What's so bad about self-publishing?

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BlueLucario

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This argument is all over this forum. I thought that Self publishing can be beneficial. Not having to worry about rejections letter and stuff like that. I also read somewhere that no one really reads self published books anyway and they never make it big. Is this true?

I also read here that self publishing is not the best route. I'm not sure why, I guessed it could be a last resort to books that can never get published the old fashoned way.

Sorry, I can't help it if I read too much.
 

blueobsidian

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Have you read through the Self-Publishing and POD forum? There are tons of threads about the pros and cons of self-publishing and stories from people with extensive experience on the topic.

There are certainly reasons to self-publish a book, but it depends on the type of books and your goals. People seem to think self-publishing is easier because you don't get rejection letters. However, have you tried marketing anything on your own? It is TOUGH to get people to make purchases even with the resources available online. I do some marketing for a photographer I know who sells various merchandise online and it takes so much effort to build traffic and actually make sales.

I know some people who have had success with their self-published books. However, all the people I know personally who did well had written nonfiction and had a platform to sell them. For instance, they gave lectures on the topic or had websites with heavy traffic already. They work their butts off every day promoting and selling their work.

I've never personally known someone who has had great success with self-publishing fiction. The stories are out there, I just haven't met any of those people yet.

My biggest advice? Write your book first. Worry about publishing later.
 

Mharvey

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I took a look at several self-published pieces before - there's a reason they were self-published. There's a stigma attached to self-publishing, that it's amateurish, unprofessional and not good enough to be published by anyone in their right mind, hoping to turn a profit. Unfortunately, from what I've seen, these stigmas bare more truth than fiction.
 

maestrowork

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Let's get down the basis and ask yourself these three questions:

- Why do you write?

- Why do you want to publish what you write?

- What kind of audiences do you want for anything you publish?


Once you answer these questions, maybe you will have a better understanding why self-publishing may or may not be good for you?
 
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