Self-publishing

Writers, like musicians are being ripped off by publishers. To avoid being fleeced by publishing houses, writers should decide to self-publish. Self-publishing, the publication of any book or other media by the author of the work, without the involvement of any established third-party publisher, offers the author a much larger royalty. Self-publishing costs are relatively inexpensive, sometimes free and it is great if an author only wants to sell a few copies of his/her work on the sidelines.

Self-publishing also offers fast, easy formatting, book design and other services to the author for a relatively low price. It offers immediate clout to the author because he has a book in hand to sell. Regular or traditional publishers normally do not do much for new authors, so it makes self-publishing more attractive because all promotion is done by the author. The author, to add on, has total control over the appearance of his work.

As a self-publisher, the author usually keeps all rights (the author retains all copyright). When an author uses a regular publisher, he/she gives up most of his/her rights. Thus, self-publishing allows the author to keep his/her work the way he/she wants it to be.

Another nice benefit about self-publishing is that the author is not stuck into long term contracts. Therefore, the author can create e-books, articles for his/her website, videos and booklets from his/her book’s contents without contractual repercussions.  The author has the option of taking his or her work elsewhere if he/she decides to. He/she can take his/her work from self-publishing at any time if he/she also decides later on to try to publish it the traditional route.

Self-publishing is health for the publishing industry because the author can put out second editions of his his/her book at a faster pace. Due to technological advances, a writer can edit his/her material at anytime and it usually takes a few clicks of the mouse to make changes to a self-published book.

The best advance in technology is digital printing (the method of printing from a digital based image directly to a variety media). Books can be printed quickly, which can be important if the author is writing about a timely subject or if he/she needs books to sell at an event. An author can also order small runs of books and these books can be sold in book stores just like any large publishing house book.

Being a self-publisher has its hardships. The writer needs some financial outlay to self-publish a professional looking book and if the book fails to sell, there is no one to blame but the author of the work. However, for the adventurous, sales – minded writer, self-publishing may be the best of all possible worlds.