Advantages and Disadvantages of Self-Publishing

My first two non-fiction books were published by traditional publishers: one a smaller Scottish press, and another, a mid-range US publisher. Since those first two books, I’ve self-published eight novels across two series, and two more non-fiction.  

Why did I switch to self-published? 

The initial reason was that it was becoming harder and harder to be traditionally published. Especially in the area of fiction where the biggest market is the US and you need to first get an agent to represent you. Maybe I was too fussy as I only applied to six agents and received a mix of ‘no answer’, and rejection. Actually, they were correct to reject my book as it was nowhere near ready for publication. Nowadays you need to have an already publication-ready manuscript to get the agent. Realistically this will mean that you’ve learned your craft, submitted to some competitions in order to gain feedback, and probably paid for a manuscript assessment and then a copy edit. That is already a significant economic investment.  

Looking back now I am so grateful for those early rejections. They tested my resolve and they pushed me towards learning to self-publish.  

I am one of those business, marketing, and technology-challenged folk so learning to self-publish was a major series of mountains to climb. However, I put in the effort to learn what I needed and benefitted from free advice from many experts (do ask other authors who they recommend).  

Disadvantages of self-publishing 

• There is a LOT to learn and it can feel overwhelming at the beginning.  
• Advice – Focus on writing the best book possible and getting a good cover and back cover blurb.  
• Advice – Start by publishing your ebook in a few places – i.e. direct with Amazon and then reaching the majority of the other major companies through Draft2Digital. Only later go direct with companies like Kobo and add Google Play. This allows you to learn as you go without making too many mistakes. If you are in the U.S. it makes sense to go direct with several other companies like B and N … 
• It is easy to get lured into spending a lot of money and being pulled towards every new thing. There are also a lot of scams out there. The basic rule is if someone approaches you, be suspicious. Always check with more experienced authors.  
• Advice – concentrate your spending on editing, cover, website, author newsletter. Most good author newsletter companies are free for the first 1000 subscribers. Consider MailChimp, MailerLite …  
• You won’t have the benefit of the publisher’s networks – so you’ll have to network yourself.  
  Advice – start by looking for comparable authors to your books. Read widely in your genre, write reviews and recommend the best of them on a site like BookBub. Reach out to those authors you resonate most with and thank them for the book. If you’ve had this initial contact it is much less weird to ask them to connect with them later for giveaways …  

Advantages of self-publishing

We as the author are the person most invested in our books. We can put as much effort into the process as we want.  

• Financial – if you can learn how to write and market and if you write in series, then you are likely to make more money in the long-term.  
• Flexibility – you can set your own timetable. If something goes wrong (illness, family crises …) you can delay a publication.  
• You can write what you want in terms of genre, storyline … 
• Choosing your own editors/cover designers … this is something I really love.
• I also love that I’m in charge of marketing and can experiment and work out what suits my particular books.
• You can extend a series that is doing well or stop writing it.

What other advantages or disadvantages can you see?

Another article to get you started on self-publishing.

Another article on writing in series.