Monday, September 7, 2009

Debunking Self-publishing Myths

MYTH: Anyone can self-publish.
FACT: Self-publishing, just like traditional publishing, is not for everyone.

It is only for those who:

• Have a strong conviction that their book is worthy of publishing.
• Have not given up by rejections from agents and traditional publishers.
• Have the brains and brawn to invest time, money and effort for printing and promoting their book.
• Have the tenacity and determination to reach for their goal.
• Have a deep understanding that although publishing is never an easy task, anything is possible if you put your heart into it.

Self-publishing is only for people who believe in making things happen.

Publishing a book is like starting a business. You determine what you want, work on it and create a marketing plan. More importantly, you take risks.

MYTH: Self-published books are inferior and hardly ever sell.
FACT: Sales figures are not the complete and exact measure of a book’s quality.

Many traditionally published authors laugh at their self-pubbed counterparts or those who plan on taking the self-publishing route, thinking that self-published books are poor. However, not all traditionally published books are good either. Many are a waste of ink and paper but have gotten away with it because they had greater selling potential.

Publishing is a business. Self-publishing is a business. Traditional publishing, no matter how superior many people think it seems, is still a business. And they have no business dealing with a book that doesn’t sell at all.

MYTH: Self-publishing is vanity publishing.
FACT: Self-publishing is NOT
vanity publishing.

Self-publishing allows you full creative control of your work; vanity publishers do the work on your behalf. Vanity publishing is designed in that you pay to publish a massive number of books and then leave you to market all of them on your own. Self-publishing prints books only on demand. This is otherwise known as print-on-demand (POD) – books are printed only when they’re ordered. This way, you will not end up with a pile of books collecting dust in your garage. Self-publishing can help you market your book as well.

MYTH: Paying to publish a book is stupidity.
FACT: Putting your dream of publishing a book just by luck does not, and will not happen.

You don’t put all your hopes and and dreams of getting your book published believing that luck will knock on your door. You don’t pass the time waiting for a chance when you can make it happen.

Self-publishing a book is like running a business. It can bring you sweet success if you put your whole heart to it. Ask any successful self-published author and they’d tell you it’s all about hard work and not being afraid to take risks. Everything you put into may just well be worth it.

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