Five Reasons Not to Self-Publish
by Janni Lee SimnerIf you're working on a novel, sooner or later someone will probably ask whether you've thought about self-publishing. Or maybe you'll ask yourself: it's tempting enough, when dealing with slow response times and publishers who don't seem interested in your work, to take matters into your own hands - to seize control of everything from the editorial process and marketing to what sort of picture goes on the cover.
But this control has a price, and not just because it requires paying someone else to print your books.
Here are five reasons not to self-publish your novel.
1. You Want To Be Read
Really read, not just in your own community, and not just by those who attend signings in the few cities you can afford to visit. According to an April 24 New York Times article, most self-published authors sell only a few hundred copies. Traditional book sales are measured in thousands and tens of thousands. That's because traditional publishers have a distribution system designed to get your books to complete strangers who've never met you and never will meet you, whose local booksellers have never met you, whose parents and friends have never met you. Even a low traditional print run means your book will reach many more readers than a self-published book will.
2. You Want to Write More Books
Every writer spends some time on marketing, but self-published writers spend much more time on it - often as much time as they spend writing their books in the first place. If you want to build a career, you need that time to write your next book, and the next, and the next.
3. You Want To Be Paid
Supporting yourself takes time. Writing takes time. When you're paid for what you write, that buys you more writing time. When you're not paid, you have to spend more time doing something else that pays instead. And when you pay someone else to publish your book, you have to put twice as much time into doing things that pay, to cover both your writing time and your out-of-pocket expenses.
4. You Want Your Books To Look Professional
Most self-published books look self-published, from cover design to text layout. Most writers don't have the design knowledge to give a self-published book professional production values. The appearance of your book might seem less important than the quality of your words, but few people will see those words if the cover doesn't make them want to pick up your book. Few people will read them if the typography makes reading difficult. You could hire someone to make your book look professional, but good designers aren't cheap. That's yet more time and money out of your pocket.
5. You Want Your Books To Be Professional
This is the hardest thing for most writers to accept: if no traditional publisher wants your book, there's a good chance it isn't well-written enough to be published. Before self-publishing, sit down and think long and hard about whether the publishing industry is flawed for not making you an offer, or whether your book is flawed and didn't sell for a reason. Stories do sometimes fail to sell because there's no place for them in the market, but they also fail to sell because they aren't strong enough to merit publication. Telling the difference isn't easy; it requires a lot of self-examination and personal honesty. Why not wait a few years and see whether you can figure out some way to make your book better, instead of rushing out to publish it on your own?
There is one exception to all of the above: if your book has a very narrow audience, and you have a plan for reaching that audience - advertising to a professional or local organization which is concerned with your book's topic, or presenting at a conference where your book will be sold - then self-publishing might make some sense after all. But that's mostly a strategy for specialized nonfiction writers.
For writers trying to build a career by getting well-written books into the hands of a broad audience, it's traditional publishing that has the editorial, production, and sales tools - not to mention the cold, hard cash - to get the job done.
© Janni Lee Simner
Janni Lee Simner has published more than 30 fantasy stories for young adults and adults, including recent appearances in Gothic!: Ten Original Dark Tales, Cricket magazine, and Say ... Have You Heard This One? Her fourth novel, Tiernay West, Professional Adventurer, will be published by Holiday House in 2006. Her web site is at www.simner.com; her blog is at janni.livejournal.com.