| There are those who would have you believe | | | | Cons |
| that there is only one direction to go in. You are | | | | You must do all the technical preparation yourself |
| either a talented writer and you get published by | | | | before you can send your manuscript to the |
| a main stream publisher or alternatively you are | | | | printer. This can be exhausting, not to mention |
| an untalented wannabe and your only hope is to | | | | quite difficult. The learning curve can be very |
| self publish. If you take the second route you will | | | | steep for some people. There is a very real |
| find yourself scorned by those who took the first | | | | danger here that the quality of the book will |
| route as not being good enough to make it in the | | | | suffer. |
| real world. And for those who took the road less | | | | You must edit and proofread the book yourself |
| traveled, they often see the publishing | | | | or hire someone to do it for you. This is a critical |
| establishment as being opposed to supporting new | | | | element that must be properly done. Any |
| or niche authors. | | | | mistakes here will ruin any chance for success. |
| Nonsense. The truth is a lot more complicated | | | | You must market and sell the book yourself. |
| than that. It always is. The world is full of gray | | | | Perhaps the single most difficult and frustrating |
| areas that connect us to the black and the white, | | | | task that you must master in order to succeed. |
| waiting in their respective corners to start the | | | | Most bricks and mortar booksellers will refuse to |
| next round. When it comes to publishing there are | | | | sell your book. There is often no way around this. |
| books that are good and books that are poor. | | | | These stores simply do not see you as a means |
| Editors and agents would like you to believe that | | | | for them to make a profit, and you must |
| they are infallible and that without their input you | | | | remember that they are in the business of selling |
| will fail. Not true. If you go through the process | | | | books in order to make money. You're just not |
| properly you should be able to duplicate the | | | | big enough. |
| quality required to succeed. It takes time and a | | | | Conclusion |
| will to achieve the very best quality for your | | | | Regardless of public perception, print on demand is |
| product. | | | | a highly practical and sometimes the only sensible |
| In fact I will be watching to see what all the new | | | | route to take. When it comes to books, the |
| out of work editors and agents will be doing next. | | | | market has changed drastically over the last |
| My guess is that they will be offering their | | | | twenty years. Bookstores no longer want to |
| services to - you guessed it, all those poor frail | | | | stock big thick hardbacks that take up space. |
| souls who want to self publish. And if any of | | | | They want slim novels that fly off the shelves. |
| those printed authors found their services were | | | | Publishers want more and more to work with |
| no longer required, do you truly believe that they | | | | established names and year after year the |
| would simply give up and go away. Of course not, | | | | advances that authors depend upon have been |
| they would be into Print on Demand faster than | | | | slowly drying up. New untried authors have little |
| you could shake your fist at them. | | | | hope of defeating this industry wide tactic when |
| Here are a few home truths about self publishing. | | | | even established bestselling authors are having |
| Pros. | | | | trouble maintaining their existing advance level. |
| Self publishing allows you to retain full control of | | | | There is one further point to remember, not |
| your book. What goes in and what you take out. | | | | every book can or should be published by an |
| You retain full control of all graphic and cover | | | | established printing house. There are books which |
| design. Each and every stage is controlled by you. | | | | simply do not fit any known genre. They might |
| You can make a larger profit per book than you | | | | also be so geographically specific that only people |
| would with a publishing house and agent. | | | | living in that region would have any interest in |
| Your book will never go out of print. You retain | | | | purchasing the book. These points have nothing to |
| copyright and editorial control. | | | | do with the quality of the writing but more the |
| You can control where your book is sold and for | | | | specifics of the marketing. The truth is that no |
| how much. No book club discounts or bulk buying | | | | one will touch a product they feel they cannot sell |
| discount for you to worry about. You can even | | | | and more importantly make a profit from. |
| sell it from the back of your car. | | | | |