If you are someone who would love to write and want readers to feel you, why would you not love to publish your book? If you want to publish, self-publishing is a great way to put out your book to become another bestseller. Read on to discover the do-it-yourself way of publishing.
You’ve written a collection of pages, strewn together some story or information that you wanted to put out in the world; long enough to be called a 'book'. But the question is, how would you present it? For that, you need to get your book published. The Leonardo da Vinci is ready to gift his ‘Mona Lisa' for the patrons of the art of reading to revel in its brilliance.
Publishing is making your manuscript to a proper presentable book, which can be bought by people to satiate their thirst for words. It’s making your model ready through a makeover for its portfolio shoot. Publishing involves editing, proofreading, typesetting, printing, binding, cover art and design, promotion, advertising, warehousing, shipping, billing, and paying author royalties. Yes, these many steps! Get to know all about the ways of publishing.
In traditional publishing, all these steps are done by the publisher, while self-publishing entitles us to do these things on our own. Well that’s where the millennial approach of 'we-are-enough' and ‘we-can-do-it’ comes into play. We watch so many DIY videos for guidance and fun, then why not try it in the field of publishing our dream work? Following are the reasons why self-publishing could be your go-to option:
1. Full Creative Freedom
When you go for traditional publishing, they get the right to change the manuscript or can make changes to fit their criteria of the perfect book. They can decide the title, the flow, and even your market and audience without asking your views. Writer’s being the creator, is bound to feel uncomfortable about this. Imagine sending your child to a good, reputed school but you don’t get a say in their teaching methods and their ways of treating your child. Horrible, isn’t it? When you self publish, you have full creative freedom in each aspect of the book.
2. All rights reserved
It’s your book, your hard work, and your imagination that is lying there to become a finished product. How can you give the custody of your child, i.e. your book to someone else just like this? In self-publishing, you retain all the rights regarding the book, it includes copyright, publishing, sales and marketing, production of further creative works, printing, design, reproduction rights, and a few others to count. You own the success and failure of the book.
3. Rejection isn’t a Concern
A literary agent selects your manuscript to present it to the great publishing houses. If you are the world’s best author, they would think of publishing your book. So many good books get lost in the vicious process of selection and rejection. Also, their main aim is to make money and name. The traditional publishing with its traditional ways of selecting a manuscript can refrain the fresh authors and their out of the box content from the world out there.
A lot of books voicing uncensored opinions and truths are often avoided by publishers. To self-publishing, you just need to have faith in your work and confidence to face the world and you are good to go. The possible rejection won’t keep you from voicing your views to the world. There won’t be any barrier between you and your readers. It’s a 100% secured way to be published.
4. The publishing process is quicker
Traditional publishing can take several months to years to publish your book. You’re also laden with deadlines. After putting all your blood, sweat, and tears in your work, you would like to get it published as soon as possible so that you can taste the fruit of your hard work and self-publishing lets you do exactly that. Your books would hit the bookshelves instantly without you looking up to anyone for anything.
5. Testing and Making the Market
If you are a newcomer, unlike traditional publishing, self-publishing can help you test the market for your book. Through ‘Print on Demand', you can publish according to the success of your book and see how it fares in the market. With the advent of digital platforms for publishing, you can easily publish your finished work without requiring a myriad of resources and being discarded several times. Since the digital platforms ensure longer shelf life, it would give you time to build your audience and develop your market so that you know where you and your work stands.
6. More Royalty Amount
Since you own the book completely with its rights and responsibilities, the rewards and profits are yours to take. In self-publishing, if your book becomes a bestseller or does well, you get paid off for your hard work as everything is yours to take home (100%, yay!). Unlike traditional publishing; where you get just a part (mostly as low as 10%-15%) of the earnings as royalty, for your work. Exasperating!
7. Niche Market Appeal
Self-publishing allows you to publish whatever you want to, no matter what the current market trend is. The books need not fit a stereotypical genre or criteria to be published, without any boundaries. It enables you to write about the topics and stories associated with unpopular beliefs and opinions. Self-publishing ensures the flow of experimental stuff in the market and if it’s good, it would gather its own readership and inspire others to do so as well.
There are so many advantages for self-publishers and the stigma around it is disappearing at a fast pace. Even the known authors are self-publishing their bookkeeping in mind the feasibility it provides. The high initial production cost, a huge competition, self-marketing, and distribution are among a few challenges that you need to overcome. But the millennial mindset is all about fighting battles and gaining success on your own. These aforementioned advantages are lucrative enough to edge over traditional publishing. So without further thinking, get set self-publishing.
Written By - Saakshi Priyadarshini
Edited By - Sravanthi Cheerladinne
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