Self-publishing has become the new norm for writers and traditional publishing has started to fade into obscurity. While there are still some merits to the traditional approach, most people like having the ability to skip that step and move right into the publishing world. For better or worse, self-publishing is the choice most people make.
With that said, there are still some reservations about it and a certain stigma surrounds self-published authors. This is mostly created from the sheer volume of poor quality books on the market. Even so, there are five reasons why I believe that self-publishing is the best choice.
#1: Self-Publishing Continues to Grow Faster than Ever!
Self-published books are controlling the overall market, accounting for nearly half of all book sales while traditional publishing numbers continue to dwindle. At this point, self-publishing provides the greatest opportunities for new authors. However, they must get it right since there is so much competition.
#2: What you Write is Unique so Publish It
Traditional publishing forces far too many people to give up because of their lazy and half-hearted rejection letters. We’re talking about the same people who told J.K. Rowling that no one would read her books. Guess what? They were all dead wrong! So I encourage new authors to put in the effort and publish their book, regardless of whether some self-appointed “expert” decides that people will read it. That’s the opportunity that self-publishing provides.
#3: Self-Publishing Pushes Boundaries
Getting forced out of our comfort zone is how we grow as people, whether that’s life in general or in our crafts. Authors have the chance to push their boundaries through self-publishing. Sometimes just the experience of publishing a book is enough to push authors toward greatness. They just need the motivation.
#4: It Let’s Authors Get the Most Out of Books
With traditional publishing, authors are lucky to get half of the royalties for books being sold. Plus the publisher owns most of the rights to the book. What makes this even more disappointing is that the author is still required to do a majority of the marketing. So what are traditional publishers even doing for the author? With self-publishing, authors not only retain all rights to their book, but they keep up to 70% of its royalties!
#5: Self-Publishing Encourages Authors to Take Control of their Destiny
Self-published authors make all decisions regarding their book. They are in charge of editing, design, and marketing. Nothing will be done without the author’s approval. Traditional publishers tend to make changes to books in order to make them more “marketable” but sometimes these changes are not desired. It’s your book so take control of it!