By Leo Babauta
When I got a book deal with mainstream publisher at the end of 2007, it was a dream come true for me as a writer. But this year, writing my second book (called “focus“), I decided to forgo the traditional publisher and publish it myself.
Why self-publish? Aren’t I shooting myself in the foot?
There are lots of advantages to getting a big publishing deal, but there are trade-offs as well. I’ll walk you through what I considered the main trade-offs and advantages.
Advantages of a Publisher
One of the biggest advantages, of course, is credibility. When you sign with a real publisher, you are now a published author, while self-publishing still carries a slight air of amateurishness. But that’s changing, and soon there will be very little difference. What matters most is quality, not the name behind you.
The other main advantages of getting a traditional publisher:
- The advance. When you sign the book deal, your publisher pays you an up-front advance for signing (and also when you submit the manuscript). This is really just the first chunk of your royalties in advance, but if your royalties never meet this advance, you don’t have to pay it back. It’s really nice to get this money up front.
- Built-in services like editing and printing. There’s an editor on staff, and he or she is usually good, at least at proofreading. They also have things like design and printing and all the other tasks that go with publishing all figured out. You just worry about writing, and then marketing.
- Distribution. The publisher has a national distribution chain. This, actually, is probably the most important advantage other than credibility. You get your book in bookstores across the nation. That’s incredibly hard to do as a self-publisher.
Disadvantages of Having a Publisher
I’m not trying to knock the publishing industry here — I think publishers are doing the best they can. But it’s good to know the trade-offs, and there are a few:
- Loss of control. You don’t control everything when you turn your book over to someone else. The type of printing and print quality, how many books are printed, how the electronic and audio versions are done, and much more are out of your control. The part I didn’t like was that I couldn’t distribute a free version of my book, or release copyright. That was a deal-breaker for me, at least for this second book.
- No real marketing help. This isn’t just something to do with my publisher — I’ve heard the same from lots of authors. My publisher helped me line up radio show interviews, which was helpful, but did little else. I did tons of work in marketing the book — in fact it was like a full-time job.
- Loss of profits. The author really only gets a small percentage of sales in a traditional deal. Part of it goes to costs like printing, part goes to distributors, part to the bookstore, part to the publisher, part to your agent. When you self-publish, you get just about everything after your costs, with the exception of whatever you have to give to Amazon or other online distributors.
- Loss of flexibility. I love self-publishing because it means I can do it however I want, and not only control everything but change things at a whim. If I decide to lower prices to increase sales, I can. If I want to throw in bonus files, I can. There’s nothing set in stone — I make up everything and can change it as I please.
Why I Decided to Self-Publish
There are lots of reasons, but basically I wanted the control over my book that I didn’t have before. I wanted to be able to release copyright, and that’s very hard to do with a traditional publisher.
I also wanted to be able to publish in as many formats as I wanted, when and how I wanted. I wanted to remove the bureaucratic layers needed to do anything — as a self-publisher, the only person I need to get permission from is myself.
Things move much faster when I’m a one-man team: I can fix files and re-upload them, I can change the price if I think it was too high, I can issue refunds immediately, I can listen to people and improve the product, I can say whatever I want, do things my way.
Sure, I lose out on the advantages of a traditional publisher, but they’re not a big deal to me. I don’t need the advance as I wrote the book in between my regular work. I don’t need the editor as I had readers help me edit. I don’t need the printer as I found ways to publish myself (see next section).And while I lose out on the nation-wide distribution in bookstores that I’d have with a traditional publisher, I can still sell my book around the world, through my website, and not have to pay the premium to the publisher so that I can get into the bookstore.
As a nice side-benefit, I get all profits. Which makes sense, as I’m doing all the work. I was doing most of the work under a traditional publisher before as well, but only making a fraction of the profits.
How I’m Doing It
First, I decided to write the book publicly, online. So as each chapter has been written, I posted the drafts online and asked for feedback. That turned out to be brilliant — people gave me feedback instantly, instead of only after the book was published, so the final product was much better. Also, writing the book in public helped me stay motivated throughout the writing process, which can be a lonely and dreadful thing if we’re honest with ourselves.
Second, I published the book online and as a freely downloadable ebook — it’s free and uncopyrighted. You don’t have to give me your email address to get it. Why did I do this? I want people to read it and get something from it. If they don’t have to pay or give me their email address, they’re more likely to read it. And if they like it, they can email it to someone else or post a link on Facebook or Twitter. That’s a great thing, for me as a writer.
So how am I making money? I have a premium digital version, which has extra chapters from me plus bonus chapters written by other authors, along with videos, audio interviews with experts, and bonus PDF guides. Enough people have bought it after reading the free version that it’s already a great success.
I’ve also published the book in Amazon’s Kindle store, for $8.99, but it doesn’t include the bonus files. If you buy the premium version, by the way, you’ll get the Kindle file as well, along with an epub formatted file so you can read the book on the iPad or other ebook reader. I plan to put the book in Apple’s iBook store soon.
Finally, the print version will come out in a matter of weeks. It’s the final stage in my self-publishing of the book. I’ve been wrestling with printing the traditional way (off-set printing) vs. Print on Demand (POD), but I’m going with POD because it’s less expensive, more flexible, and way easier for me. The print version will be available from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and my website, among other places.
Next Week: Details
For those who want the nitty gritty details on all of the stages of self-publishing that I’ve gone through, I’ll post more details next week. That’ll include a quick rundown of things like: dealing with different formats, setting up a publishing company, buying ISBNs, setting up Print on Demand, selling via the Kindle and iBook stores, uploading files to e-junkie for download, and so on.
Leo Babauta is the creator of Zen Habits and mnmlist, and the author of focus.
Hi Leo:
Thank you so much for sharing your thoughts on publishing/self-publishing. That is the decision I’m facing now. First book was published a decade ago–the traditional way .. where they keep 90% and you get 10% (on hardcover). . but they do get it into the bookstores!! But now, of course, there aren’t so many bookstores left.
Any further thoughts you have in this area, I would lvoe to read.
This is so great to read! I have a technical book I am writing and have been thinking about this a lot.
I really like the idea of putting the chapters online. My book has code and writing so it would be helpful to get feed back on that.
Thanks for the insights on the advantages and disadvantages of going the traditional publishing route. I’d always wondered about that advance thing (ie, if you had to give it back or offset it somehow).
I’ve been self publishing (ebooks) for years, and I wouldn’t have it any other way (to date, almost 20 titles over 6 years).
As you mention, it’s the having control that appeals to me. I like being able to package my ebooks with offers, slash prices, give chapters away for free, etc.
And, not to mention keep all the profits. That’s the biggest advantage. I don’t think many realize how lucrative just selling a few thousand copies of a book you get to keep ALL the profits from, as opposed to one where you get say, 8 cents of tens of thousands of copies sold.
Looking forward to your next post in the series.
Continued success!
Thanks for the article. I’ve published several book and up until recently, only as ebooks. A month ago, that all changed when I published my first print book, Secrets of Profitable Freelance Writing.
It was a challenge, to say the least, but one thing about the process stands out, a statement made by my publicist, who informed me that if I stayed online, I would lose 90% of my audience. Like it or not, he said, while the ebook is definitely making inroads, most people like to hold a book in their hands. And I can truly appreciate that. Even though I work with electronic documents on a daily basis, I still prefer a print book .
Wow, so useful Leo. Can’t wait to hear more details as this is right up my alley and mirrors many of the experiences I had with my films when working with a distributor. So, I’m eager to publish my books in a similar manner. I have to say, you are an inspiration and I hope to follow in your footsteps, learning along the way from your experience. Thanks for sharing.
Fantastic post Leo. The possibilities of self-publishing are so exciting and you’re at the forefront of it. Enjoying reading the book on my Kindle at the moment!
My client is career technologist, Peter H. Gregory. He has written 23 books, all published by big name companies. The advantages and disadvantages you list are dead-on.
Your idea for having readers give feedback before you published is a good one. Peter teaches at a university and was writing a textbook. He gave out electronic manuscripts of the book, to all his students, before it went to print. Their feedback added a lot of value which he was able to implement before the book went to print. That particular big-name publisher was enthusiastic about the student feedback, as well. After all, it made their job easier, too!
I’m so excited about this, Leo. Last week, I took a one-time 2-hour class on How to Publish and Market Your Book, hosted by Windy City Publishers, and they discussed the pros and cons of traditional publishing, self-publishing, and hybrid publishing. It was great information and there’s a huge learning curve associated with any of these methods (it can certainly be overwhelming for the beginner, like myself!).
But the best thing is, I’ve discovered, is that whatever the writer wants to do, there is a way to do it. So really, it is up to the writer to decide what’s best for him/her as well as the intended audience.
Focus is beautifully done and I’m nearly finished reading it. Kudos, Leo, and looking forward to next week’s details!
It is the loss of flexibility that is most crippling. Congratulations on your decision to self publish!
Right Leo! Self publishing is the way to go. Though I’m by no means a roaring success, I have 15 books at Amazon Kindle and selling 170+ per month just at this one outlet. I submitted two books to agents two years ago, hundreds of agents, and one was flat out refused because it had the word ‘pedophile’ in it (it’s an anti-ped vigilante thriller), and the other was offered publication but I would give up my rights to sell it myself online.
Since I’m good with building websites, internet marketing, and SEO I decided to self-publish at the Kindle Store in digital format.
If I had continued to submit books to agents and publishers I’d likely still be sitting here waiting for some cash to roll in.
Publishers want too many rights, they want too sweet a deal for themselves, and they are a pain to deal with. Publish your paperback book through a publisher and how many of your customers do you have the ability to contact with email address? Zero. Instead, publish at Amazon Kindle AND publish PDF and other ebook versions at your own site. Offer incentives at your site so buyers pick up your books there and give you an email address during the process.
The real key to long-term success as a writer is in building a following. You can build a following much easier by emailing valuable content, offers, and freebies to those on your email list.
Publishers and agents are almost meaningless at this point, and it’s just going to get worse for them in the future.
I think publishing depends on the type of book. It’s easier to self=publish after a traditionally published book, especially if you have a niche market, as you do. But if you’re writing a memoir, as I am, then I think you need the distribution from a traditional publisher. What do you think?
I would just like to add that self publishing is definitely the way to go if you have a successful blog you are passionate about, and have a good relationship with your readers.
I did the A-list Bloggers Bootcamp with Mary & Leo which helped me build my readership significantly and lead me to writing my first book “50 Best Green Businesses To Start”
It feels nice to sell some copies and have some revenue coming in, especially when you love to write and would do it for free anyways.
Great comments, everyone!
@GustyWriter: I’m not sure that a memoir would be very different than something in my niche. I definitely think you need to build up an online audience, as I have, if you want to reach a wide readership, but that’s true of any type of writing. I can see where you’re coming from, but I don’t see why you can’t be just as successful self-publishing with a memoir as with my kind of book. If the memoir is gripping, people will want to read it, online or off.
Yes, I agree, building an audience is crucial, and believe me, as a memoir writer I’m trying; however, I know that I would have to sell about 30,000 to 50,000 copies, if I self-published before, a traditional publisher would show any interest. I don’t think a self-published memoir from a new author can get the same attention from a blog, even with a unique story, and great blog content, as getting a traditional publisher and hiring a reputable PR person who can get you on radio and TV. I know there are exceptions like Catherine Sanderson a British expat who blogged about her life as an expat in Paris in 2003, and others, and I’d love to be the exception myself. I love networking and marketing, unlike many memoir writers, and sometimes spend more time online than I should. I’m an upbeat positive person, so this comment is not meant to sound like, “I can’t do it, poor me.” Don’t forget I’m, a Gutsy Writer. Any suggestions are always appreciated. Thank you.
@GutsyWriter: What you’re saying has some truth, but I’m saying none of that is any different from books in my niche. Sure, if you have a traditional publisher who will get you on TV, that’s huge, but most publishers don’t do that for most of their authors — the ones who get a huge publicity push are the exceptions. Also, you could hire a PR person even without a traditional publisher.
All I’m saying is there are ways to do it without the traditional publisher, no matter what niche you’re in. Your results will be different, but again, there are tradeoffs either way.
I appreciate your positive comments. I realize the key is to grow your platform and this requires a more focused and professional, Thesis blog with content aimed at being “about you,” rather than “about me,” and building lasting relationships, and that it takes time. I am at that point now that my final memoir revisions with an editor are almost complete. So the next step is? Did I answer my own question? Thanks Leo for your responses. Very much appreciated.
Definitely the next step is to continue growing your audience online. I don’t think a Thesis blog is necessary at all. It’s one of a huge amount of good blog themes, many of which are free.
Great article on the self publishing Leo! It’s great o hear that you’re doing that. I am on my second self published book. I’ve really enjoyed the experience! I’d like to start selling e books now. I can always find great advice here!
great stuff Leo. I came to similar conclusions myself when shopping my book around. I ultimately chose a middle way: a business partner who through his small “press” financed the POD for a cut of my future royalties. We were able to get the book in print in less than 4 months, which is an amazing advantage over traditional presses. I had complete creative control every step of the way too… I even chose the cover image and the font. The only downside so far is that I can’t do readings at big booksellers due to their own rules about “having the book in stock,” even though they carry the book on their online store. I would add that the POD method works best for non-fiction and also if you already have a good platform like a blog or a podcast.
Leo,
Great post. Please keep ‘em coming and let us know as many specifics as you can regarding the printer (POD) company and your costs. those would be invaluable. My wife and I have a self-help book coming out in February and are examining print options at the moment.
Thanks
Troy Michael
Thanks for this post Leo. This is a common question for many writers and bloggers and your outline of the positives and negatives of self publishing was great. Also, I loved Focus! Kristen
Hi Leo -
Can’t wait for the followup…just published my first big ebook on the business of writing, and am just now wrestling with all the questions you state above — getting on Amazon, on the Kindle and other formats, POD, etc.
Leo,
Congratulations on self publishing the book! I think you also have shown pros and cons of publishing a book which is so helpful. Many times I want to publish something of mine but I have not in fear of rejection that I had as a teen story writer. I like the sound of self publishing, are you using online self publisher or something else?
Looking forward to hearing more about it. Congratulations again.
Preeti
This is an interesting insight. I s/p my poetry for fun, but wanted the agent/publisher thrill for my novel. The rejections have come in, and at 53yrs old with requests from people for my book, I now feel like s/p myself.
It isn’t always about the money. I don’t want to hang around hoping, I want my book in my hand.
I use Lightning Source, Inc., to print on demand, and they serve as a kind of wholesaler through their parent company, Ingram. The memoir I wrote of my mother’s life growing up in WWII Japan can be ordered via Ingram, a major wholesaler/distributor with a catalog, by any bookseller or library, plus as the author I can buy my own book to resell or give away at slightly over print cost. And their print cost is quite low. LSI also has branches throughout the world so my book is on Amazon UK, France, Germany, Japan, etc.
Leo, Thank you for sharing your decision with us. I’ve always wanted to write a book and now I’m even closer to understanding the options. Now, to go find your book…
Leo,
I do not understand all the opportunities inherent in self-publishing. I have written 5 novels, ascreenplay and countless short stories.
My 2nd novel, SENATE PARKING, has been turned into an old time radio show, available at http://www.NewFiction,com
I’m doing all I know how to do — yet my writing career has yet to be jump-started.
Any suggestions?
Skeeze
Leo,
Great article and have been waiting with great anticipation for the follow-up article you promised. Please don’t forget about part 2! :-)
Thanks for the useful information. I am just getting started and it saves me from trial and error.
Very helpful and timely article for us. curious if you think the decision-making process you followed would apply to an art book collaboration (spreads of photography with prose … thus the working title “Synergy”)?
Many thanks,
David Gray and Jim Lynch