What are the advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing?

Answer 1

Writing a book is a horrible, exhausting struggle, like a long bout of some painful illness. One would never undertake such a thing if one were not driven on by some demon whom one can neither resist nor understand.

George Orwell

Advantages:

• flexible hours
• work anywhere
• creative
• anything you have learned is useful
• freedom to choose topics
• challenging

Disadvantages:

• hard work
• takes a long time
• lots of criticism
• writer's block

Remember when you were in the second grade and you wrote something you thought was the best thing ever written? Then it came back from the teacher covered in red marks, destroying you. That's what being a writer is, every single day. Particularly with the internet and the loudmouths it inspires, a writer will hear constantly how much he/she sucks. And the bigger you get, the worse it will be. So if you don't believe in yourself, you'll be another of those writers who walks around with his head down, thoroughly depressed.

R,A, Salvatore

Answer 2

Advantages of self-publishing include full creative control, higher royalties, and faster time to market. Disadvantages include the need to handle all aspects of publishing yourself, such as editing, marketing, and distribution, which can be time-consuming and costly.

Answer 3

The advantages of self-publishing are:

• The author/publisher keeps all the gross profits from the sales of his books.

• Gross profits are the money left after all direct costs (printing, distribution, and promotion) are paid. This means that the author/publisher earns a great deal more money per book sold.

• The author/publisher retains total control over all aspects of the marketing process.

• The book stays in publication indefinitely.

• The author/publisher retains all rights to the work.

The disadvantages of self-publishing are:

• The author/publisher must do himself and/or pay for the entirety of the marketing process that is routinely performed by "publishers", i.e. turning his manuscript into a printed and bound "book" or e-book.

• The author/publisher is solely responsible for all aspects of the finished product that constitutes his book.

• The author/publisher is solely responsible for all aspects of the distribution process.

In either publishing scenario the author must pay for and perform all promotional activates, i.e. he must "sell" the books.

Self-publishing is not a solution for a poor quality manuscript.

The first thing that any writer must do before even considering self-publishing is to ensure that he has written a really good book.

And in the words of Jack Canfield, 'Writing the book is only 10% of the work, now you must figure out how to sell it'.