Through the years, many people have avoided investing in self-published books. Many assume the content of self-published works to be amateurish or lacking in literary quality. Thus, it is very rare for self-published books to become best sellers. However, it is not impossible. In fact, numerous books that are now regarded as classics were originally self-published by their authors.

Here is just a list of some of these books. Hopefully this will provide new authors with inspiration and sufficient proof that choosing to self-publish your work does not meant that it will lack in commercial appeal, or be of lesser quality:

‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’ is a compilation of inspiring stories written by different people from various backgrounds. The book was compiled by motivational speakers Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield. The first book was an unexpected success and sold more than 2 million copies worldwide. The massive support by readers prompted the publication of succeeding volumes. The book is now one of the most successful book series ever published in the field.

Tom Peters’ ‘In Search of Excellence’ is seminal management material that is has been designated by history as being among one the most widely read books to date. The book points out effective management insights and guidelines for corporations and businesses. Robert Waterman co-authored this book. After being published way back in 1982, this book still enjoys huge sales up to this day.

Irma Rombauer’s ‘The Joy of Cooking’ has set the trend for cookbooks in the US long before current famous chefs have hit the bookstores. The book was originally published in 1936 and was able to sell up to 18 million copies worldwide. The book was self-published by the author in 1931 before Boobs-Merrill Company picked it up for a greater commercial printing run.

‘Celestine Prophecy’ discusses several spiritual and psychological ideas that can be traced back to ancient Eastern Traditions. Author James Redfield told his first-hand views and experiences in trying to understand nine spiritual insights found in a discovered old manuscript in Peru. This book about one’s journey towards spiritual awakening has already sold more than 20 million copies since 2005 and has been translated into more than 34 different languages.

Matthew Reilly’s ‘Contest’ is a novel-thriller that took Australia and some parts of the world by storm in 1996. The book was initially rejected by almost all major Australian book publishers until the author decided to self-publish it.

‘The Christmas Box’ tells of a story that is specifically for children, who are said to comprise the spirit of the season. Author Richard Paul Evans self-published the book in 1993. In 1995, a commercial publishing house took up the publishing aspects of the novel.

As you can see from the above, self-publishing is responsible for having brought many great books from great book authors to light. Those best sellers were once underrated and rejected by commercial publishers, but their authors believed in their potential. Now they are part of the industry’s history.

So, what then are some of the things you should be looking into if you decide to go down the self-publishing route?

• The number of copies can influence what kind of publishers you should approach. For example, if you want to produce about 25 to 500 copies, then print-on demand publishers would be suitable.

• When looking for publishers that will handle the technical aspects of your book, look for those that can provide service and assistance in areas like book layout, printing and production demands. When shopping around for a publisher, ask for samples of the books that they have published before. Ask them questions about printing. There are some printers or publishers that cannot handle a specific layout or that have limitations. Make sure that the publisher you choose can handle your specific design and book layout.

• Design and book format can help your book stand-out. If this is your first time self-publishing a book, look for a mentor that can help you with the process. Some self-published authors use the services of a professional book designer to assist in layout and make their book design standout.

• As a self-published author, be prepared to assume all the expenses. Make sure that you are familiar with all the various costs and expenses that will be incurred in the process and have these written up in a financial projection spreadsheet so you can plan and budget for it. Become familiar with printing costs and how these will vary depending on the number of copies and services you will require. As well as printing costs, you also need to consider things like photography, copy editing, requesting the International Standard Book Number which will make your book uniquely identifiable, and so on.

• Distribution is another important thing you need to prepare for. In traditional publishing, publishers generally cover the costs of  marketing and distribution of the book. But since this is self-publishing, you need to identify how you plan to distribute your book and who will receive your product. Some bookstores will only take some copies initially to see if they will sell. If they don’t you then have to get your books back. You can also explore online sales and set up a sales page website with e-commerce capabilities for accepting orders and processing payment.

• Marketing is important in any kind of book selling. Apart from publishing, you also have to carry the marketing and promotion of your book. You can hire a publicist to do it for you or you can do it yourself.

With all of these additional things to consider, what can self-publishing give you in return? In a traditional publishing arrangement, an author can expect to get about 8% of royalties, while with self-publishing you can expect to get about 30% – 50 % of the returns depending on your marketing strategy. Apart from that, of course, you also get to retain control over most aspects of publishing and distribution.

I hope you have found the above information useful and that it has given you better insight into the potential  benefits and advantages of self-publishing. 

For more help on how to create your own profitable information products, check out Product Profits Club – an online membership site where members learn how to develop info-products and software, including advanced modules on product research, outsourcing, promotion, pricing strategy and generating publicity. As a special for our valued readers and site visitors, we have secured a complimentary FREE Lifetime Silver Membership Pass to Product Profits Club. This membership is normally valued at $47, but you can access it for FREE today by clicking here: Product Profits Club Free Lifetime Silver Membership Pass.

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Self-publishing is when a writer or author decides to publish their own book. They are opting to not use third-party publishers and traditional publishing avenues to get their book published. To many beginners, this could be exhausting and highly risky because all costs will have to be assumed by the author. There is also no guarantee that readers will buy or read your book. A self-published book author could end up not being able to recoup their investment, or even lose all their capital.

Some writers get into self-publishing to satisfy their dreams of becoming a real book author. To many of these authors, losing money is secondary to the satisfaction of seeing their books make it to the bookstores. However, with proper guidance and an effective marketing strategy, self-published books could also sell like hotcakes and become the next best-seller.

How can you do it? You can start by paying attention to your content. Here are some ways on how to create and write interesting content for your self-published books.

First of all, develop a list of bankable ideas that could be the subject or focus of your book. Anyone can easily self-publish anything they want. You could always talk about your own experiences or write using your own expertise. However, if you plan to self-publish with the aim of turning a profit, then you should start by considering your own book more as a sellable commodity, instead of as a piece of great art.

Research the market and look at what is selling in the subjects you are planning to write about. Analyze the current best-sellers list and visit the websites of leading book publishers to see what they are promoting. If possible, run an online survey to find out what kind of questions your readers want answered or what types of subjects they would be interested in reading about.

The most controversial and interesting issues of the day might already be the subject of a number of popular selling books. If you’re a beginner, it would wise to stay away initially from areas where there is fierce competition. Accept the fact that other people’s books on the same subject could be better than your own.

How can you get your readers’ attention? Aside from focusing on interesting subjects, you can decide to stir a little controversy. If you are not good in creating an instant scandal, you could try out planning a different and impressive marketing campaign for your book. But before you go that far, finalize your content.

Try to condition your mind that you are after sales and not shallow fame. If you make good sales, you will achieve both, so dream of reaching for the sky instead of just the ceiling. You could strategically write books that your target audience or readers are surely to find most useful and valuable.

Treat your book as a physical product. Pay close attention to quality. One of the main challenges and setbacks of self-publishing is that you have to edit and critique your own work. Commission a third-party person to do this task for you professionally. You will gain valuable insights from this experience and it could help raise your product to a whole new level of commercial interest. You should put up a "checks-and-balances" process wherever possible to make sure that you are not buying your own hype and hopes.

Lastly, don’t put an astronomical price tag on your book. The more affordable you make it, the better its chance will be of being bought and read by readers. You can always offer a few copies at a deeply discounted price in return for testimonials that you can use, then raise the price later, once you have created sufficient "social proof" to justify the increase in price.

If you are interested in learning how to create your own profitable information products, then check out Product Profits Club – an online membership site where members learn how to develop info-products and software, including advanced modules on product research, outsourcing, promotion, pricing strategy and generating publicity. As a special for our valued readers and site visitors, we have secured a complimentary FREE Lifetime Silver Membership Pass to Product Profits Club. This membership is normally valued at $47, but you can access it for FREE today by clicking here: Product Profits Club Free Lifetime Silver Membership Pass.

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Everything is in Your Hands

If you have decided to go for self-publishing, then you should be ready to multitask. Compared with traditional publishing, they have editors, printers, layout artists, cover artists who are available and ready to work for them anytime. But in self-publishing you have to handle all of this. If you cannot do it all, you have the option to get or hire somebody who can. It will cost you more, of course. But even if you outsource, you will still need to oversee it and make sure that it meets your standards.

Time can be a major problem for some self-published authors. There are some writers who have part time day jobs and will need to fit self-publishing schedule to their time. Even marketing and promotion falls into your hands.

Costs

In traditional publishing, the writer can get as much as 5 to 10 % of the sales. But in self-publishing, you can increase the profit to as much as 50 %. The downside is that you have to subsidize everything beforehand. It is a risk. You can spend about $5,000 for self-publishing, but you cannot guarantee that you will recoup any of your investment.

Most of the times, you will need to get a distributor since book sellers are not really that willing to buy books directly from the author. The author will then have to give discounts to the distributor and the bookseller, and this will diminish your expected 50 % profit. Another problem that needs to be taken into account in the planning process, is what happens if the books don’t sell that much. Aside from less profit, some bookstores will return the book and ask for a refund. Many self-publishers would be advised to draft a contract that would not allow returns and refund, especially if retailed at a special or discounted price.

Competition can be tough. Readers may not flock to buy your book. You will need to give them a reason to buy your book over buying other books dealing with the same topic. Here is where marketing and publicity become crucial. And you will have to spend on that, too.

The Reputation

Another problem that self-publishers encounter is the reputation and credibility of being self-published. There are some readers who do not regard self-published books highly. Sad to say, some people are extremely biased against self-published authors, thinking that just because major publishing houses have refused the author, it means the book is not good enough.

The Writer

They say that a book is like a writer’s own child. It would be difficult to criticize and disparage your own kid, right? Because authors have to do everything, including editing, it can be difficult to be objective all the time. They can protect parts that are not really important or aesthetically weak. They can have difficulties letting go of some parts which are totally insignificant. That is why we have editors. But if an author decides to be his own editor, then there can be biases.

Self-publishing is a risk, you can spend a lot of money but the returns could be low. But, come to think of it, everything is a risk. And risk is part of success.

So, if you believe you have something worthwhile to share with others and that self-publishing may be the best option for getting your creation out into the world, then best of luck and go for it!

If you are interested in learning how to create your own profitable information products, then check out Product Profits Club – an online membership site where members learn how to develop info-products and software, including advanced modules on product research, outsourcing, promotion, pricing strategy and generating publicity. As a special for our valued readers and site visitors, we have secured a complimentary FREE Lifetime Silver Membership Pass to Product Profits Club. This membership is normally valued at $47, but you can access it for FREE today by clicking here: Product Profits Club Free Lifetime Silver Membership Pass.

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Not known to many, self-publishing has been around even during the start of the industry’s long and winding history. The practice has taken several forms through the years. These days, there are three major kinds of self-publishing that are adapted by authors, namely, vanity publishing, subsidy publishing, and true self-publishing.

In reality, vanity publishing is pejorative. The practice is that a publisher contracts with an author without giving much regard to the quality as well as marketability of content. The term is called such because in this arrangement, publishers are basically appealing to an author’s vanity, which mainly is the desire to become a fully-fledged published author. This kind of self-publishing is usually most attractive among new writers.

Vanity presses exist under the guise of subsidy or joint venture presses. However, in this arrangement, the author agrees to shoulder every cost of publication. He also agrees to take all the existing risks. Publishers have nothing to lose in vanity press deals. They would earn money from the fees they would collect from the authors (yes, the authors pay publishers fees for publishing their work). Many experts are advising writers to stay away from such presses.

In reality, many writers/authors are willingly and knowingly entering such deals because they are in principle putting more importance on having their work commercially published rather than on gaining profit from it. To some, vanity press is a stepping stone, more of a springboard into the tight publishing industry. Experts believe most published materials through vanity presses fail commercially because content is criticized by skeptics, distributors, and even readers. This could be because the quality is not judged by an independent body prior to massive printing.

Subsidy publishing is almost like vanity publishing only that in this arrangement, the publisher agrees to contribute some to costs, specifically in adjunct services like editing, warehousing, distribution, and in part, marketing. However, such adjunct services are most of the time minimal. In the long run, the commercial publisher possesses and owns the book, but the author gets royalties for every copy sold in the market. It is also a standard practice that subsidy publishers keep some rights in the book. Lastly, authors are given minimal say and control over other production aspects like cover design.

True self-publishing is the best option among all three. This is real self-publishing. In this setup, the author takes care of everything, from writing content, marketing, storage, distribution, and all other publishing aspects. Every right to the book is owned by the author. The books are registered as the author’s intellectual property, with the author getting all the right to enjoy the proceeds from sales.

In the long run, true self-publishing is deemed most cost effective because the author could have control over variable publishing factors. He or she could also enjoy more freedom in terms of style and earning.

If you are interested in learning how to create your own profitable information products, then check out Product Profits Club – an online membership site where members learn how to develop info-products and software, including advanced modules on product research, outsourcing, promotion, pricing strategy and generating publicity. As a special for our valued readers and site visitors, we have secured a complimentary FREE Lifetime Silver Membership Pass to Product Profits Club. This membership is normally valued at $47, but you can access it for FREE today by clicking here: Product Profits Club Free Lifetime Silver Membership Pass.

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Self-publishing, according to many in the modern literature sector, has been afflicted by a so-called stigma of amateurism. However, this attitude is regarded nowadays as a thing of the not-so-distant past. The reason being, that many self-published books have proven time and again that they can be deserving of praise and respect from even he harshest book critics.

Within some of the more entrenched and conservative publishing hubs and conventional literary centers, this kind of stigma may still surround self-publishing, but to many of those who are willing to embrace change and progress, it is becoming more of a timely wake-up call for numerous trade houses, writers, and book agents alike.

To some experts, most writers today still do not fully realize how advantageous self-publishing actually is. The practice could potentially stand to become a way of making good and timely content more available and accessible to the masses. To some writers, print-on-demand (POD) is very unlikely and self-publishing is offering much more opportunities, especially for first-time writers and book authors.

As always, authoring a book or written material for the first time can mean going through a baptism of fire. Getting into self-publishing arrangements can be a tough decision to make. Many new writers still prefer to first try a more conventional approach to getting published, which consists of initially approaching an agent, waiting patiently for responses, and then possibly dealing with the harsh and bitter reality of rejection. Self-publishing can be a ticket to getting published without having to undergo the normal ordeals of publishing. It is not surprising that more writers and authors are deciding to self-publish despite all the risks and challenges involved.

Most self-publishing arrangements call for authors to assume full or a greater part of the publishing costs. Some publishers may be willing to give assistance and facilitation, but these will incur a variety of fees and service charges. If you are planning to self-publish a book or manuscript, don’t enter into any self-publishing arrangements with your eyes shut just because you really want to see your work published.

Many professional writers are also now encouraging more beginners to consider self-publishing. Their argument is that self-publishing helps to empower writers about marketing ideas, platform building, promotional strategies, and provides practical life experience on what it takes to manage the process of getting a book written, published and sold. Some experts say that it is the author’s responsibility to not only breathe life into their books, but also drive interest in getting them read. According to this point of view, therefore, if a book doesn’t sell, it could be inferred that the author is not really trying. This statement can be considered especially true for self-publishing authors.

In summary, self-publishing can be a viable way to create, achieve and maintain a highly successful book writing business or career. The world of publishing is undergoing major changes and self-publishing may just evolve to become the new dominant paradigm. Achieving success with self-publishing can be challenging, but it is an option worth considering, especially for aspiring authors with limited financial resources, or for those who tried more traditional publishing routes and have not yet found success.

If you are interested in learning how to create your own profitable information products, then check out Product Profits Club – an online membership site where members learn how to develop info-products and software, including advanced modules on product research, outsourcing, promotion, pricing strategy and generating publicity. As a special for our valued readers and site visitors, we have secured a complimentary FREE Lifetime Silver Membership Pass to Product Profits Club. This membership is normally valued at $47, but you can access it for FREE today by clicking here: Product Profits Club Free Lifetime Silver Membership Pass.

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It is basically getting harder to impress publishers these days. If you are determined to become an author, you should consider turning to self-publishing.

Self-publishing your book or manuscript successfully, however, is not going to be easy. In fact, it could be as hard, if not much harder, than traditional book publishing. If you aim to become an author through self-publishing, you are bound to require more perseverance, marketing knowledge, skills and effort. It will take much more for you to be able to launch your book, make it sell like hotcakes, and succeed.

Like everything else, the road to self-publishing success will not always be paved for you. Most of the time, expect to face difficult challenges. There are many common obstacles that are often faced by authors who take a shot at self-publishing. Here are just some of those:

Gathering enough money to fund your self-publishing initiative is the first obstacle you will need to address. Because you are publishing your own work, no other entity, business or group of people (outside of family or friends) will be able to subsidize you or shoulder your costs. It is important, therefore, that you plan your budget and have money to support your endeavour.

Although we often hear about the successful authors who risked everything and put all they had on the line before "making it", this is an idealized rare occurrence. Do not spend all you have in self-publishing your own book. You can never be sure whether you will be able to recoup your investment. It is not wise to obtain a loan to fund your book if you have not done an exceptional amount of research and have sufficient proof that there is more than a reasonable demand for your intended product. The financial aspects are always the greatest challenge for self-publishers.

The second obstacle is the stigma about self-published books being amateurish. You can’t blame the critics for generalizing on this point. Most of the time, self-published materials are of inferior quality. This may be because of the fact that the content did not pass through the scrutiny of editors and publishers, who set very high standards for book publishing. Third-party scrutiny and criticism can really help bolster the quality and appeal of books.

Then there are the obstacles and challenges of promotion and marketing. Your book needs to be treated like any other type of commercial product, and should be targeted to a specific audience or readership. How will people learn about your book if you don’t promote it and make a fuss about it? Like everything else competing for attention in an attention-deficit world, you have to establish and raise awareness about your book with others. Doing this can be difficult, especially if you don’t have money to spend on marketing and promotional strategies. When planning your book publicity strategy, you have to develop lists of book reviewers and editors who may champion or critique your content. Most of them won’t do this service for free, regardless of whether they will ultimately say positive or negative things about your work.

Minor obstacles that are not dealt with at the outset, can develop into greater problems later. Bookstores are usually not used to dealing with small publishing firms, so how could you expect them to deal with independent publishers like you? Such stores usually only trust in dealing with major publishers, wholesalers, and distributors. And to be sure, there is intense competition in this area. You have to expect that there will probably be many other authors like you who are also aiming to make it big in your specific niche market, especially if there is good money to be made. An influx of self-published books could make yours just another among the crowd.

If you have the determination, the confidence, and the drive to succeed, then by all means consider self-publishing. Do not let such obstacles prevent you from doing so. But remember to be practical and realistic and don’t ignore feedback from the market.

For more help on how to create your own profitable information products, check out Product Profits Club – an online membership site where members learn how to develop info-products and software, including advanced modules on product research, outsourcing, promotion, pricing strategy and generating publicity. As a special for our valued readers and site visitors, we have secured a complimentary FREE Lifetime Silver Membership Pass to Product Profits Club. This membership is normally valued at $47, but you can access it for FREE today by clicking here: Product Profits Club Free Lifetime Silver Membership Pass.

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PLEASE HELP!

If no publishing company is willing to take chances on you, you could opt to self-publish your own book. Be ready to shoulder all the costs and take care of just about everything, from writing, to editing, to publishing, and marketing.

Here are some of the most popular reasons why authors prefer self-publishing.

An author is rejected by any major publisher because of several obvious and logical reasons. First, he could be unknown to the book industry. Face the truth. Most successful book authors are celebrities or icons in their own fields. No publisher will be willing to gamble on an unknown, because readers would not be easily open to reading content from nobody.

Second, the topic could be obscure.

An author may feel good about an issue, but most other people think it is irrelevant and boring. On the other end of the spectrum, a highly controversial topic for a book is also avoided because no publisher would ever want to face legal hurdles and battles for any unknown author. The subject could be of interest only to a small percentage of the population, thus making it unfeasible from a financial point of view (i.e. not enough returns projected from sales).

Lastly, the author’s writing style, genre, and grammar is simply rejected.

Another reason for an aspiring author to go the self-publishing route is that he or she desires complete editorial and artistic freedom. The author may not agree with any modifications required by the publisher.

It is fairly common for many writers to resist criticism and suggestions for change, especially if they think these would be destructive to their work, or damaging to their ego.

The author may also be aiming to take complete control and own full rights to the intellectual aspects of the book. The author might feel he or she needs to make sure the rights, sales, database, and fame of the book remain theirs. Then, he or she could be motivated by the low overall publishing expense of the book. Or, they could also feel more confident and comfortable with the idea that they are publishing independently.

If authors did not have a resort like self-publishing, the history of the book publishing industry would probably have been quite different. Some of the most unforgettable booksellers worldwide were classics that originally had been published independently by authors. Examples are the phenomenal ‘In Search of Excellence’ (Tom Peters), ‘The Joy of Cooking’ (Irma Rombauer), ‘Spartacus’ (Howard Fast), ‘Poems’ (Oscar Wilde), and ‘Chicken Soup for the Soul’ (Mark Victor Hansen and Jack Canfield).

To sum it up, remember that self-publishing is not an entirely new practice. In fact, it has been around, though in different forms, since time immemorial. These days, self-publishing is logically increasing amid further advancement of the modern-age publishing technology. With the emergence of desktop publishing systems, xerography, the Internet, and print on demand, self-publishing is becoming a clear phenomenon in the changing publishing industry.

But are you cut out for it? Not all authors have what it takes to survive and make good in having to self-publish a book. Before you get into such an endeavor, be wise to think once, twice, thrice, and many times over. As the old saying goes, expect to succeed, but have a plan in place in case things don’t work out as expected. Good luck!

If you are interested in learning how to create your own profitable information products, then check out Product Profits Club – an online membership site where members learn how to develop info-products and software, including advanced modules on product research, outsourcing, promotion, pricing strategy and generating publicity. As a special for our valued readers and site visitors, we have secured a complimentary FREE Lifetime Silver Membership Pass to Product Profits Club. This membership is normally valued at $47, but you can access it for FREE today by clicking here: Product Profits Club Free Lifetime Silver Membership Pass.

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