This is a question that haunts most authors when they are starting out. In my experience, having done this for nearly 15 years, I started out seeking representation, and when that didn’t work, I self-published. But along the way I learned some important points that I am going to share with you now.
Make Sure You’re Ready
When I look back at my writing journey, I thought I was ready for an agent. I was wrong. When you query, you are competing with lots of authors, many of whom have been at this for years and understand what agents seek. At the time, I had not achieved the level of writing that would make an agent stand up and take notice. For one, my work was not as polished as I assumed it was, not because it had typos but because the structure of my sentences was not as good as it could have been. I had not come into my ‘voice.’ This is very important. You must know your voice and use it to your advantage. It is difficult to explain what ‘voice’ is; all I can say is you’ll know it when you find it.
You also need to understand and apply the craft of writing. I tell new authors that all the time. You must know the rules before you can break them. There are some on social media who will argue that you can do whatever you want, but those same people are not getting book deals. They are the whiners. Steer clear of them. My last bit of advice in this area is to be teachable. Don’t be the kind of person who rejects criticism. Over time you will know what to retain and what to reject, but be open to learning and growing from what others who know the business tell you.
Count the Cost
If you decide to do this yourself, understand that it is going to be costly. Not just monetarily but also in your time and emotional reservoir. Indie publishing requires discipline and tenacity. You have to run it like a business because that’s what it is.
Let me list a few of the things I have to fund out of my own pocket just to get a book ready for publishing:
- Writing tools—what you need to write
- Scrivener or Word (or paper if you are old school)
- A computer to keep it all in one place
- AI assistance for planning or plotting (this is optional but quite helpful)
- Book blocking
- Vellum or some other tool that puts the book in the proper format
- A designer if you do not want to do this yourself
- Cover creation
- An artist (which can be pricey)
- stock images (with royalty-free if you can get them)
- Book Brush or Canva (for do-it-yourselfers; also good for creating ads)
- Advertising
- Amazon ads (these can add up)
- Facebook ads (these run into the thousands if you do it consistently)
- Radio, TV appearances (some TV can be free if you have the right hook)
- Print ads like fliers or however you do it
- social media posts (this takes more time than money)
- book reviewers (some require payment)
- Promotions—festivals, book signings, etc.
- table
- table cover
- stands for your books
- banners
- giveaways
- purchasing your books for sale
You also have to get your books online, in libraries and bookstores, and in some cases you could be denied since indie authors do not have the same access as traditional authors. But you can request that your books be added on consignment (bookstores). If you publish on Amazon, some stores will not stock your books.
Benefits of Indie
You have full control over your product, and no one tells you what to title the book, how to design the cover, or even what the book contains. Some authors feel this alone is worth it. I too like the control, but the cost can get so high that it’s prohibitive, especially if you are retired or on a fixed income.
Benefits of Traditional
You have a business supporting you in terms of audience reach. I would say that is really the only upside. We want eyeballs on our work, and publishers can get you that. But I speak to agented authors all the time who say they also have to pay out of pocket for trips and the like. In fact, a few weeks ago I found out that traditional authors told me they even have to buy their own ads! So things are not as rosy over there as maybe you thought.
So the bottom line is you have to decide what’s best for you. No one can make that decision for you.
Happy hunting!
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