Is It Better to Self Publish or go the "Official" Route?

*Originally published on 8/3/10



Writing is a competitive market. Because there are so many aspiring writers out there who want to see their work get published, the odds of you breaking through are quite slim. Rather than bust their hump for something that may never work out, writers have taken a more entrepreneurial approach and gotten their novels published themselves.

They've done this through various companies that help you distribute your work such as Lulu, even Amazon has a self publishing program that allows you to put your product on the market.

This has its pros and cons. A lot of literary types don't see self publishing as "legitimate" because they didn't give it a once over. I can kind of see how this line of thinking works, but at the same time, seeing what books get published sometimes, you could make the argument that they're not doing much better.

The downside of self publishing is that you have to do a lot of the grunt work. Since you don't have a marketing department behind you, you have to sell your product on your own to make sure that people want to buy it, otherwise, what's the point?

You also have to be extra thorough. With professional publishing, you'd have editors combing through to make sure that the story works. With self publishing, you have to do this yourself. You can, however, recruit friends (ideally fellow writers) to act as your editors and give their opinion. It may not be a professional assessment, but it can still come in handy.

Self publishing can be described as "the dark side". It's not necessarily bad, but it is quicker and easier. Seeing your novel in print is an accomplishment, but giving writers a shortcut may take away from that sensation a little. Finishing a manuscript is an accomplishment in and of itself, but there isn't as high a bar to jump when self publishing when compared to the "legitimate" publishing companies.

Self publishing is also rife with scam companies who prey on aspiring writers who only want to get their work seen by readers. As such, writers should be very cautious when dealing with these companies and look into them before blindly sending their work out because it may backfire.

The plus side of self publishing is that skilled writers may finally be able to get seen. Publishing companies are often more concerned with something that will sell so that they can get a return on their investment. As such, will try to appeal to the lowest common denominator. Because of this, works that are superior may get brushed aside. On the other hand, other writers who aren't so practiced will also be able to put their work out there, so it's a bit of a double edged sword.

It really depends on what you hope to accomplish with your work. If you just want to see it as a book, self publishing will allow you to do that. You can also make a little bit of money on it depending on how big a fan base you acquire. If you want to really get the full writer experience, then going through the official route may be preferable.