Someone commented on my previous post, The Road to Publication, Part 1 – Author Platform, and asked why I decided to self-publish (AKA being an independent author). That’s a simple question with a complicated answer. There are a number of reasons I’m choosing to self-publish. Here are some of them, in no particular order.
Complete Control. I have absolute control over every aspect of publication: editing, formatting, cover, pricing, and marketing. No agents or editors telling me to change something… or worse, telling me that they changed something for me! I’ve heard horror stories from authors about editors slapping a cover on a book and then changing the text in the story to match the cover. Of course, doing everything myself means I have to take complete responsibility for the success or failure of my book.
A bigger piece of the pie. I don’t have to share the price of my book with an agent or publisher. If my book sells well, I get more money. That’s a pretty compelling reason. I still have to pay a percentage to Amazon or Draft2Digital or Book Baby, but I still make more than the traditional publishing route. And if I sell my books direct on my author website, I get the whole pot on those sales.
No rejection letters! I don’t have to submit my book and deal with the dreaded Fear Of Rejection. If you self-publish, you don’t have to worry about rejection… until you publish!
I can write what I want. I don’t have to try to fit into a genre that a publisher will accept. If I want to write Viking Zombie Space Opera, I can do that. Now, the traditional publishers may be right, there might not be a market for Viking Zombie Space Opera. But maybe there is. And maybe I’ve invented the Next Big Genre. I’m also writing some erotic fantasy and steampunk, and sometimes the scenes get very explicit. Getting those books in the door at a traditional publisher would require some real magic.
There are some downsides to self-publishing. Editing, formatting, marketing, and all the other tasks take time away from writing. But I can’t write for 8 to 10 hours a day (at least I haven’t been able to so far), so putting in some time on another writing-related project gives my brain a break from pounding out the words. And realistically, any author is going to have to do a lot of marketing whichever publishing route they take.
Now, being an independent author doesn’t mean you have to do everything yourself. Most authors don’t have all the artistic or technical skills required to be a one-person publishing house. You can find services to do your editing, formatting, and cover design; but that requires a lot of money up front.
I’m on a very tight budget for getting my first books out, so I’m doing as much as I can myself. I’ve done editing and technical writing in past professions, so I’m going to be relying on those skills and my beta readers and critiquers to get my books into the best possible shape.
I’ve got some decent graphics skills, but I’m nowhere near good enough to design my own covers. I’m probably going to use pre-made covers for the first publication for some of my books, when possible. (I doubt I’m going to find Viking Zombies at SelfPubBookCovers.) If I start making enough on my books I can take them through a professional editing pass, get a custom cover made, and republish them.
Self-publishing is not for everyone. It’s a lot of work, and there’s a lot of risk. But I didn’t get where I am today by not taking risks!