Should you use a self-publishing company?



A self-publishing company may be the right solution for some writers. This should help you decide:

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PRO:

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• After you've written your book, the company can do all the work necessary to publish and market your book. Some of these companies can even provide ghostwriters, so you don't even have to write the book -- you just provide an idea and money.
• A self-publishing company may be the right choice for a non-commercial book to be distributed to friends, relatives, business associates or members of a group -- or a book intended to be sold only by the author.

CON:



• You are at the mercy of the designers, editors, typographers, publicists and other people chosen by the publisher.
• Many of these books look terrible, with bland "templated" covers and improper formatting of the interior pages.
• Sometimes the actual printing and binding are sloppy. Books may have pages where words disappear into wrinkles. Sometimes the type on left and right pages doesn't line up. Sometimes there are lots of blank pages inserted in the front and back. Sometimes the color of the cover is "off." Sometimes there are blobs of glue on the first and last pages.
• Sometimes a publisher will use too-small margins and too-small type to get more words on a page, reduce the number of pages, decrease the cost of printing, and increase the publisher's profit. The book will be ugly and hard to read.
• Many of these books are not professionally edited and are filled with silly errors that the author did not catch.
• The publisher's name and logo often automatically brand books as substandard and they are shunned by booksellers and reviewers. The founder of Lulu said, "We publish a huge number of really bad books."
• You'll probably wait much longer for your book to be available than if you are an independent self-publisher.
• You'll probably wait much longer for your money than if you are an independent self-publisher.
• Self-publishing companies make most of their money by selling services to authors, not by selling books to readers. Their authors are often pressured to buy additional services and products which may be overpriced and/or worthless.
• Self-publishing companies offer editing as an "optional" service. Editing is a necessity, NOT an option.
• You'll pay more for copies of your own book than if you're an independent self-publisher.
• Important decisions such as the cover price may be made for you, not by you.
• Your book may have such a high price that is uncompetitive and won't sell.
• Some publishers are dishonest and misleading. They promise "free books" that you actually pay for. They imply that your book will be sold by thousands of bookstores, but it will merely be available for special-order and not stocked on the store shelves.
• No matter how much you pay and which expensive additional services you order, the bulk of the marketing effort will depend on YOU. If you expect your books to be sold and read, you can't just write it and forget it.
• Even if your book reads well and looks good, you will still suffer from the stigma associated with your publisher's name.