Self publishing is fruitless if you go it alone
By Tom C.
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
I am a manager for one of the largest book retailers in the world. I am also an aspiring author. It’s not why I took the job, I just loved books. In fact, if I knew how much I’d learn about becoming a published author, I might have applied at a Jewelry store and held onto the fantasy of becoming a successful author.
If you’re a new author who hasn’t been able to attract a major publisher (i.e. you don’t have connections or a famous name), you’re only choice is to self publish. Here’s the part that most people miss. You shouldn’t waste your money if you are going to self-publish alone. It may sound like a contradiction, but the fact of the matter is that there are companies that will print your book for a price, and there are companies that will charge you to help you create a marketable book. Always go with the latter option.
You need someone to proofread, help create a salable cover and back-cover teaser, and prepare you for the work ahead. No book sells itself, and even the best book gets lost in a store with tens or hundreds of thousands of books. Your self published book needs a lot of expertise to get in selling shape. Don’t pay to run off 100 or 1,000 copies of a book until you have paid an expert to help you package it.