Here are some of the most common:

1. Setting unrealistic goals. In spite of recent success stories in the news, you probably won’t become rich from your publishing venture. And you probably won’t sell a million copies of your book. Keep in mind that a book that sells 10,000 copies—whether self- or traditionally published—is generally considered to be a “success.” Another thing is that too many authors also believe that just putting their work out there is somehow going to result in sales, so they neglect putting together a marketing and promotions plan—which leads to the next item on the list.

2. Failing to think about marketing before the book is published. This is a biggie. I know that writing a book is no easy task, and authors tend to get caught up in the process before thinking of the next step, which is ensuring your book reaches your audience. I frequently speak with authors who have had their books out for months and have generated few sales. When I ask what they’ve been doing in terms of marketing, I often get a vague response. Or I have authors call me in September, asking to help them plan a promotions plan for the upcoming holiday season (which they should have started long before fall). It’s never too early to think about promoting your book and building your author platform. You’ll definitely want to have a plan in place well before the book’s publication date.

3. Not knowing your audience. Perhaps your book does have wide appeal, but not “everyone” is going to read it—even if you think they should. Also, consider your competition: Does your book offer something new and unique to potential readers?

4. Going the vanity press route and thinking you’ve self-published. If you pay a publisher to publish your book, and that publisher uses its own ISBN on your book, you have not self-published. And chances are, if you’ve got a vanity (or subsidy) publisher imprint on your book, reviewers won’t give it the time of day. Although the stigma is diminishing for true self-publishing (you purchase your own ISBN prefix under your own publishing company name and assign a number to your book), it still exists for vanity and subsidy publishing because editing is often nonexistent and interior and exterior designs are usually templates that look substandard. So if you hire a “self-publishing service,” make sure the end result is a well-done book that is truly self-published—by you.

5. Thinking you can do it all yourself. You can—but the end result will likely be an amateurish book that is riddled with errors. Even the best writers need good editors. And unless you are a book design professional, you want a pro to design your interior and exterior so they don’t scream “self-published.” Too many times I see authors in writers groups who post a book cover designed by themselves or a family member—and they almost always look it. Surround yourself with professionals who can help ensure your book reads well and looks good. (Get recommendations for professionals from other self-published authors whose books you like.)

6. Being stingy with review copies. Reviews are an essential part of any book promotions plan, so budget the cost of review copies in your original promo plan. I have worked with authors who were opposed to sending out “free” copies of their book—and the number of reviews they received suffered for it. It’s not unusual to hear some successful authors reveal they sent out a hundred or more review copies.  

7. Not looking at self-publishing as a business. Once you’ve decided to self-publish, you are no longer just an author; you are also a business owner. And just as a commercial publisher looks upon any new book as an investment of its resources, so too do you.

Here are some questions to ask yourself:

How long are you willing to wait to see your book in print?  Let’s skip right over the months and possibly years it might take you to find representation and assume you already have a finished manuscript and an agent. It may take some time for the agent to shop around and find the right place for your book. Let’s further assume the agent finds a publisher who is interested and offers a reasonable contract. You still might have to wait another 12 to 18 months to see your book in print.  Self-publishing can be done in a much shorter amount of time—usually just a couple of months if your manuscript is professionally edited and the book is professionally designed.

What are your reasons for wanting to be traditionally published?  A lot of authors today make the choice to self-publish rather than pursue a traditional deal. They believe they can better produce and market their books—and potentially make a lot more money. But in some circles there is still a certain amount of “prestige” in landing that trad contract. If it’s the so-called status of a traditional deal you crave, then self-publishing may not be right for you. If you simply want to get your work out there, then collecting rejection letters may just postpone the inevitable.

How much control are you willing to let go of? In general, when you sign a contract with a traditional publisher, you give up a certain amount of control over your project both editorially and creatively. The publisher will likely have final say over the content, the title, and the cover design. Most of the time, authors are satisfied with the results. However, having worked on the traditional side of publishing for a number of years as managing editor of a small press, I can think of a couple of different instances when authors were not happy with decisions we made regarding their books. They had no choice but to live with it. With self-publishing, you maintain full control over every aspect of the production process.

Do you have a sizeable author platform in place? You may not have a chance with a traditional publisher if you don’t have a large list of connections and potential buyers. The fact of the matter is that regardless of how good your book is, most trads expect you to have a large following before they will sign you on.  (Plus, you’ll still have to shoulder much of the marketing and promotions burden yourself.) Of course, author platform—and marketing and promotions— is equally important in terms of sales if you decide to self-publish.

Would you be self-publishing strictly out of frustration? Self-publishing is not as easy as simply uploading your Word document to CreateSpace. At least, it shouldn’t be. Care should be taken to ensure your content is top-notch (hire a good editor) and its presentation matches that of the trads (hire a book designer). There’s the also the little fact that you are now taking on the role of publisher in addition to author, which leads me to the next question.

Are you interested in becoming a publisher in addition to an author? This is a biggie because as a self-publisher, you are forced to take on that role. Even if you hire professionals to help put your project together, you’ll still have to make final editorial and design decisions. You’ll need to decide on a name for your publishing company and open up a bank account. You’ll have to obtain the appropriate numbers for your book. You’ll need to handle accounting and budgeting for the project. You’ll have to figure out distribution and fulfillment. Of course, there are companies that can help you with all that, but it’s definitely more involved than “just” being an author. It’s not for everyone. 

Do you have the budget to do it “right”? Sure, there are places where you can get your book published for “free,” but chances are your book will be immediately identifiable as “self-published” and disregarded by reviewers—or worse, trashed by them. I simply don’t believe there is any way around having your book professionally edited and designed. You don’t need to pay thousands for each, but you’ll probably have to pay something. And please make sure you have enough money to purchase your own ISBN. Never use one of the so-called “POD self-publishing” company’s ISBNS. Never. Make sure you are the publisher of record.

Do you truly have a quality manuscript with a unique message? Have you tried but failed to get a traditional deal because your manuscript is a piece of crap? Has no unique message? Is poorly written? Then self-publishing is not for you either; you’ll probably waste a lot of money and time on something that will not sell—and worse, could harm your reputation. If, however, you truly believe you’ve been rejected by the trads through no fault of your manuscript (it’s tough to land an agent, let alone a contract these days), self-publishing is probably your best bet. With a good book and a solid marketing plan, you will probably even be successful.

Shannon says: Research your choices.  There are lots of self-publishing companies out there these days.  CreateSpace, Lulu,  iUniverse, BookLocker, Xlibris, and Authorhouse are just a few.  Some are totally free, and some aren’t.  For those that aren’t, check out their contracts or packages that they offer.  Know what you are getting for your dollar up front….

I’ll add: Keep in mind that going through many of these companies is not true self-publishing. AuthorHouse and Xlibris, for instance, are both owned by vanity/subsidy giant Author Solutions. If you intend to sell books and make a profit from your venture, it is recommended you not go this route. (I recently blogged about the different publishing options.)

Shannon says: Know your budget.  If you use a POD company that charges for a package, which package can you afford?  You should also plan on purchasing review copies.  How much money are you willing to invest on other marketing?  Don’t forget postage and shipping supplies!  Are you paying for editing services or for book cover design?…

I’ll add: Make sure you have a budget! In my opinion, you need to have your manuscript edited and you need to have a professional cover design, at a minimum. Yes, there are “free” services out there, but the adage “you get what you pay for” is certainly true. In terms of marketing and promotions, there are plenty of things you can do for very little or no cost, but if this is not your forte, you’ll want to set aside money for promotions. You can write the best book in the world, but if no one knows about it, no one will buy it.

Shannon says: Be prepared to invest in review copies!… 

I’ll add: Absolutely. I have seen more than one author’s attempts at promotion fail because they do not want to send out free review copies. We had one author, in fact, ask us to set up a virtual author book tour for her, but she neglected to fulfill review copy requests. The tour was a failure. My co-author of The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing, 5^th Edition, Marilyn Ross sent out some 500 review copies for her book Jump Start Your Book Sales; it was a valuable promotions tool and she attributes that as the number one reason the book enjoyed excellent sales.

Shannon says: Invest in a decent book cover…. Most POD companies have some sort of automated book cover design program with stock images.  Don’t use their stock images!  If you do, just know there will be other books out there that have the same cover as yours…. Research your options or hire a graphic designer for assistance.

I’ll add: I wholeheartedly agree with this. The templated covers put out by these so-called self-publishing companies scream self-published. Not only will there be other covers out there with your exact same image, but these amateurish-looking designs do nothing to generate interest in your book. I would also venture to say that a professional graphic designer with book cover design experience is essential.

Shannon says: Edit!  Most POD companies offer some sort of editing service, but it can be quite pricey.  If you can’t afford to hire an editor, at least have a smart friend or two read over the manuscript and look for mistakes and misspelled words.  Don’t think that your own eyes will catch everything, no matter how many times you read your own book. I’m guilty of doing that myself, and readers were quick to point out my mistakes. Sure, traditional books even have mistakes in them and some are always going to slip through, but if your book is full of mistakes and errors it can be a big turn off to the reader, and to reviewers!

I’ll add: The POD companies offer sub-par editing that is not worth the (usually expensive) price they charge. And don’t count on friends (unless they are professional editors) and don’t think you can self-edit. (I have been an editor for more than two decades—and I still needed an editor to read through The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing. The editor found plenty me and my co-author had missed.) Find yourself an editing professional whose style meshes well with yours. Ask for a sample edit of a chapter or so to determine whether the editor can edit your work without changing your voice. Where to look? Ask around writer’s groups (on Facebook or LinkedIn), tweet about your needs on Twitter, or look into groups such as the Rocky Mountain Publishing Professionals Guild, which provide listings of editors (and, incidentally, the other pros you may need in your self-publishing venture).

Shannon says: Format your book properly and follow the rules!  I have never, never, NEVER seen a traditionally published book that lacked right margin justification and I’m tired of self-published authors telling me that they did it that way because it’s easier to read.  No, you didn’t follow the rules because you didn’t do your homework, or you don’t know how….

I’ll add: I generally recommend that authors do not attempt their own interior designs. Unless they are well versed in a design program such as Adobe InDesign, they are probably not qualified and the results may not be pretty—or professional. However, if they want to do their own page layout, they should read websites such as The Book Designer so they can learn the elements of what makes good design.

Shannon says: Understand that physical bookstores are not your friends….  And never, NEVER call a bookstore and try to promote yourself over the phone!  They don’t have time to talk to you. Almost all bookstores expect a discount so that they can sell a book and make a profit.  With almost all self-published books, companies charge all customers list price so there is no discount for bookstores.  Or there’s no distribution of your book through wholesale channels for chain bookstores to be able to get your book anyway.  And if there is, the book is usually sold non-returnable so a chain bookstore will require pre-payment….

I’ll add: It is often an author’s ultimate goal to have their book on the bookstore shelves. But Shannon is right; this is really not the most lucrative way to sell books. Although you can get into the trade distribution system by printing with Lightning Source (owned by Ingram, one of the largest wholesalers in the country), you will be expected to offer a deep discount and a returnable product. However, I think it is worth it to have your book available at the bookstores, so this is another reason why I believe going the “POD self-publishing” company route is not a good idea. As Shannon says, companies charge customers list price so there can be no discount. Self-publish the proper way, and you can offer a discount and still make a profit.

As usual, it all comes down to educating yourself about the process and doing the most professional job you can. Your book’s success and your own reputation are on the line.

Upon further discussion, I learned that she had printed 3,000 copies of the book at a cost of about $10,000. Add this to the expensive menu of other production and marketing services she purchased from AuthorHouse, and it turns out her investment totaled about $20,000. It was with a sinking heart that I told her she had more or less wasted a large amount of money on books that would probably never reach readers let alone the library market. I explained the difference between true self-publishing and vanity/subsidy publishing; I told her she could have published books under her own imprint with her own ISBN for a fraction of that $20,000—and she would have had saleable, reviewable, marketable books.

So where did she—and countless other authors who fully intended to self-publish—go wrong?

Her primary mistake was in not understanding the definition of vanity and subsidy publishing.

Here’s how Writer Beware describes them:

A vanity publisher prints and binds a book at the author’s sole expense. Costs include the publisher’s profit and overhead, so vanity publishing is usually a good deal more expensive than self-publishing. All rights and completed books are the property of the author, and the author retains all proceeds from sales. Vanity publishers may exclude objectionable content such as pornography, but otherwise do not screen for quality.

A subsidy publisher also takes payment from the author to print and bind a book, but contributes a portion of the cost and/or provides adjunct services such as editing, distribution, warehousing, and marketing. Theoretically, subsidy publishers are selective. A subsidy publisher claims at least some rights, though the claim may be limited and non-exclusive. The completed books are the property of the publisher, which owns the ISBN, and remain in the publisher’s possession until sold. Income to the writer comes in the form of a royalty.

However, the lines have blurred over the past few years. What you’ll most often find nowadays is neither a vanity publisher nor a subsidy publisher in the classic sense, but a hybrid of the two–following the vanity model in terms of pricing and selection (building a fat profit into its fees and publishing anyone who will pay), and the subsidy model in terms of book ownership and income to the author (the publisher owns the finished books, and the author earns royalties on sales).

Writer Beware goes on to explain about a new player in the publishing arena that has joined the game in recent years: POD self-publishing services. These companies are similar to vanity publishers—upfront fees are charged, they will publish almost anything, and marketing services offered are minimal. The main difference is that it is less of an investment on the part of the author since books are printed only when orders come in, saving authors from printing thousands of books up front. (As an aside, let’s go over the definition of print-on-demand [POD]: It refers to a digital printing technology that makes it cheap and effective to produce books in small numbers, such as one or two at a time.)

POD “self-publishing services” use digital printing to provide publishing services to authors for free or for a very low cost. Most offer free templates that enable authors to upload and format their books. Most also offer fancier packages that include editing, design, and marketing, which can cost several thousand dollars. These services tend to be poorly done and not worth a fraction of what they cost.

It’s also important for authors to realize that the average book from a POD service sells fewer than 200 copies, mostly to the author. Companies like Author House, iUniverse, and Xlibris—all of whom are owned by Author Solutions, Inc.—lay claim to selling millions of books each year. What they don’t tell you is that given the sheer volume of books released, it averages out to only around 40 books sold per title. Lulu.com founder Bob Young admits that the average Lulu author sells fewer than 1,000 books (and I have read in various places that it’s really more like two copies). (Find additional stats here.)

POD services call what they offer “self-publishing” or even “indie publishing,” but it is not. With these types of services, authors are bound to the package deals these outfits offer in terms of production. The bulk of any money made off of sales is kept by the company to offset their costs; authors are likely only entitled to a small royalty. (What this means it that authors pay twice—once at the beginning and again with every book sold.) Most of these services own the ISBN assigned to the authors book, giving them at least some claim on publishing rights.

All that said, what exactly constitutes true self-publishing? It’s incredibly simple.

In true self-publishing:

The author controls all aspects of the publishing process, from manuscript editing to interior and cover design to pricing and promoting. There are many services, including my own company Self-Publishing Resources, that cater to authors in need of help with these services.

The author keeps all profits from sales of the book.

The author starts his or her own publishing company (very easy to do!), purchases his or her own ISBNs, and maintains all rights to the book.

The author works directly with a POD printer, such as Lightning Source, or an offset printer—or both. (Or neither—and simply goes the ebook route.)

The author has mainstream review, distribution, and sales opportunities that are not there with a POD self-publishing service or vanity/subsidy press imprint on his or her books.  

According to Writer Beware, whose mission is to track, expose, and raise awareness of the prevalence of fraud and other questionable activities in and around the publishing industry (the site also includes a much more in-depth explanation of the various publishing options), “POD services often portray themselves as a revolutionary new publishing model that’s opening up a world of opportunity for writers locked out of the market by the narrow standards of the monopolistic commercial publishing industry.” Don’t believe what these services say. The only way you can truly self-publish is to do it under your own imprint and your own ISBN. It’s that simple.

She writes, “Unfortunately, many options for turning your manuscript into a book are expensive and some are out and out scams. The publishing landscape is littered with unhappy authors who made poor choices for producing their book.”

I have come across a number of these authors, who, after sending me a copy of their “self-published” book, are shocked to learn they haven’t self-published at all. Instead, they have spent their hard-earned money on one of the so-called “POD self-publishing” companies that are really just subsidy or vanity presses in disguise. Many of them assumed this was their only option. It’s not.

Daffron explains: “If you do a Google search on ‘self-publishing’ you’ll see ads for big companies like Xlibris, iUniverse, and Outskirts Press. The problem with these companies is that they separate you from your profits by acting as a ‘middleman’ between you and the real print-on-demand printer they are using. In the book publishing world, these companies are referred to as subsidy or vanity presses. And almost every knowledgeable person in publishing recommends you avoid them (including me).

“Here’s why. Subsidy presses mark up their printing costs, and then pay you only a percentage of sales (called “royalties”). If you like profits, subsidy presses are not your friends. Often they have complicated contracts and keep rights to artwork you paid them to produce. Most people regret going with a subsidy once they discover the alternatives.”

“To make the most profit, you need to be the publisher of record. To do that, you buy your own ISBN block from Bowker. Owning your own ISBN makes it possible for you to go to the printer directly and get the same distribution the subsidies offer.

“Once you have your ISBN, have a graphic artist lay out your book so you maintain your ownership rights, and take it to a printer yourself. (Hiring a freelancer to lay out your book usually costs less than the ‘packages’ subsidy presses offer.)”

You’ll also want to hire an editor to edit your book and a graphic artist to design your book cover; skimping on these two areas may mean a significantly lower quality book. Outskirts, AuthorHouse, and the like offer these services, but they are almost always poorly done. Books are often full of errors and covers tend to be your choice of a picture and a font (so another book could have your exact same cover with a different title). These books are pretty much unmarketable; even worse, they may put the author’s reputation at risk.

In terms of on-demand printers, I agree with Daffron’s recommendation of either CreateSpace (owned by Amazon.com) or Lightning Source (owned by wholesale giant Ingram). Many self-publishers think they need to work with an outfit such as Lulu or Fast Pencil in order to get their books printed digitally (POD); that’s not true. Both CreateSpace and Lightning Source work directly with self-publishers—no middleman required. “For example,” Daffron writes, “a 200-page book costs $9.30 to manufacture at Fast Pencil. However, you can get the same book for $3.50 at Lightning Source. Why spend $5.80 more per book?”

I’ll be self-publishing Jump Start Your Books Sales, 2^nd Edition, this summer, and my plan is to go to Lightning Source. Although they have higher setup fees than CreateSpace, they offer better distribution to the trade. If you only want to sell your books through Amazon and you plan to release just one title, CreateSpace might be your best bet.

Know what you are getting into before you sign any dotted lines. As Daffron points out, just because a company comes up in a Google search, this doesn’t necessarily mean it’s your best option for getting into print.

1. Do you want to be in control?

People who self-publish like to control their own destiny. They want to decide what the title is, how the cover will look, what the interior design is like, how the content will be edited, what ways the book will be promoted and sold. They want to be in charge of the whole enchilada.

2. Are you willing to educate yourself?

You’ll likely spend thousands of dollars on this venture. Surprisingly, many people will investigate all aspects of a summer vacation . . . yet jump into self-publishing without a clue. That’s bad news. You need to be willing to read books like The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing, to attend writing and publishing meetings in your area, to seek out and attend relevant national conferences. This kind of preparation helps you avoid costly mistakes and gives you insider knowledge on what works best.

3. Do you have persistence? Tenacity?

Are you willing to follow through doggedly? Writing is just the beginning. Book marketing should begin the minute you get an idea for a book — and never end! You must be willing to pursue hot leads and persevere five, six, even seven times. (Of course, every author must be willing to do this if he or she hopes to sell books.) Self-publishing allows you to get off to a fast start (just a few months versus a year and a half [or longer] with traditional publishers), but you must have staying power.

4. Do you have the time?

If you think writing was a chore, double or quadruple that if you truly want to be successful. Book production details take hours and hours, and marketing is never ending. We’ve had clients who got up at 5:00 a.m. to work on their projects before they went to their daytime jobs. Others block out three hours in the evening to pursue their publishing project.

5. Can you afford it?

While you can put something together via print on demand (POD) for just a few hundred dollars, if you are planning to make serious money and change lives with your book — be prepared to invest more. The returns can be enormous. Some successful self-publishers make as much as 80% of the retail price of their book when they return for second, third, and fourth print runs.

6. Are you willing to discipline yourself to be a “business person”?

Writing books often attracts creative souls. Successful self-publishing requires a business mind-set. They are not mutually exclusive. You can learn to hire and supervise suppliers, do bookkeeping, fill orders ,and  organize and execute marketing campaigns. While many of these things have creative aspects to them, they are much more right-brain than left-brain. When you self-publish, you are going into business.

7. What’s your passion level?

You’ve got to have a huge commitment to your book. No one cares about it as much as you do. You’ve got to love it, and nurture it, and raise it to outstanding adulthood. Is what you have to offer important enough for you to get — and stay — supremely pumped up? There are few professions that allow us to touch lives . . . to make people happier, healthier, or wealthier . . . to actually enrich the world with our words.

I’ll start by saying that I am not the average person who has no idea what lurks in slush. I spent many years in the trade, going through those very awful slush piles that blogger writes about. And it’s true; there is some real crap out there. And everyone does not have a book in them.

That said, this does not mean that every acquisitions editor working for a major publishing house would know slush if it came in a cup. There is plenty of junk out there that is sitting on the bookstore shelves right this second. Some of it is written by bestselling authors or celebrities, ie, the publishing companies know it will sell. To imply there is some rigorous high standard that always goes along with book publishing is untrue. It’s about money, pure and simple. For most houses, there is no loftier goal than publishing what will make money—regardless of whether it is crap or not.

I fully agree with this, from the article: “I do have to say one thing in defense of self-publishing: it is a very useful tool for people who have a niche audience or their own book sales channels. Ideally, both. Most traditional publishers may not do ‘niche’ projects (not a large enough target market to justify general trade publication).” But may I also add that traditional publishers today are also looking for authors who have a built-in platform—before they sign the contract. Because the reality is that most trads do little to promote their mid-list authors. It is primarily up to the authors themselves.

I also don’t believe that every self-published author believes The Man (as Kidlit refers to the trads) is holding them back so they must “settle” for self-publishing. There are plenty of savvy authors out there—check out indie author and publisher Zoe Winters, for instance—who realize the odds are not in their favor. It isn’t because their work isn’t “ready”; it’s simply because there are a finite number of books being published by traditional publishers. As publishing houses have gobbled one another up in recent years, there are even few opportunities to be published. It isn’t about feeding the ego by getting a “stamp of approval” from The Man for these authors; it is about sharing their message. And if you truly have something to say, wouldn’t you rather have a few people hear it rather than none?

I think it’s misleading to tell writers that when your manuscript is just as perfect as perfect can be, you have a very good chance of being picked up by a traditional publisher. I think that’s overly optimistic. My husband’s heavy metal band is very good—all members of the group are accomplished musicians—but the reality is that they have virtually no chance of being picked up by a major record label. They know that. But it doesn’t stop them from wanting to be heard anyway.

“I’m only interested in people who grow, learn, polish, adapt, and set their sights on the difficult goal of traditional publication. It’s hard for a reason. Not everybody gets to do it.” What about the indie music scene? Should my husband’s band not put out their own CDs because they are pining for some major label to sign them? What about indie movies? Are they any less of an achievement because they are not produced by some major film company?

“But most people who self-publish don’t have a niche book or a good marketing strategy: they want to target the mass market. They have a project that would appeal, in their opinion, to everyone and anyone. And self-publishing a book intended for a trade audience is where these would-be authors get in trouble. Because reaching a mass audience — casual readers — with a self-published fiction project is nearly impossible.” I say there are plenty of self-published authors who go into it with their eyes wide open and their expectations realistic.

It’s unfortunate that with the advent of the so-called “self-publishing companies,” such as Author Solutions and Lulu, way too many people dive right into “self-publishing.” (Incidentally, this is usually “vanity” or “subsidy” publishing, which has somehow become lumped in with true self-publishing wherein authors set up their own imprint and have their own ISBN under which to publish books.) I have a real issue with these cookie-cutter, assembly-line service providers who enable authors to publish their slush on the cheap. Would I consider publishing these books an “achievement”? Not usually. Do I consider truly self-published authors who work hard writing a good, salable manuscript; have it critiqued and edited by professionals; and have the book well-designed as having achieved something? Absolutely.

Yes, there are those who “who don’t believe what editors and agents keep telling them: their work isn’t ready”—or that their work is just bad. I say, let those people go publish with Lulu. Their book will be available on Lulu.com, where approximately zero people actually go to buy books. What I’d like to see is the true self-published authors not denigrated for what they’ve done—because it is a real accomplishment.

Traditional publishing is not exactly known for embracing change (anyone want to talk about the fact that returns are still allowed?!), but I think maybe The Man is going to have to adjust his way of thinking whether he wants to or not.

That, of course, is nonsense. For many authors, self-publishing—independent publishing—makes the most sense creatively and financially. These are the authors who have done their homework. These are the authors who are original and creative—and who know what it takes to run a successful publishing business. The quality of their books—both the way the work is written and edited, and the way it looks physically—matches that of those put out by large traditional houses.

Potential readers pick up their books not knowing—and not caring—who the publisher is. (Do you know who Stephen King’s publisher is? Do you care?) I’ve been criticized for saying that a well-done self-published book should not be identifiable as such; apparently it’s somehow “immoral” or “misleading” to put out a quality, top-notch piece of work. Eh. Whatever.

Indie publishing is here to stay, and I hope as more authors do it “right,” any remnant stigmas ultimately fall to the wayside.

Meanwhile, though, how do you make sure your book does not scream SELF-PUBLISHED and is judged by its cover and its content? Assuming you have a unique, compelling manuscript in the first place, here are some tips:

Have your own publishing company imprint and your own ISBN prefix. Head over to Bowker and buy a set of ten numbers—or a hundred if you have more than a few titles planned. If you are truly self-publishing (ie, not going the subsidy route), your publishing company must be listed as the publisher of record. If you’ve got Outskirts or Author Solutions or others of their ilk listed, they are the publisher—and you haven’t actually self-published. (Reference the subsidy link, above.)

Get your manuscript edited by a professional. Regardless of how good a writer you are, you probably cannot effectively edit your own work. I know I can’t—and I’ve been an editor of other people’s work for more decades than I care to remember. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone back to read something I’ve written only to be shocked by some glaring error I overlooked. Self-published books have a reputation of being badly written and poorly edited; make sure yours is neither.

Hire a professional to design your book cover. There are a lot of very inexpensive self-publishing options available today, most of which offer templated cover designs. They are all pretty awful and amateurish.

I recommend most authors hire a typesetter to design and layout their book’s interiors as well. If you are pretty tech savvy and can work a program such as InDesign, however, you can probably get away with formatting the interior yourself.

Don’t expect indie publishing to be easy. But do expect it to be rewarding—especially if you do it right.

But the more I thought about it, the more annoyed I got. His condescending and disparaging view of “self-publishers” started to tick me off. First and foremost, the “self-publishers” to which he is referring are really authors who are going the vanity press route. And those pay-to-publish authors have been mostly scorned from the very beginning. Clearly, Keillor does not understand the traditional self-publishing model, wherein authors start up their own imprint and spend quite a bit of time and money to make sure the book they produce is top notch. These authors often hire companies that provide author services (note that this is quite different from pay-to-publish) to ensure their manuscripts are well edited and their books well designed. (Shameless plug opp: Yes, services such as Self-Publishing Resources.)

Second, he is clearly assuming that all self-published authors go that route because they were not “good enough” for the trads. Nope. There are many good reasons to self-publish, including maintaining creative control, making more money (yup, making more money), and producing the book more quickly, to name a few. And heck—you’re going to have to market and promote your own book anyway (the trads won’t do it for you!)…you might as well be in charge of the whole process and pocket all of the profits from your efforts.

Is a manuscript better just because you “mailed it to a New York publisher in a big manila envelope with actual postage stamps on it”? Because you typed it on a typewriter? Because you enjoy an “aura of martyrdom”?  All that sounds kind of romantic, but the past is the past.

I do agree that there is a lot of crap out there right now, but most of it falls within the subsidy press category. Once people begin to understand the difference between vanity publishing and independent publishing, I think (I hope!) that will begin to change and we will see more thoughtfully produced books. As more and more book review sites begin to cater to self-published authors (whether they are pay to publish or truly self-published), even if they are not the New York Times, I believe honest reviews will start to separate the wheat from the chaff. One thing I do know: Self-publishing is not going anywhere. Neither is the Internet. Or the cell phone. Or the microwave.

And does anyone else find it pretty ironic and kind of hilarious that Keillor’s article is surrounded by ads about self-publishing??!!

So you self-publish your book but then what? Just because you’ve built it, they won’t come. High street bookstores are unlikely to pick it up, and Amazon will take it for a few bucks but won’t highlight it unless it miraculously becomes a best seller. Most good journalists won’t review it (trust me, journalists don’t take self-published books seriously) and unless you’re a marketing or PR guru, it’ll be very difficult to promote it well.

Actually, if you publish traditionally, you are still going to be expected to promote your book. And in fact, you will likely not get signed on with a traditional publisher if you don’t already have a strong author platform with lots of potential buyers. When I was managing editor for a trade publisher, almost every single author we signed on was shocked to learn they were expected to promote their books. But the truth is, the bulk of our marketing was to plop the book into a catalog and send out a few news releases in hopes of getting a review or two. Anything beyond that—well, there just wasn’t a budget for it. Granted, that was a smaller press but even if you do manage to snag one of the major players, they are not likely going to spend their marketing bucks on a new author (like advances, marketing budgets continue to shrink). They’ll spend their money promoting whoever their current James Patterson is—and you will likely be lumped in with the rest of the midlist authors who enjoy little or no marketing budget.  

In addition, if you self-publish properly—start up your own imprint, purchase your own block of ISBNs, and have the book well edited and well designed—as opposed to going the subsidy route (often incorrectly called “self-publishing”), reviewers should have no idea you are self-published. Your book is simply a title from a new independent publisher. And there is no stigma there.

The next hurdle is trust. Sadly, self-published books have a bit of a grim rep. Whether it’s because people associate them with their Aunt Bettie’s History of Littlehampton book with its funny photoshopped front cover, or because they’ve read a self-pubbed book chock-a-block full of mistakes (which, sadly, most self-pubbed books have due to the lack of a decent editor and proof-reader), there’s not a great deal of respect for self-published books despite there being some decent ones out there.

See my point above about putting out a top-quality book. It should look just as sharp as any other book put out by one of the big houses. And again, done right—there is no way readers can tell if a book is self-published or not.

This is why self-published books on average sell dozens (if you’re lucky hundreds) whereas traditional publishers tend to sell in the thousands.

This is true of subsidy published books; these are often called self-published but in reality they are pay-to-publish vanity pieces. They sell few copies because they are often poorly done—and they are usually not priced competitively because authors are forced to purchase the books from the subsidy at an inflated price. In order to make any kind of profit, the books are priced too high—and they don’t sell.

Authors who self-publish in the true sense of the meaning are able to price their books competitively, and if they have a solid promotions plan, they tend to sell books in the thousands—sometimes tens of thousands.

Now if you’re one of those writers who doesn’t care about book sales and it’s all about the love of writing, then self-publishing is worth a shot.

To this I say—if book sales and profits don’t mean anything, by all means, go with the subsidy presses such as Outskirts, iUniverse, and Author House. If you want to make money—self-publish the true way.

But consider this: you’ve spent a year or so writing your book, maybe more, maybe less. So why not try to get paid for your hard work, rather then pay, as you would with self-publishing. Just give it a try, you know? For a start, most reputable traditional publishers will pay an advance (usually in the thousands if through a larger publisher). Then you’ll get royalties for every book you sell (once you make back your advance).

It’s pretty common knowledge that advances from traditional publishers have gotten smaller in recent years.  You’ll still fare much better by self-publishing and keeping all of the profits rather than just 10 percent or so since you have to promote the book anyway. Yes, there will be editing and production costs, but with print-on-demand, you won’t have to lay out a bunch of cash for printing. (And remember, you’ll want to hire a professional editor before sending your manuscript to any agent or publisher, even if you are publishing the traditional route—so that expense, along with promoting, is also a given.)

Don’t forget too that once you sign that contract with a traditional publisher, you lose a certain amount of control. They may change the title. They may edit drastically. They may come up with a cover you hate. They may delay your publication date. But you’re probably stuck with their decision.

Even Kevin Weiss, CEO of a huge self-publishing company in the US (Author Solutions), admits 80 per cent of their authors fail to break even whereas traditionally published authors always do as they never had to fork out in the first place.

Author Solutions is a subsidy publisher—you can’t have someone else “self” publish for you—but I agree that those are some pretty grim sales statistics. Sadly, they are all too true.

And then there’s being able to tell people you’re a published author. Most savvy people will not accept you are one if you’ve paid to have your book published because, as I’ve said before, anyone anyone anyone can self-publish.

Yes, anyone can self-publish, but what you are talking about here is subsidy publishing, or vanity publishing. True self-publishing is a complicated process, and if it’s done well, it generally garners nothing but respect for those who have been through it.

As for the idea that your amazingly successful self-pubbed book will garner the attention of traditional publishers, this does happen but not often. Your chances of getting an agent and then publisher are higher.

I would have to disagree with this point as well—unless you’ve already got a well established platform and a large following, your chances of getting an agent and then a publisher are very small. Very small. You are much better off self-publishing (doing it well) and establishing a track record of sales with which to approach a traditional publisher. That, of course, is if you want to at that point. You’ll likely make more money if you keep it as a self-published title.

So what I’m saying is, give traditional publishing a chance first. Don’t let people tell you traditional publishing is a pipe dream; that getting an agent is impossible; that self-publishing is the first and best option. It isn’t. The fact is, if you write a damn good book, someone will take notice and maybe you’ll get published and maybe you’ll make money.

I agree with this—only when it comes to fiction. As far as nonfiction titles, however, self-publishing is often the best and fastest route to publication. By the time authors wait around for umpteen rejection letters from traditional publishers, self-publishers could have been reaping the rewards of their published books for months…even years. This doesn’t mean self-publishing is right for everyone; but it is most certainly a viable option for those who want to maintain control and keep all of the profits.