Disadvantages of Self Publishing

While there are many advantages of self publishing like higher profits, control over rights and design etc, there are also several disadvantages of self publishing. Self publishing is often a leap of faith that needs to be approached very cautiously. This article will go over some of the disadvantages that are related to self publishing and allow you to decide if the risk is worth it.

Important disadvantages of self publishing include:

• Heavy investment in finances – Be prepared to spend a lot of money on self publishing as it might take anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000 to get your ideas and thoughts on a finished book. Apart from these costs related to getting your book in print, you will also need to spend money on marketing efforts to drive up the sales.

• Self marketing – Self publishing will also mean that you will need to self market your book. This can be very tough if you do not know much about marketing of books or marketing in general. Self marketing will also require an aggressive and outgoing attitude which might not be an inherent trait to some writers. You can try to collaborate with some marketing companies although several book marketers will not take on work that is self published.

• Breaking the cliché – There is a strong cliché that self published books are rubbish or of low quality. Though your books might be of immense value, the cliché associated with self publishing might be very difficult to overcome. You will have a tough time with both the audience and bookstores when it comes to convincing them that your self published book is of good quality.

• Finding bookstore shelf space – As said earlier, several bookstores might simply refuse to shelve your book simply because it is self published. Shelf space, let alone prominent shelf space, is quite difficult to get for self published work.

• Getting your work reviewed – Reviewers and critiques will generally refuse to review your work as they will not want to be associated with self published work. Reviews are an important marketing tool and you might be handicapped without them. 

• Stress and frustration – Though a successful self published book will result in great monetary and emotional benefits, one will have to spend a huge amount of effort to make it happen. Scores of writers abandon their self publishing process as the emotional and financial toll is just too much to bear after a certain point.

Now that you know about the disadvantages associated with self publishing, you can analyze whether it might be better to go with a publisher or go ahead and take a chance with self publishing.