Whether you are a well-known person or not, young or old, getting a book published in your name is a natural desire. Many would like to write a novel, self-help book, poetry, biography, or an anthology. What keeps us back is the fear that either completing a book is too hard or the fear of rejection from publishing houses. No more. Newer options in publishing allow a writer to publish a book almost at will.
Why Self-publish Your Book?
- Most well-known personalities are keen to be called ‘author‘ and like to have a book published under their name. Why? – It is prestigious and increases your social and professional reputation. Think of all the famous people and ‘google’ if they have written a book. You will find many would have done so.
2. The book is written to benefit the readers, but it must be published first. It is as good as dead if readers cannot get to read it because no traditional publisher steps forward to publish it. Your labour of love has gone down the drain.
3. When an author is ready with a manuscript, they become desperate to publish it. Waiting even for a day becomes arduous. But finding a publisher willing to publish can take a long time, sometimes many months. You start on your book publishing journey by writing emails and calling publishing agents and traditional publishers. Did a few publishers care to reply? Many-a-times, writers come to a point when they cannot wait any longer or the pile of rejections becomes too high. That is when they decide to take things into their own hands and not wait for the elusive book deal. The author starts looking for an alternative way to get his book published. Till a couple of years back, there was no other option. Now self-publishing a book has gained momentum.
4. Pay-offs can be huge
Like any aspect of life, there are a few downsides to self-publishing, but there is a possibility of a vast pay-off too. After zeroing in on self-publishing, the first step is to get in touch with a self-publisher who has excellent testimonials and can get the process going. It is possible to have a published book in your hands without any pain in as few as 4-5 weeks.
5. Be the master of your book
A traditional publisher has a set idea of what a book should contain and therefore, an author is forced to add/make changes to meet that set formula. A major benefit of self-publishing is that you can write exactly what you want and how.
6. Earn up 100% royalties on net profit
Traditional publishers are really economical with royalties. Earning as much as 80-90% in self-publishing is possible! You would undoubtedly want to be in the driver’s seat as far as your book is concerned.
7. Self-publish a book in weeks
For many new or first-time writers self publishing a book is a good idea because the traditional publishing process is painfully inefficient. Because the author never really knows what is going on at ANY stage. And if an agent is involved, the process is even more out of your control. You want your book to be in your reader’s hands within a month. No one is interested in waiting for months or years on end, never knowing when the book will be on the market.
8. Be involved at every stage of self-publishing your book
There is nothing more deeply satisfying than being involved in the entire process of converting a manuscript into a perfect book. As an author, you are kept abreast of all steps, including designing the cover and the “look” of the book, formatting the contents, printing, pricing, sales and distribution. You can share your feedback at all stages and see them implemented quickly.
9. You can be based anywhere in the world to self-publish your book
To self-publish a book, you can be based anywhere in India – in large cities like Delhi, Bangalore, Mumbai, or the smallest of towns. You only need an internet connection and a courier service to receive your printed books!
10. Join well-known personalities
All well-known personalities in India or abroad have a book to their credit, be it the PM of India, or Bill Gates. There is a certain prestige attached to becoming an author. Hence increasingly, it’s becoming necessary if you want to move up. It doesn’t matter what genre the book belongs to – it could be a non-fiction book in your specialisation or a fiction book.
Currently, several companies are offering self-publishing services. There is no shortage of options. You may take the free publishing or paid publishing option.
Self-publishing a book in India with the help of experts is now a viable option for first-time authors, new authors and established authors. With growing literacy, the number of people who want to express their creativity or share their knowledge has grown exponentially. Authors often face extreme difficulty finding a publisher to publish their work. A voice for all authors is needed – self-publishing is one such voice. I hope this post has all you need to know about self publishing. You can dig deeper into self-publishing with the blogs below.
Can I publish a book without paying?
When should I look at self-publishing?