Self-Publishing:
The Truth About Self-Publication

Self-publishing advice that you can count on can be difficult to find, but I'm here to tell you the honest truth.

In fact, self-publishing can be an excellent option. I, Michael Garrett, Stephen King’s first editor and publisher, self-published my own novel, CAPTIVE. Since I have been both traditionally and self-published, I'll give you my honest opinion of both.

The best self-publishing advice that I can give you is that self-publishing companies are notorious for distorting the truth. Also, there’s more to be considered than cost alone. Proceed with caution! And beware of any glowing praise and encouragement from a prospective publisher. Remember, they want your business, and many will tell you exactly what you want to hear to get it.

Everyone thinks they've written the next great American novel. Only a small, small fraction have. Self-publishing companies want you to think your book is better than it actually is. They make your emotions run high and cause you to climb aboard without thoroughly researching what lies ahead.

The publishing marketplace is glutted with professionally packaged grossly inferior unedited self-published content, and you can't judge a book by its cover has never been more appropriate. Crappy self-published books can look great on the outside, but if you haven't done a complete job as an author, they can be embarrassing on the inside.

I am committed to giving you the most reliable,
honest self-publishing advice you can find.

If you self-publish, you must not only face the stiff competition of traditionally published books that have undergone a rigorous editorial process, but you must also find a way to avoid the growing stigma (which is becoming more and more true) that the overwhelming majority of self-published books are simply not good.

A prominent self-publishing company once boasted, "Now anyone can be published!" as if this was good news for all writers. Well, it might be good news for amateurish untalented writers, but for those who are seriously trying to establish themselves as professionals it's nothing short of a nightmare; the cream-of-the crop of self-published books is surrounded by total crap.

Anyone can fill pages with words, but few can write something worth reading.

The True Total Cost of Self-Publication

Everyone focuses on the monetary aspect of self-publication with little regard to the enormous investment of time and effort required to sell books. As much as publishers would like you to believe to the contrary, self-published books won't sell themselves.

Since no one knows that your book even exists, you've got to get out there and sell it by attending trade shows, organizing book signings, doing TV/radio/online interviews, etc.

Don't depend on your publisher to sell even a single copy!

If you don’t have available time and money to promote your book, it won’t sell. Period. Again, no one knows it exists.

Selling your book could take significant effort on your part, so before proceeding, make sure that you will have the time and money for sufficient marketing.

This can be both challenging and exhausting.

Know in advance where and how you will be able to generate publicity. Again, if you can't effectively promote your book, don't expect it to sell.

So how do I start my self-publication experience?

It all begins with creating a manuscript that's comparable to traditionally published books. I repeat, self-publication does not excuse you from meeting commercial publishing standards. This is a fatal mistake for many authors, thinking that, through self-publication, they can do things entirely their way. Yes, they can do everything their way, but when their way goes dramatically against the grain of traditional publishers, readers notice--usually in a negative way.

As an extreme example, I once knew a writer who self-published in order to do things her way. Her book had strikingly impressive front and back covers, but--here's a prime example of how you can't judge a book by its cover--when I opened it to thumb through its pages I found that she had printed it in a script font!

I'd put that book at the bottom of my reading list!

Her book screamed Amateur from the moment anyone opened its self-published pages. No, sometimes it isn't good to intentionally buck the system. Her book definitely stood out but in the wrong way.

For assurance that your book complies with commercial publishing standards, you'll need the expert services of a highly experienced editor.

How Self-Publication Differs From Traditional Publishing

First of all, let's clear the air about publishing versus printing.

A publisher produces books for mass market sales. Profits are made solely from retail book sales.

A printer, on the other hand, is paid to print material at a customer's request, regardless of its quality. Printers make money only by printing, earning nothing from the book's sales.

Self-publishing companies
Are really just hi-tech printers.

They make their money from you, not from the book's eventual sale to readers.

A commercial publisher is highly selective of what it chooses to print. It rejects astronomically more submissions than it accepts and assesses the marketability of any manuscript it considers. It, again, makes money from retail sales and pays royalties to its authors.

A printer, on the other hand, rarely evaluates the quality of what it prints. If there are typos or other errors in the text, they will be printed as such. The printer has no obligation for quality assurance other than the printing itself. Printers are not concerned about the marketability of books they print. Their job is only to print books and have nothing to do with sales.

You probably see where I'm going here.

Mass market publishers publish only a fraction of the books submitted to them, whereas a self-publishing company will print almost anything. Sure, some may have standards and could refuse to print something that is blatantly inferior or objectionable, but other than that, anything goes. They're in the business of printing books, whereas mass market book publishers are in the business of marketing and selling books.

Again, the majority of self-published books are pure junk.

Self-publishing companies want you to think that they're similar to commercial publishers. They're not. They're essentially hi-tech print shops. There's not much of a difference between publishing with them or printing your book at a local print shop. In both instances you're paying for the printing of your book. In reality, self-publishing companies have more in common with Kinko's than with commercial publishers.

If you think self-publishing companies offer advantages beyond printing, read on.

The Self-Publication Dilemma

Self-publishing itself is easy; selling self-published books can be difficult. Self-published books carry an automatic negative stigma. Upon learning that a book has been self-published, there's a tendency for many prospective buyers to think that it must not have been good enough for a "real" publisher. This can be challenging to overcome, especially in terms of generating publicity. The media can be slow to promote self-published works that are not endorsed by someone of high authority.

As far as selling your books is concerned, be prepared to do everything yourself. Don't fall for publisher claims to help sell your book. The publishers' ability to increase sales is highly limited regardless of what they say. They're in the business of printing your book, not selling it for you.

Never rush the process! If you don't take the time to get everything right, you'll regret it later.

Beware of Publisher Deceptions!

There's a plethora of deceptive, misleading information and unrealistic promises from many, if not most, self-publishing companies.

The majority of my clients who have self-published have been disappointed, feeling that they were misled by their publishers to some extent. They obviously weren't prepared.

A few of my previous clients, however, have mastered the art of marketing and promotion of their books and have been quite successful.

Many self-publishing companies boast that they will list your book in Ingram's (the nation's largest book distributor) database, and it can be ordered by any book store anywhere. Sounds impressive, huh? It's true--but what does it really mean? What it doesn't mean is that your book will automatically appear on book store shelves!

They want you to think that book stores may stock your book through orders from Ingram, but let me assure you, that will never happen. Your book will not be stocked in book stores unless you personally make special arrangements store-to-store, and even that is getting exceedingly more difficult and time-consuming.

Your book will be listed among
millions of others in Ingram's database

This is not where book stores go to find books to stock; it's where they order books for customers who ask for a specific title. If no one knows that your book exists, how will they know to request it? If you have friends/relatives who don't shop online, they can go to a book store to order it. That's essentially the sole benefit.

Bottom line--the Ingram listing sounds far better than it actually is. It's really not such a big deal, and it won't sell books to people who don't already know that your book exists. Once again, the key to successful self-publication is making readers aware that your book exists. The Ingram listing won't do it.

Most self-publishing companies also brag about getting your book listed on Amazon with a dedicated page of its own, as if that alone will sell your books. It won't. An Amazon page is hugely important, of course, but don't depend on it to generate sales. Again, how likely will a stranger search among Amazon's millions of inventoried books and happen to "discover" yours? Don't hold your breath!

Your book won't show up high enough in searches for anyone to "find" it, so once again, as in the above Ingram example, readers must know in advance that your book exists to search for it specifically on Amazon. If someone searches for your novel's exact title with your name as its author, it will show up near the top of the listing.

Don't get me wrong; the Amazon page is a terrific resource, especially when you appear in the local media. You can refer potential buyers to Amazon to purchase a copy, but these sales occur due to your efforts, not your publisher's or Amazon's.

Your Amazon page will only facilitate sales to buyers who already know that your book exists.

Self-publishing companies usually host an online book store for their authors, devoting an impressive web page for your book. The inference is, again, that your book will sell through the publisher's online presence.

I wouldn't count on it!

Think again. Who shops for books at self-publishing companies' book stores? No one. If anyone goes online to purchase your book, again, Amazon will be their preference. Your book's presence on a publisher's web site is worthless.

The Bottom Line

All three of the above promises sound great, but in reality what will they actually do for you? Will they sell even a single copy to someone who doesn't know that your book exists?

Don't bet on it!

Don't count on your publisher to sell a single copy of your book. Don't count on your publisher to make readers aware that your novel exists. In fact, don't count on your publisher for anything other than the printing of your book!

My advice, if you plan to self-publish, is to find the lowest cost publisher for printing alone. Ignore their pitches for extra services or "add-ons" such as editing, at an additional cost.

Don't overlook Canadian publishers. Many of my clients have found the lowest printing costs there.

The Biggest Mistake That Self-Publishing Authors Make

A major problem with many self-published books is that they are not professionally edited. Their authors, in trying to keep down the cost, try everything under the sun to avoid editorial fees, and paying a professional editor seems like an easy expense to cut. Instead, these "authors" read books and articles about how to self-edit, all of which are hogwash and only disrespect the editorial profession.

If you plan to self-publish, the biggest mistake you can make is to avoid finding the right editor to review your work prior to publication, giving you an opportunity through an extensive rewrite to make your book more comparable to traditionally published books.

Therein, however, lies still another challenge--finding the right editor.

Again, self-publishing can present wonderful opportunities for the right authors, but educate yourself on the process before proceeding.

Should I use my publisher's Editorial Services?

All extra services, including editorial services, offered by self-publishing companies generate extra income for them, but the quality of their services can be questionable. You'll likely pay more for an inferior edit.

Find your own editor!

I routinely hear from disappointed authors whose self-published works were praised by publishing company editors but proved embarrassing when subsequent book reviews pointed out glaring errors that should have been caught in the editorial process and of course then it's too late.

The allegiance of in-house editors
Is to their employer (the publisher), not you.

Their job is to get books into production as quickly as possible to generate immediate income for the publisher--from you.

This leaves the door open for in-house publisher editors to ignore problems that could require extended time and effort for correction--if they're capable of identifying them at all--because immediate printing is their top priority.

They don't want to wait for you to perform extensive rewriting. They want to print your book as soon as possible to generate income for themselves.

Is Kindle Direct Publishing a good option?

You can publish through Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing for free!

There are limitations to what you can do with your book, but, yes, you can be published at no cost to you.

For first-hand experience through the process, I published a novel, CAPTIVE, through KDP and it's available through Amazon's website. KDP definitely deserves consideration.

There are drawbacks, however. You can't sell your books through any other online entity. To me that's no big deal because the primary place to buy books on the web is Amazon.

There are some drawbacks, however.

The quality of covers produced through KDP is anateurish. You're highly unlikely to develop a competitive cover for free. That's why I hired my own cover designer for $350 and told him precisely what I wanted. He did a great job.

I found working with Kindle's free formatting software to be quite frustrating. I had CAPTIVE perfectly formatted in their development software, but when I uploaded it to Amazon's sales platform there were spacing errors that I couldn't correct. As an editor, I find this highly annoying, yet I've heard of other authors having the same complaint.

As I stated previously, before a self-publishing author can have a chance of competing with traditionally published books it must be professional in appearance. Spacing issues are a dead giveaway that the book was self-published. This problem will need be a huge factor in whether or not I choose KDP for another book.

All of the above aside, a huge advantage of self-publishing is that you make more money. Rather than royalties from a publisher of about ten percent of sales, you could pocket as much as sixty percent or more through self-publishing.

The jury is still out as to whether or not I would go the KDP route for future books, but it's definitely a viable option.

How can i know if
Self-Publication Could Work For me?

Self-publication could work for you if:

• You choose your publisher wisely
• You have the patience and determination to make your book the best that it can be prior to publishing
• You get professional editing from a qualified editor and give your manuscript a thorough rewrite
• You have a specific marketing plan in mind before you publish
• You have the time and money to devote to sales. This can be the hardest work you'll ever do!

Traditional Publishing?

In all honesty, traditional publishing is such a long shot--a VERY long shot--that I hesitate to recommend it.

Success as a traditionally published author requires exceptional talent, incredible patience, exhaustive determination, and lots and LOTS of luck. If you want to try this route before self-publishing I suggest that you join a local writers group, attend writers conferences, and try to make important connections with people in the industry.

Just keep in mind that the odds are strongly stacked against you.

I hope the above self-publishing advice clarifies your concerns and alllows you to make a wise decision as to whether or not it will work for you.

And good luck to you, regardless of which approach you eventually take.