Benefits of Self-Publishing
Self-publishing has become
increasingly popular in recent years, and it’s no surprise considering the many
benefits of self-publishing when compared to traditional publishing.
Going the traditional
route, you need an agent and publishing house—the timeline for this process can
range anywhere from a couple of months to years. However, if you choose to self-publish
you bypass traditional publishing altogether, cutting down the process to a
possible few weeks. Self-publishing also means that if an author is writing in a
genre, or about an issue that is currently popular, their self-published book
will come out while the genre/issue is still popular.
Due to the shortened
period it takes for self-published books to hit the marketplace as opposed to
traditional publishing, where a book may come out long after the trend has
passed, this can be highly beneficial to the author.
Most of the time when an
author signs with a publisher, the control is handed over to the publisher
regarding changes to the book content and cover design. However, by choosing
the route of self-publishing, all control rests with the writer. You—the
author—are in charge of every decision regarding your book: from the cover, to
the edits, to how you want to market it, etc. Moreover, because you’re in
charge, you receive anywhere from 35-70% royalty rate (depending on which
company you use to self-publish) as opposed to the standard 15-20%.
Moreover, by being in
charge you also control production costs by having the decision over what
formats and designers you ultimately choose to use. Even when you choose how
much to pay to produce the final product, there are websites you can use to
accept financial support from fans such as Kickstarter and Indiegogo.
Self-publishing is not for
everyone, but for those who are interested there are benefits to going the
self-publishing route.
By Ashley Tahir
