Exploring the pros and cons of self-publishing
If you want to spare yourself rejection letters and ghosting from publishers, set your own agenda and have full creative autonomy then perhaps self-publishing is for you. In the competitive world of publishing, where big names sell books, it’s sometimes difficult to find your book’s place in the world. But we all have a story to tell and we all “have the right to a representation of the human experience.”*
Yet, self-publishing isn’t always easy. Here’s a list of the pros and cons for you to consider.
Pros of self-publishing:
No more rejection letters and waiting for a response. No nervously waiting for it to go through acquisitions or whether an agent will pick you up.
You have creative control of all aspects of the project, from idea through to publishing and marketing. This also means you have to learn these things if they are not familiar to you. That can be a pro or con, depending on your personality!
You can choose your team - artists/illustrators, editors, graphic designers, cover design, marketing, finance, legal. If working in children’s literature, don’t underestimate the value of a brilliant illustrator. Illustrations sell picture books.
You get to decide what projects you work on and when. Your schedule is bound by your dreams and aspirations, not a publisher’s schedule. This also includes what you want to write - if you want to write both children’s fiction and romantic plays, go for it! However, consider how you will market yourself or the products.
You can brand in your name or under your self-publishing name. And if you desire, you can go down the path of becoming a publisher of other people’s work (I’m no expert in this, so do your research about legalities etc).
Profits are all yours. Remember to factor in fees from PayPal, Stripe, banking fees, printing costs or other services.
Book competitions, you can still enter self-published works into competitions, however the CBCA is one notable competition in Australia that doesn’t allow international illustrators or contributors.
Cons of self-publishing:
The time taken from writing is used for publishing activities. As a self-publisher, you are in charge of everything from marketing to layout. These things take time away when you could be writing. This can also be a procrastination tool. Schedule in writing/admin so you have defined spaces to do the nitty gritty and carve time out for building worlds!
You don’t have a huge team behind you. The success, or otherwise, of the publication starts and ends with you.
You need to become familiar with many things, including ISBNs, layout, and formatting (including which font to use!), which printing service suits you (on-demand or ordering en masse - usually through Asia), editing software, distribution networks, the ELR/PLR system in Australia, Legal Deposits (to National Library of Australia), marketing and promotion, and so much more. Many of these things are done by the publishers.
Cost. As the publisher, you take on the costs of everything. Currently, I have a book project on hold because I can’t afford the illustrator fees just yet. You definitely should get your manuscript professionally edited at least once, perhaps twice. This is money well spent.
Decision fatigue. Fonts, hardback, paperback, audiobook, ebook, illustrations, when to market, (not including editing decisions), and so on. Lots of decisions. I think this is a pro, but many people don’t.
Credibility. Self-publishing still has a disappointing reputation in the world, particularly in literary circles. My approach to this is to make the very best book possible and to enter into competitions. The only way this concept will change is if more and more of us feed quality literature into the pool.
Self-publishing can be an extraordinary life adventure. I’m really happy with my decision to self-publish, you can read about it here. But it isn’t for everyone. Some like the time freedom and credibility that comes with being traditionally published. Others have some books self-published and some traditionally published (a hybrid author). Whatever you choose, make sure it’s something that fills your life with joy to bring your manuscript to life.
Feel free to add any additional pros and cons in the comments below you think I may have missed!
*I’m sorry, I scribbled this quote down years ago and am not sure where I found it. If you come across it, please email me.
**I’m in Australia, so I’m sure you have similar in your own country.
