Why Not Self-Publish?
Anyone researching about publishing a book will quickly run across a number of unavoidable arguments. Self-publishing versus traditional publishing, agent vs. self-representation, e-book vs. physical book, brick-n-mortar vs. printing on demand, etc., etc. Everybody and their uncle has an opinion based on their own experiences, prejudices, self-interest and what not. Some of it will seem appropriate to your own situation, but a lot of it will not. Because writing has become so democratized today, there really is no “one-size-fits-all” model that each and every aspiring author should automatically adopt as their own.
Probably the biggest, most central question, though, remains the decision to pursue a traditional publishing route or to self-publish instead. All of the other issues fall into line very quickly once that key point is decided, for traditional publishing houses will likely have very strict guidelines over how and in what form their books appear both in stores and online. While BackMyBook has very clear preferences towards self-publishing, we fully understand the allure of the traditional model for first time authors, or really for anybody daunted by the challenges of working outside an established system. Regardless of one’s particular stance, however, there will be inevitable challenges to overcome if you decide to self-publish.
Eric Karjaluoto, a successful marketing guru, does an excellent job of laying out some the most pertinent issues to the question of self-publishing, as he examines his own experience putting out his book Speak Human by himself. It is far from a resounding endorsement of self-publishing, as he ran into a number of obstacles he never anticipated, and came to realize some of the advantages the traditional publishers still retain. As he says, it is important when thinking about self-publishing, “to avoid falling into some kind of a fantasy of ‘easy riches’” since most self-published books in his estimation do not end up profitable. Karjaluoto even declares that for his next book he wants to try the traditional route, in order to take advantage of what he feels publishers are still able to do effectively, professional editing, marketing and the handling the logistics of review copies.
But just as interesting as Karjaluoto’s experience with self-publishing is the response of his commentators, many of whom make clear that even in the areas traditional publishers claim expertise, far too often the reality is much less than the promise. Editing can be obtained in a number of ways, at a wide variety of professional levels depending on the genre and the goals of the book. Logistics will likely be a challenge for any self-publisher, to some extent, and does need to be realistically factored into any plan for a self-published book. However, it its Karajaluoto’s faith in the publisher’s commitment to marketing their books that really needs to be examined most carefully. From what we’ve observed, this is exactly the area where faith in the publishers is most misplaced. The reality is that marketing budgets for any book outside of a publisher’s roster of superstars have been tumbling in recent years. More fundamentally though, authors today, especially unknown ones are caught in a catch-22 situation when it comes to publishers and marketing. Publishers today will seemlingly only sign authors that already have an audience of likely readers (buyers). They do not have the resources or patience to try and build an audience that does not already exit, even for authors they believe have great books to sell. And if you are an author that has already constructed a community of fans, then you really don’t need a publisher to market your work, especially as they are going to want to take a huge percentage of revenues in order to do it.
We certainly do not want to raise unrealistic expectations for self-publishing, but no analysis of this choice is accurate without a sober and unflinching examination of what traditional publishing actually is today. And that picture is a far from rosy one, even when it comes to their historic strengths of editing, logistics and especially marketing.
Probably the biggest, most central question, though, remains the decision to pursue a traditional publishing route or to self-publish instead. All of the other issues fall into line very quickly once that key point is decided, for traditional publishing houses will likely have very strict guidelines over how and in what form their books appear both in stores and online. While BackMyBook has very clear preferences towards self-publishing, we fully understand the allure of the traditional model for first time authors, or really for anybody daunted by the challenges of working outside an established system. Regardless of one’s particular stance, however, there will be inevitable challenges to overcome if you decide to self-publish.
Eric Karjaluoto, a successful marketing guru, does an excellent job of laying out some the most pertinent issues to the question of self-publishing, as he examines his own experience putting out his book Speak Human by himself. It is far from a resounding endorsement of self-publishing, as he ran into a number of obstacles he never anticipated, and came to realize some of the advantages the traditional publishers still retain. As he says, it is important when thinking about self-publishing, “to avoid falling into some kind of a fantasy of ‘easy riches’” since most self-published books in his estimation do not end up profitable. Karjaluoto even declares that for his next book he wants to try the traditional route, in order to take advantage of what he feels publishers are still able to do effectively, professional editing, marketing and the handling the logistics of review copies.
But just as interesting as Karjaluoto’s experience with self-publishing is the response of his commentators, many of whom make clear that even in the areas traditional publishers claim expertise, far too often the reality is much less than the promise. Editing can be obtained in a number of ways, at a wide variety of professional levels depending on the genre and the goals of the book. Logistics will likely be a challenge for any self-publisher, to some extent, and does need to be realistically factored into any plan for a self-published book. However, it its Karajaluoto’s faith in the publisher’s commitment to marketing their books that really needs to be examined most carefully. From what we’ve observed, this is exactly the area where faith in the publishers is most misplaced. The reality is that marketing budgets for any book outside of a publisher’s roster of superstars have been tumbling in recent years. More fundamentally though, authors today, especially unknown ones are caught in a catch-22 situation when it comes to publishers and marketing. Publishers today will seemlingly only sign authors that already have an audience of likely readers (buyers). They do not have the resources or patience to try and build an audience that does not already exit, even for authors they believe have great books to sell. And if you are an author that has already constructed a community of fans, then you really don’t need a publisher to market your work, especially as they are going to want to take a huge percentage of revenues in order to do it.
We certainly do not want to raise unrealistic expectations for self-publishing, but no analysis of this choice is accurate without a sober and unflinching examination of what traditional publishing actually is today. And that picture is a far from rosy one, even when it comes to their historic strengths of editing, logistics and especially marketing.
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