The Great Debate: Why I Chose to Self-Publish

Okay, people, I am throwing down the gauntlet. After hobnobbing with some incredible authors for the last few years, I have decided to self-publish my manuscripts. For me, this was a hard decision based on a year-long conversation with a friend of mine.

See, when I first started to explore what it meant to be a writer and an author, I was convinced self-publishing was NOT for me. Way back in 2014, I could still feel the disdain some people had for publishing your own book. I read articles about the worst self-published book covers found on Amazon. I talked to people who wrote great books but had no sales once their books were out in the public. (What do you mean I’ve got to do the marketing all by myself?) To be honest, most of my disdain was about fear.

Fear that my book cover would be laughable.

Fear that my editor would miss a bunch of little grammar mistakes and I would be laughed at behind my back.

Fear that I would fail at marketing my book.

Fear that I would never recoup the money I invested.

I could go on, but I think you get the picture. I hid my fear behind my big, snooty nose. “Oh, YOU self-published? Egad!”

But over the last year, I came to a couple of realizations that I want to share with you, oh gentle reader.

1. I do not care for the vagaries of the market.

I was speaking with award-winning historical fiction author Aimie K. Runyan a couple of months ago, and she told me that the market was trending toward 20th century fiction – specifically something around the world wars. I thought this was awesome because I’ve been toying around with an idea for a story in that time frame for about a year.

But then I realized, what if I write this book and the market changes? Aimie made a point of telling me how fickle the market is. But then again, what if the market veers toward stuff I don’t have any interest in chasing? Do I spend six months researching a potential story, then write one only to find out the market has shifted again? No.

2. I am no longer afraid of marketing.

Two books demystified book marketing for me. The first was Write. Publish. Repeat. by Sean Platt, Johnny B. Truant, and David Wright. This was the first book on self-publishing I ever read. One of the things it stressed was the idea of a marketing funnel – a term I heard a lot when I was a B-to-B telemarketer back in the 1990s. It made sense to me.

The other book was Let’s Get Digital by David Gaughran. This book covered a lot of the same material as Write. Publish. Repeat., but it did it in a different way. David’s snappy prose and infectious positive nature inspired me to take my marketing by the horns. I can do this.

Finally, after talking to a lot of local authors – all traditionally published – I’ve come to the conclusion that even if I did get a traditional contract, I’d have to do at least some of the marketing myself. So I might as well reap the financial benefits.

3. The financial threshold is low and getting lower.

I did a lot of research over 2018. I talked to a lot of self-published authors about the nuts and bolts of getting a quality book out. Essentially, if I want to self-publish, I need to mimic what the traditional publishers do. I have to research the market to see what’s trending in book covers for my genre. I have to hire a competent editor. I have to find beta readers and I have to market.

It might sound like a high threshold, but it really isn’t. A good cover artist will cost anywhere between $250 and $500 or more. If you want to go cheap, you’re probably going to get some manipulated images. If you can spend more, you can get a commissioned painting for your cover art.

Editors can trend between $1000 and $2000 dollars for your manuscript. Of course it depends on your genre, the word count, whether you want a developmental edit or a copy edit or both.

You’ll also need to find someone to format your book into an e-book for Amazon Kindle. That can be anywhere from $250 on up.

Now if you add everything up, we’re talking about $1500 to $3000 to self-publish a book. Wow. That’s the price of a junky used car! How can anyone afford that? Well, let’s talk about it.

You can get a good cover for under $200 depending on your genre. The great thing about RMFW is that there are people who know more than you do and can help you find a competitive artist with bargain-basement prices. If that fails, there are half a dozen pre-made e-book cover sites that are dirt-cheap.

If you leverage your acquaintances in RMFW, they can introduce you to price-competitive editors, too. I found my editor when author Jennifer Rose raved about her experience with her editor. She works hard and is quite competitive. (And NO, I will not share!)

Finally, if you pay for someone to format your book for you, make sure you do it only once. Have them teach you how to format. With software like Vellum for Mac, Scrivener, and Jutow, we all should be formatting our own novels. It takes a little patience and some elbow grease.

4. You can make a killing.

While I was doing my research and talking to the pros, I kept running into people who were killing it in the self-publishing world. I mean, they were putting food on the table, paying their mortgage, and going on vacation with their fiction. If they can do it, I can too.

Now please don’t misunderstand me. These authors aren’t dilettantes. They aren’t writing a book every 18 months, they’re writing six books or more a year! They’re writing the modern equivalent of the dime store novel, and they’re cranking them out.

Yes. I know. It sounds scary. But think of it like this. At the end of the day, here are the skills you’ll need:

Marketing
Project management
Minor accounting skills
Writing fast

I have become a true believer. I know I can master all of these skills. I can already write fast. I’m learning how to market. I can do project management, and the Fetching Mrs. Evans is my accountant.

Finally, if you’re still on the fence about this, especially if you’re wary of the costs, my accountant wife reminds me that once the book is out and I’ve made at least one sale, I’ve qualified for a Schedule C with the IRS. That means I can take every expense I’ve generated for my novel as a write-off. So, there’s that.

Every couple of months, I will share my experiences as I march toward publication. My first manuscript is currently in the late stages of rewrites. It’s almost done. My target publication date is Friday, June 22nd. Wish me luck.

I can do this, and so can you.