The pros and cons of self-publishing
If you haven't already, before starting your writing journey, you should accept that it's nearly impossible to make a living off your writing. In traditional publishing, the author will only make a few pennies off each book sold, and even though self-publishing gives a generous 70% of royalties to the author, it means you will have to sacrifice the time to advertise if you want to see those sales. Despite this, self-publishing is on the rise and becoming a popular route for alot of writers. Since I have just been through the experience of publishing my first book through Amazon, I thought I should talk about it. If you are considering doing the same, here are the pros and cons of self-publishing...
Time & Money
As I have read in other blog posts, self-publishing means you will be spending time on other aspects than just purely writing. You will have to spend time on formatting your book which I can honestly say is an absolute pain to do. You will need to either make your own book cover (you can use canva.com which offers copyright free pictures and layouts) or you will need to commission a cover (which costs £££). You will need to edit and proofread a million times over, unless you have a spare £300+ to get a professional.
However, after going through this process myself, I believe this is something every writer should do at least once. It has helped me grow and learn more about my craft.
Advertising & Active Social Media
Now if you want sales, you will need to advertise. That means you will need author accounts for Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, and whatever else. I know that this does work for a lot of writers with a large media following, and it helps if you are already well-known on other platforms like YouTube. Blogging also helps. This is where traditional publishing has a huge advantage as they can advertise easily and have your book available in stores, multiple sites, etc. Whereas I'm only going to be seeing my book on Amazon. You will need to post daily if you want follows, and sacrifice time to advertise.
However, the pros of this is that technology is everywhere and social media is a great way to advertise for FREE and spread the word of mouth. Get reviews on your books, offer free copies to bloggers for advertising and reviewing, if you are committed enough- you can do it. Profit
With Amazon publishing offering authors 70% royalties, this is a huge profit when compared to traditional publishing. All amazon ask for is the cost to print and 30% of the rest. In traditional publishing, money made from your book goes to the publisher, editor, cover artists, book sellers, advertising, printing, etc etc. But with traditional publishing, you're more likely to get a good name for yourself and be more respected in the writing community. Self-published writers are usually treated with a lower standard as anyone can self-publish but it's hard to get your work published traditionally.
In conclusion...
I believe that every writer should self-publish at least once. It teaches you a new respect for publishers and other self-published writers. There is nothing wrong with either routes and I am thankful I got the chance to self-publish my first book but I am considering of going down the traditional route for the next, in order to get my name out there. If you are deciding which one to go for, don't consider money, it's more important to get your work out there and write high quality work. If you are happy, that is what's important. I know I won't be able to live off my writing but it doesn't stop me from enjoying it. I don't think I could be sane if I wasn't writing. Also, the greatest PRO of self-publishing is the satisfaction when your book arrives and you can truly appreciate all your hard work in physical form.
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