Self-Publishing Resources

Posted By Sue Collier on February 24, 2010

Self-publishing offers the potential for nice profits. No longer do you have to be satisfied with the meager 5 to 15 percent royalty that commercial publishers dole out. For those who use creativity, persistence, and sound business sense, money is there to be made. In today’s electronic age, self-publishing options abound (Just make sure you research your options and put out a well edited, well designed book!). With print-on-demand, you don’t even have to worry about storing inventory. (Of course, you’ll pay more per unit, which will cut into your profit margins.)

Self-publishing can be the road to independence. What motivates entrepreneurs to launch their own businesses? Most want to be their own bosses. More personal freedom was the second most important reason. Some do it out of necessity during tough economic times. But most people dream of becoming self-employed. You can turn that dream into reality. Here is a dynamic, proven way to shape your own destiny. It is an answer not only for city folks but for urban escapees seeking to prosper in paradise.

Becoming a self-publisher also provides a helpful tax shelter. After forming your own company and meeting certain requirements, you can write off a portion of your home and deduct some expenses related to writing and to marketing, such as automobile, travel, and entertainment costs. Always check current tax regulations and restrictions.

Another advantage is that you can begin your business on a part-time basis while keeping your day job. Why risk your livelihood until you’ve refined your publishing activities and worked out any bugs?

Want control over your work? In self-publishing, you guide every step. You’ll have the cover you like, the typeface you choose, the title you want, the ads you decide to place. Your decision is final. Nothing is left in the hands of an editor or publicist who has dozens (or hundreds) of other books to worry about. You maintain absolute control over your own book. (Along with this advantage, however, comes the fact that you also get stuck doing everything.)

Privately publishing your work also gives you the advantage of speed. Big trade houses typically take from a year to a year and a half—or even longer—to get a book out. Self-publishers can do it in a fraction of that time.

Even corporations are publishing books, although they have a different motivation. One of our past clients wrote us, “Your expert advice is paying off huge dividends for our small, nationwide consulting company. The book has become our calling card. It provides a great first introduction to our products and services. Often we are asked to provide follow-up proposals.”

Our company, Self-Publishing Resources, does turnkey publishing for many entrepreneurs and professionals today who write books to position themselves as the leaders in their industries. Publishing books also gives these individuals a fresh reason to attract media attention and be a source of news. Once they’ve written books, they are perceived as instant experts.

If your venture blossoms and the company expands by publishing others’ work, you have fresh opportunities to join the growing small-press movement. You can set policy, serve as a spokesperson, and bring deserving writers to the public’s attention.

The publishing business is a constant flow of exciting events. You will never forget that supreme moment when you hold the first copy of your very own book, just off the press. Some people compare it to holding their first child. When the book starts making the rounds, things happen. There’s a domino effect. One day you get your first fan letter (most likely read with blurry vision). Then a prestigious person gets wind of the book and requests an examination copy. Magazines and newspapers begin to review and mention it. Library orders start flowing in.

And, lo and behold, the biggies—those publishers that previously rejected your work—just may decide to reverse their decisions. Self-publishing can be the springboard to lucrative contracts with traditional publishers who were afraid to gamble before. Once the marketability of your book has been proven, they may be eager to take it off your hands.

So do you have what it takes to be successfully self-published?

(Excerpted from The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing, 5th Edition, by Marilyn Ross & Sue Collier. Coming summer 2010 from Writer’s Digest Books.)

Categories: The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing, books, business of publishing, do-it-yourself publishing, self-publishing
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