Why Self-Publish?

Why Self-Publish?

There used to be a stigma associated with publishing your own book, but that was yesterday. Authors are choosing to direct their own paths to publishing in astonishing numbers, and here's why:

Because the old route to authorship, always difficult, is now nearly impossible. Agents and publishers are pickier than ever, and unless you're a superstar or have a scandal to sell, they're generally not interested.

How long do you think the average publishing house will keep your book on the shelves if it’s not a big hit? Six months? A year? How about six weeks? Yep. The publisher has all the control. And now that the majors are using print-on-demand technology, they retain the rights to your book forever, so it is essentially lost to you.

Just a few multinational companies own nearly all the publishing houses and non-independent imprints. That’s never good news for writers . . . or readers, for that matter. It means that bottom-liners, not book people, run everything and do nothing but cut corners.

Marketing, publicity, and advertising budgets were never easy to pry out of publishers, but now they rarely exist at all. Today, all publishing decisions are based on the “p” word: platform. That means your platform (translation: enormous, established following), which you must prove you have.

Your editor will probably not really edit your book, being much too busy with other things. Actually, many of them don’t know how to edit. That’s one of traditional publishing’s dirty little secrets. (The real editors have retired or work as freelancers for better pay.) Instead, you’ll most likely be expected to hire and pay for a “pre-editor.”

After all this, how much of your book’s royalties do you think you’ll receive? Does between 2% and 15% sound as if it’s worth it? (At Wisdom House Books, you set the price of your book, and you get 100% of royalties. Let the traditional publishers try to beat that!)

And don’t forget the 15% you’ll have to pay your agent, without whom no major publisher will look at your work.

Be sure to add on the cost of the expensive Madison Avenue public relations firm the publisher will insist you hire. Remember that meager advance you got in exchange for the soul of your book? This is where you kiss it goodbye. (Wisdom House Books will introduce you to experienced book promotion experts who won't break the bank.)

The jacket art? Chances are you’ll have no real say in the matter. (At Wisdom House Books, you work directly with the designer until you are happy with the result.)

All of the old-fashioned publishers (and almost every subsidy publisher other than Wisdom House) sets the price of the book as they see fit. At Wisdom House Books, you get to decide how much money you make from each book.

These are only a few of the reasons why alternative publishing is booming and why Wisdom House Books is the leader of the pack—a real hybrid among them.

Convinced? We thought so. Now click here to discover why you lucked out when you found Wisdom House.