Figuring Out Whether Self-Publishing

Is the Best Option for You

When you get hired as an author by a major publishing house, your job is to

write the book’s manuscript and perhaps gather some or all the artwork

that’s included within that book. For this work, you’re typically paid an

advance and a royalty on book sales. Various experts working for the pub-

lisher handle all the other steps (and there are many of them) in the publish-

ing process.

Self-publishing is different. As the author, you’re still responsible for writing

your book’s manuscript, but you’re also responsible for every other aspect of

the book publishing process. (Don’t worry; as you delve into the self-publishing

process, you’re able to hire a wide range of freelancers and companies to

handle some of the major steps in the publishing process, but you ultimately

are the decision maker and person in charge of the project.)

In Chapter 2, you find out specifically why you should consider self-publishing,

and you discover the benefits of the process. Chapter 2 also reveals how just

about any type of content, fiction or nonfiction, can be self-published and

transformed into a paperback or hardcover book. You also find out the spe-

cific skills you need to become a self-published author.

Don’t get too excited just yet! Self-publishing does offer an amazing opportu-

nity for just about anyone to have their book professionally published.

However, compared to having your book published by a major publishing

company, self-publishing has some drawbacks as well