Self-Publishing for Free? Proceed with Caution.
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You’ve no doubt yearned for the day you finally write that book, and sit imagining what it might look like. Then one day, after spending countless hours over months or years working to make it a reality, you actually do it. Your loose stack of papers and countless word processing files have combined into one single completed manuscript.
So what’s next? Publish it! When you’re deciding on how to produce your book there are a couple of options:
Traditional publishing, which requires you to write query letters, find a literary agent to represent you, and to learn to brush off rejection until (or if) your book gets picked up.
Self-publishing, which can range from doing it all on your own to hiring a team of publishing specialists from a publishing services company.
As the traditional publishing route becomes increasingly difficult, more and more writers are opting for some version of the second option, whether that’s partnering with a publishing services provider, trying to spend less by managing a team of freelancers , or taking the free DIY route. While some authors find free publishing solutions work well for them, there can be some noteworthy risks when you choose to publish by trying to spend as little money as possible. Here are three major factors to consider when bringing your book to the world through free or cheap self-publishing solutions:
Your time is valuable
A significant but overlooked cost to consider is that of your time. Think about how long it took you to write your manuscript. A few intense months? A few long years? Now add to that all the extra time you’ll need to learn the editing, design, and project management skills necessary to produce a professional-quality book on your own – or the time needed to research, evaluate, and manage a team of freelancers you can count on to help you publish that book.
When building your patchwork of freelancers, you can research their experience and skill set, but not their dedication or potential lack of contingency in the event of catastrophe. They’re each just one person and if something happens that prevents them from completing the work, that long process of researching will have to start over again.The marathon that is writing and publishing is certainly no easy feat and a lengthy process in the best of circumstances. Authors need to pace themselves so they have the energy to promote the book come publication – hiring a dedicated team of publishing specialists to run with your baton gives you more energy to focus on what's most important.
Nobody wants to deal with the consequences of making a rookie mistake. Experienced publishing professionals have already made those mistakes early in their careers, and all the other more advanced mistakes you’ve not reached a high enough skill level to fail at yet. They’ve put in their time to save you the time.
The finished product
Let’s say you have the time and the desire to learn the requisite skills to publish a book. The reality is that even if you manage to do all the work yourself, you’ll still be a novice in each of these new skills you’ve learned, and end up making those unfortunate first time mistakes. Take a look at an artist's first self portrait and compare that to a sketch 10 years later. Are they hanging that first attempt in the Louvre or on the fridge? Now imagine that in the context of your book.
Maybe instead you decide that you’d better leave it to someone with some already established knowledge in these areas, and again accept the time it’ll take to find and manage a team of inexpensive freelancers. You might think “they’ll do all that for that price? Great!” But it can be a gamble to trust the ostensible experience and expertise of these unknown individuals without a direct referral from someone you know or verified customer reviews to thoroughly discern for yourself. Not to mention–if you do find reliable freelancers–you still have to combine these disparate elements together to make a product that favourably compares with traditional titles. If you rely on your still-growing publishing skills or the unpredictable capabilities of freelancers, the final product can easily end up being something you’re unsatisfied with, especially when you compare it with the other books on the shelf.
People still judge a book by its cover. If the final product looks cheap not only will you be disappointed, but your once potential readers won’t even bother to pick it up and read the back cover. Besides, if someone still decided to read it, the layout and editing could still influence that reader's experience with the book. If the work on your book is done poorly, it can even lead to a negative impression of the written content as well.
Staying competitive in the marketplace
As a self-publishing author, you don’t want to be left ill-equipped competing in a market with books made professionally at the highest levels of quality from traditional publishers. If your book doesn’t match the existing professional-quality work in bookstores, it’s much more likely to be dismissed by readers–if they even see it at all.
You’re more likely to find success in finding an established team of publishing experts that have already worked together on many projects. The reason for this is that neither you alone nor the pools of freelancers will be able to provide you with everything you need to be competitive in the market. In particular, you’ll be hard pressed to find a freelancer with a specialty in providing general publishing advice both proactively and as issues arise for you . That’s something traditional publishers and publishing services companies have on tap. If you’re just learning about the extensive process of publishing as you go, you run the risk of a wrong approach or a misunderstanding of the industry that’s a detriment to your book’s success.
It’s important to recognize that the book business is a business like any other. Book buyers are not concerned primarily with choosing the books they like the most, but rather those that can yield the greatest profit. With that in mind, you’ll want to answer the following questions: What do they look for in a book? How do I appear as a professional and lucrative option? How do they come to know about my book or how do I present it to them? These are not necessarily answers that are plucked from a simple web search. Ultimately, you’ll also need to also consider how readers choose what they read and what they expect. For example, your book should be highly attuned to the nuances that define a genre’s look and feel. Many established genres, like fantasy, have a particular design language. In speaking that language, experienced book designers can not only meet the expectations of avid fantasy readers, but play with the iconography and deftly break the rules to stand out.
For those who choose free publishing solutions, it’s important to note that many of those options employ digital/eBook-only distribution services. Despite the convenience of digital options, a recent study shows that more than 70% of the books sold in the United States are physical copies. Publishing digital-only means you’re missing out on sales from the overwhelming majority of book buyers who prefer physical copies.
While you may be self-publishing your book, you don’t need to accomplish everything by yourself. By partnering with a professional team (like ours at FriesenPress) you can focus less on the logistics of your work and instead put your time into what’s most important: writing a great book and sharing it with the world. Writers want to write—who wants to worry about anything but writing a better book?
