; and they're owned by Ingram, the be-all-end-all of publishing distribution used by libraries as well as giants like Barnes & Noble and Amazon (and your book is automatically included in their catalog).

Lightning Source Cons

Like other P.O.D.s, Lightning Source is a printer, not a publisher. They expect you to make sure your book is 100% ready for print when you give it to them. Unlike other P.O.D.s, though, Lightning Source does not work with authors. They only work with presses. However, if you register as business and become a small independent press, even if you're only publishing you're own books, you are eligible to work with Lightning Source.

This has been just a quick overview of the three most popular options for self-publishing that I've come across in my research. I chose to go into business as a small press and work with Lightning Source for a variety of reasons, only a few of which are mentioned here.

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