The Pros And Cons Of Self Publishing

Every writer aspires to see their name in print but conventionally holding a copy of your own book in your hands has been, for the majority, just a dream. With advances in technology and book printing itself, aspiring writers have often decided to self publish a book to get their feet on the novelist’s ladder, but what are the pros and cons of self publishing?

Cons

For the most part, getting signed up by a large publishing house comes with a host of benefits.

Who’s going to market your novel?

The publishing company.

Who’s going to ensure that project runs smoothly?

They are.

Who’s going to make sure the hard copies of your book hit the high street stores?

The very same company.

When you publish your own book the project management and book launch, logistics, and marketing, are all down to you.

Publishing companies often have access to contacts and connections that you may not, meaning they will be able to get your book more attention. They also have experience with awards and may be able to get you additional publicity.

Lastly, publishing houses will often advance you money on your book deal meaning you get paid upfront whereas when you self publish a book, you may have to wait before you see the monetary benefits.

Pros

The first and very obvious advantage to self publishing as all aspiring writers will know, is that you don’t have to be signed to see your work read by others.

It is not impossible, but it is incredibly difficult, to find a traditional publisher to accept your manuscript – especially if you are writing about a niche or controversial subject. Self publishing allows writers to stop waiting on the inevitable rejection letters and to put their creation directly into the public domain.

Another advantage of this is that creative freedom is not stifled or dictated by the publisher. The writer retains the ability to choose the look and feel of the artwork that accompanies their writing. Additionally, advances in on demand book printing technology means you only need to print as many copies as you need.

It’s also easier then ever to market your book. In the past it was virtually impossible to market a self published book internationally, but it’s now fairly straight forward to both market and sell your book through online marketplaces or to send it for review to other countries – a fast and effective way of gaining publicity. Many start up authors also offer free digital samples of their novels online to build up a following before publishing subsequent works.

It’s likely to also be a much quicker process to manage your own publication project than to wait on others to complete the process. Big publishing houses will have their own priorities and rules that will dictate the speed at which your project is completed. 

Plus, as an added bonus – the percentage of the royalties you get to keep will be much higher than the route of traditional publishing.

Print2Demand

We are an all round UK book manufacturing and printing service. We work closely with publishers, self publishers and authors. We have a state of the art factory, complemented by our sales and marketing office in Westoning, Bedfordshire. We have invested in the very latest digital and litho printing technology, to integrate with a fully equipped craftsman bindery.  The conclusion of which means we are offering both softback and hardback books, to a very high standard of quality.

Order your book printing online or contact our team for more information.