Self Publishing VS Traditional Publishing
Although there are many reasons why self-publishing is fast becoming more popular than conventional publishing, there are four main benefits to self-publishing namely: maintaining control, greater profit margins, full ownership (copyright) and limited budgets of publishers, all making self-publication a viable and preferable option today.
1. Conventional publishers have limited budgets
Why should you have to pay to have your book published when a conventional publisher could do it for free? Well, ideally yes, most of us would like a top publisher to pick up our manuscript and strike up a deal to publish it for us where they pay for everything and then still pay us royalties. But the reality is that publishers the world-over simply don’t have the budgets to publish all the good books out there. You could send your manuscript to countless publishers and often they won’t even be given the time of day, remaining unread – not even looked at – because there is no more budget. There are less publishers and with publication and marketing costs ever-increasing, budgets are decreasing so even if your book is good, it may still be turned down. A good option then if you believe in your book and want to share it with the world, is to self publish.
2. Control of creative elements and content
As a self publisher, you as the author have total control of both the creative elements (design) as well as the content (text) of your book. You can get a professional organisation to help you with these services (like Reach Publishers), but at the end of the day, they will still follow your direction, needs and wants. A traditional or conventional publisher would control these elements and dictate what they want to see and read whether or not it is your vision and whether or not you are in total agreement or not.
3. Total ownership of copyright
If you self publish a book, you own the copyright and therefore only you have the right to print and sell copies of your book. If a conventional publisher were to publish your book, that publisher becomes the owner of your book and has the right to produce and sell it as they like. You will even have to buy copies of your own book from the publisher and have absolutely no control of production and sales. This is often very difficult for authors who feel like a very personal part of them is owned by someone else.
4. Profit margins are often better especially for first-time authors
First-time authors especially often get very low percentage royalty deals from conventional publishers. It is not uncommon that after production and marketing costs, there is very little profit from sales and these percentages are usually based on profits only. So once all is said and done, there is simply nothing left over and all the author’s hard work is for nothing, as he or she literally makes not one cent from the book. Alternatively, self publishers can frequently make a tidy profit by controlling their sales and what they make from each book. Indeed, many have gone on to self publish works that were previously published by conventional publishers (once out of contract) and made a great deal more profit on their own self publishing.
Interested In Self Publishing?
If you are considering self-publishing, let us help you produce and print a quality book and show you how to market it to the world. Not only do we have a roll-up-your-sleeves attitude, but we also have the experience to back it up. We can proudly say that we have been in operation for over 20 years. We are just a phone call away and handle each book very personally and professionally. Contact us.
