Today's post comes to us from Lorna Riley, a self-publisher of children's books and a fantastic informational blogger for children's self-publishing topics.
You're in for a great read, enjoy!
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Why Self-publishing is Better than Traditional Publishing
by Lorna Riley
Self-publishing
– the gaping wide mouth that swallows up lost and weary authors, adrift on the
sea of rejection. Like the Kraken, it
wraps its tentacles around them, pulling them down and down, deep into the
murky waters; never to be seen or heard of again. Except, when the mist draws in, it is said
that disembodied voices may be heard drifting across the twittersphere: come buy, come buy, my free books do try…
But,
is it really all that bleak? Is it
possible to make a success of self-publishing?
I hope so! But it doesn’t happen
by magic, you have to work at it. Do you
have to work harder than a traditionally published author? Not necessarily, but you do have to be more
self-motivated and make your own opportunities.
That’s
not such a bad thing, though. Is
it? Actually, when you really think
about it, going it alone could be the best thing that ever happened to you. But, just in case you’re not entirely
convinced, here’s why…
1) Editing your Manuscript
So,
you don’t have an army of professional proof-readers to go through your work
and pick out all your mistakes and correct them all for you. That means you’ll have to do it yourself. The problem is, you never did
quite get to grips with when to use a semi-colon, and the rules about when and
where to use commas seem to change depending on which book you read.
Well,
you know what, now’s the perfect time to figure it out for yourself. And the lovely fellows at the University of
Bristol’s Faculty of Arts are here to help, with some fabulous exercises to straighten
out your grammar and punctuation. But be warned, you will become one of
those annoying, know-it-all grammar nerds that sighs at every comma splice you
find.
However,
once you’ve given it a good once- / twice- / thrice-over yourself, you really
should get a professional to look at it, too.
Research
shows that those earning the most from self-publishing are those that have
gone the extra mile to make sure the product they’re offering is the best it
can be.
But,
when you’re in the midst of wrestling with your work-in-progress, don’t assume
the traditionally published author has got it so much easier. First of all, they will have needed to edit
and polish their work to get it accepted in the first place. It’s only then that it will be subjected to
the scrutiny of lots of different pairs of eyes.
Sounds
great doesn’t it? Not necessarily. Because, with lots of different people comes
lots of different opinions, and the next thing you know your book’s got a few
extra sex scenes and your main character is doing things you hadn’t originally
envisaged. Maybe they’re right and it
makes your book all the better for it, but would it still feel like it was
yours?
2) Marketing you Book
Fair
enough, editing your own manuscript may not be such a bad thing. But, surely, as far as promoting your book is
concerned, the big publishing houses hold all the cards? Right?
What do we mere writers know about sales and marketing?
Well,
if you’re anything like me, not a lot.
Yet. But there are plenty of
lovely people out there, in the same boat as you, who know a whole lot more and
are willing to share their pearls of wisdom with you.
Like
Jenn, for example. And, with the rise of
social media, we’ve got a much better chance of engaging with our readers than
ever before.
So, go
on – get out there and set up your Facebook page, your Twitter account, your
blog, your website and whatever else floats your boat. Let the world know that you and your book are
ready and waiting.
If you
are willing and able to properly engage with your customers, they will develop
a sense of ownership, a sense of loyalty, and start promoting your book for
you. That’s when your sales will really
start to grow.
It may
be a long hard slog, but it’s all on your own terms. You get to choose how your book cover looks
(but do get a professional to design it for you!), you get to choose how to
pitch your book and where it fits best in the market. You get to write the blurb on the back of
your book - making sure that it entices, without giving too much away.
On top
of that, you get to choose when, how and where you’ll travel to promote your
work. Want to go to one book fair, but
not another? Fine. Don’t want to travel at all? Fine.
Want to take some time out to write the next one? No problem.
The only person you’ve got to answer to is yourself.
3) Sales Figures
Now
this is where you’ve got me. Of course
the big publishing houses are going to be able to generate more sales than a
single author all by themselves. I’m not
going to argue with you there. However,
do you know how much of the sales revenue actually filters down to the author
themselves?
Well,
this can vary, depending on the author or whether it’s a hardback or paperback,
but you’re looking at around 10% of the cover price. Although it can be lower, particularly if
you’re a picture book author splitting your royalties 50:50 with the
illustrator. eBook royalties are usually
around 25%.
But,
when you’re self-publishing with a print-on-demand publisher like CreateSpace,
for example, you’re looking at about 25% of the list price of a paperback and
70% of the list price on an eBook. So,
whichever way you look at it, it’s a much higher percentage when you go it
alone. Roughly three times more than what you’d get through a traditional
publisher.
It
can’t really be that lucrative, though, can it?
Surely, self-publishing is just vanity publishing under another
name. If the big publishing houses
aren’t interested, then it’s because it’s just not going to sell, is it? If you don’t believe me, then check out the research and
see for yourself.
It is possible to make a decent living as a
self-published author. You’ve just got
to make it all happen yourself.
Images
courtesy:
About the Author
Lorna Riley was an average mother of two… until one fateful day when The Stories, mischievous little creatures that they are, crept into her brain whilst she was sleeping. And she’s never been the same since. Sir Nibbles, The Famouse Cupboard Raider Extraordinaire, is Lorna’s first foray into self-publishing and, with the help of the fabulous illustrator John Balsley, it should be ready later on in the Spring.
If
you’d like to say hello, here’s my website
and I can also be found twittering here. Sir Nibbles is on Facebook and is due to have his
own website later on in the Spring,
too.
