Self Publishing

Should you self publish, or should you go with a publishing house? It’s a great question, and we think we may have come up with a great solution.

Does the average author need a publishing house? Can an author go it alone and get a book into the marketplace?

Or, if an author is going to self publish, should they at least use the services of a company who can pull their book together, saving them a lot of time and headache?

These are all great questions, and each individual author needs to consider what is best for their particular needs.

Firstly, yes, an author can self publish a book in today’s day and age. It is entirely possible, and in fact our Author Now division does just that. We help self-published authors pull together the various components of getting their book ready for print and distribution.

However, there are two downsides:

1. The author has to do all the hard work of sourcing all of the relevant suppliers to bring a book together. From editing, to cover design, internal formatting, printing, distribution and PR, they have to coordinate every facet.

2. The author is still left without a recognized imprint on their book, meaning that they hold little to no credibility when trying to source speaking engagements, media commitments and the like.

A recognized publisher brings untold credibility to an author. Self publishing definitely has its place, and that is for either those authors whose books really are not up to a standard to be considered by a publishing house, or have all of their own speaking and distribution channels, meaning designing and printing copies on their own is the best financial model, as they will make all of the sales themselves.

The other downside to self publishing is that, by and large, most author’s books are simply not up to scratch. A book is a work of art. Even the formatting of the pages should be done in a proper design program, and not simply a Word document converted to a PDF.

Of course, this can be done, and you can also use a friend of a friend to do your cover design, but to do so is not appreciating the art of a book. To prove the point, walk into a bookstore, thumb through the pages, and you will soon see how high the finished product is. That is what you as an author are competing against.

At Ark House, we have specifically developed a co-publishing model for authors who do not have the profile or social media following to secure a full scale publishing contract, yet have the desire to be with a recognized publishing house.

Click here for more information. Or, if you’re committed to self publishing and you want help with the various aspects, please visit Author Now to learn more.