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.

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.

Basically, the page was all about a service they provide called “supported self-publishing.” Here’s how they describe it:

Self Publishing your book with the support of iUniverse is a professional, affordable, and fast way to get your book into print. Compared to publishing on your own, you do give up control of some aspects of the publishing process, but only in exchange for less hassle and expense. iUniverse professionals with book-publishing expertise will educate and guide you through the entire process for an affordable price. Supported self publishing also enables you to test your marketing abilities and to learn about the publicity process without emptying your bank account or making it your full-time career. And, because you control the rights to your book, you can get started with supported self publishing but move to a traditional publisher—or choose to self publish on your own—after you have experience and a track record.

That sounds really familiar. Maybe because that is the definition of vanity publishing? I’m amazed at how clever these folks—not iUniverse in particular, but the whole lot of companies who do their best to mislead inexperienced and hopeful authors—are at coming up with alternate terms for vanity publishing. I know, I know. I’ve expounded on this topic ad nauseum. But if I can educate just one more burgeoning self-publisher, then it is all worth it.

If you think about it, the definition of “supported self-publishing” even contradicts itself, when it says “compared to publishing on your own”—which would be self-publishing, right?

It further says “supported self publishing also enables you to test your marketing abilities and to learn about the publicity process without emptying your bank account or making it your full-time career.” I don’t know about that. Check out their marketing and publicity services; those will empty anybody’s account—especially self-publishers who are often operating on a shoestring budget. I’m also not clear on how signing up for a plan that sends out 10 million emails (to who?) for $10,000 enables one to test their marketing abilities.

They also claim that “while supported self publishing may not be the right long-term solution for all authors, it is the most efficient and affordable way to get started, and ultimately, get published!” That is just not true; I have worked with countless indie authors who spend far less than the package deals listed on the iUniverse website. We, in fact, provide turnkey book production services for authors who are truly self-publishing for substantially less investment in many instances.  

Incidentally, they also describe traditional publishing on that page, as well as (true) self-publishing. They are missing another option: vanity/subsidy publishing. Oh, wait. That’s what supported self-publishing is.

What matters is what something is, not what it is called. “A rose by any other name would smell as sweet….”

To start, we have “ indie book publishing leader Author Solutions.” Say what? Authors Solutions is NOT — I repeat, NOT — an indie book publishing anything, let alone “leader.” Authors Solutions is a vanity press (aka subsidy press). It is a pay-to-publish service wherein authors pay to publish their book under the Author Solutions name, then must purchase their books back from the publisher. Yes, the publisher, which is Author Solutions. There is nothing “self” about this type of publishing. It’s not self-publishing. I assume the generous use of the term “indie publishing” is a thinly veiled attempt to get around this little fact. In most people’s minds, indie publishing equals self-publishing, so it seems they are being deliberately misleading.

I have spoken to many dissastisfied authors who were misled into publishing via Author Solutions as well as others. With the Author Solutions — and other companies like them — imprint on their books, they soon learned that many doors were closed to them in terms of traditional book marketing and promotion options. They also quickly realized their books were poorly edited and poorly designed, further stacking the deck against them actually selling any of their books.

The article goes on to say “while the Holy Grail remains a contract with one of the big six publishers in New York….” This is another untruth. These days, many independent thinkers are becoming independent publishers by choice. Although the traditional publishers believe they are the “holy grail,” savvy self-publishers realize they can maintain control over their project and retain all of the profits by publishing their own books. Even Seth Godin has decided to break ties with the trads.

Companies like Author Solutions certainly have their place on the publishing scene — for those who want their book in print but don’t care about making a profit and for those who go into this arrangement with their eyes open and their expectations realistic. But touting themselves as “indie” is just confusing on an already muddied playing field. I want authors to know that self-publishing (aka indie publishing) means obtaining your own ISBN, starting your own imprint, and publishing your own book — independent of a publisher for hire.

Still confused about vanity versus independent publishing? Read more here.

Sounds okay on the surface, right? Finally, PW is going to acknowledge that the tides of traditional publishing have turned, and there are merits to the self-published book. Its new quarterly supplement, PW Select, will announce self-published titles and review those they deem deserving. The listing will include the name of the author, book title and brief description, along with ordering information.

Even the $149 “processing” fee is somewhat palatable since it is offered with a six-month subscription (a $90 value, however dubious).

The processing fee does not include a guaranteed review. But ostensibly, this is because of their very high standards: “We briefly considered charging for reviews, but in the end preferred to maintain our right to review what we deemed worthy. The processing fee that guarantees a listing and the chance to be reviewed accomplishes what we want: to inform the trade of what is happening in self-publishing and to present a PW selection of what has the most merit.”

But wait: “…we’ll likely invite a few agent friends and distributors to have a look at what we’ve chosen. No promises there, just letting some publishing friends take advantage of the opportunity to see the collection.”

All right. Ick. “We’ll likely”? “No promises”? So basically this is just a way to squeeze some cash out of already bootstrapped self-publishers? I’m shocked that Publishers Weekly would sink to such a low. Are they that strapped for cash? PW Select is nothing more than a thinly veiled attempt to increase revenue without offering anything of real value. Call it what it is: a paid advertisement. Agents and publishers are not going to pore over these listings to find projects. And to attempt to mislead authors into believing this is the case is low. Really low.

I’m all for Publishers Weekly acknowledging that indie authors are becoming a major force in the world of publishing. But for them to do it this way leaves a real bad taste in my mouth. I can only hope that self-publishers—and I refer to those who have not gone the vanity route—will recognize this for what it is: just one more way the traditional publishing world is attempting to draw a distinction between traditional and indie publishing. And readers really don’t care who the publisher is, as long as they like what the author has to say.

Basically, the blogger writes that most proponents of self-publishing fall into one of three groups. He writes:

1)     Clueless.  These people are generally victims of a vanity press scam.  They believe that people like Stephen King pay to publish their books.  They are to be pitied more than censured, and the best thing you can do for them is to send them a book contract for them to study. It might take days, but I suspect they will eventually realize that the money flows toward the author.  Sadly, much of this is their own fault – the information necessary to avoid scams is readily available, all you have to do is make a minimum of effort.

2)     Conspiracy theorists.  These are actually a subset of number 1, people who think that editors and agents are there to keep new writers and new ideas from ever hitting the shelves.  This particular group is just as irrelevant as the first, because it shows that they haven’t done their homework.  Or maybe it’s just easier to believe that there’s a conspiracy than to accept the sad truth: the writing you are subbing just isn’t good enough for public consumption.  Not liking the options (get better or get out), these people went the self-publishing route.

3)     Economists.  It’s better to keep all the profits yourself, right?  Why pay these editors, copy-editors, formatting people and especially artists, when I already have a great book – my first draft! – and I can format it myself, and use a cover design made by my niece, which is just as good.  And who needs publishers when I can upload it to my kindle.  And if I go the print route, I’ll sell them myself, after all, authors have to be great salesmen, don’t they?  I’ll make a fortune.  All I can say here is: probably not, and your cover art is making my eyes bleed. 

To which I respond that he is forgetting a fourth category of self-publishers—the savvy ones who realize they need to have their manuscript professionally edited and their interior and cover designed by an artist who knows book design. These are primarily professionals who have an important message to get out there. Often they are in a niche market and regardless of the quality of their writing, most publishers have to pass because these books will probably not become bestsellers. Even some novelists are taking their own destiny in their hands by self-publishing. These “indie” publishers want to maintain complete control over their work from a creative standpoint (you don’t always have that option with a traditional publisher)—and some of them just enjoy the business aspect of publishing.

Does getting hundreds of rejection letters from publishers somehow make a writer more noble? Does it make him or her a better writer? Authors who self-publish the right way—by making sure they are putting out a top-notch book, both from an editorial and design standpoint—have accomplished something of which they can be proud. I think anyone who believes there is some sort of high standard to which traditional publishers are held today is kidding him- or herself. Sadly, it is no longer about the writing.  It’s all about whether or not a publisher believes a book will make money or not.

Going through a vanity or subsidy press is not self-publishing. It is paying another company to publish your work. It is very different from true self-publishing wherein the author/publisher has his or her own company imprint on the book and owns the ISBN. I agree that the only appropriate use for a vanity press is to publish a few books for posterity or for family archives.

The blogger also writes:  “Then, after the thing is written, someoene [sic] who knows how to select the best work will choose what gets seen, and someone who knows how to edit will edit, and someone who knows how to market will market!”

I also want to point out that traditional publishers do very little to market the books of their midlist authors. Writers who think that their work is done once they sign the contract and send in a completed manuscript are naive. You’ll earn a spot in the publisher’s catalog and on their website, but beyond that, the onus of marketing is firmly resting on the author. I can attest to this first-hand as I worked for a trade publisher and I’ve recently been published by a trade publisher. My co-author and I are the ones who came up with a marketing plan–and we are the ones who are implementing it.

I realize that self-publishing can be looked down upon because far too many books have been done poorly — badly designed, dubiously edited ego pieces. But the fact of the matter is, self-publishing is going to continue to be a viable option for authors who are tired of slush piles and gate keepers.  And I really don’t get how this hurts “real” writers? They should be grateful for the increased lack of competition, right?

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.