Is Self-Publishing Right For You?: Things to Consider Before You Hit Publish

Are you considering self-publishing? If not, consider this your sign that you should!

Do you write short stories, poetry, or novels? If so you may have contemplated publishing it and in this day and age with self-publishing as easy as a click (or few clicks) away it's a route many authors consider taking. And you should! The world of self-publishing offers a wide range of benefits compared to the traditional publishing route, but there are a few things to consider before you dive in.

Hi, I'm Karina. I'm a self-published author of two books, at this point in time, under the pen name K. R. Simler. I'm a dog mom, normal mom, wife, and one of the most chaotic creative people you will ever meet, you won't find any perfectly curated planners and schedules here! I'm here to help other writers and authors along their writing journies and show that you don't have to have a perfect outline to reach your goals.

With that out of the way, let's get started!

(If you'd rather watch a video here that option as well.)

There's 4 things we'll talk about in this post, though you should know there are many pros and cons to both routes, far too many for me to talk about in one sitting. Before making a decision I recommend doing exactly what you are doing right now, research! Hearing from both sides is the only way to know what option is best for you. At the end of this post, I'll list some of my favorite resources I used when I was a brand-new writer looking for some answers.

Now, on to the original point...4 things you need to consider to know if you should self-publish!

1. Freedom

2. Pace

3. Motivation/Resilience

4. Genre

Freedom:

Do you like being in charge? Even more important, do you like having a say over your creative work like where it's accessible, how much it costs, when it releases, etc.? If so, self-publishing might be for you.

When you go through a traditional publishing house they are the ones that call most of the shots and while some may find handing the reins over to the professionals a comforting thought, it fills the rest of us with an undeniable sense of dread. No matter what you write, you probably spent a lot of time, effort, tears, and a whole lot more on it, do you want someone else calling the shots with it? For me, that answer was a resounding 'no'! I enjoy doing things at my own pace and in my own way so the thought of answering to someone else's deadlines, and controlling how many are printed, and where it is distributed was truly a scary thought.

Of course, that isn't to say that traditional publishing isn't without its merits, one of the biggest in my mind is the fact that you as the author take on little to no financial risk when publishing. We all have heard that to make money you have to spend it and publishing is no different, just know that with that safety net comes less control for you.

Pace:

Now this may not seem like it would make a big difference, but depending on how fast or slow of a writer you are might make a difference in whether self-publishing is a good idea for you. If you are a fast writer and can pump out a few books a year, first off kudos to you, secondly, this may be in your favor when working for yourself. Some readers, particularly for genres like romance tend to be avid readers and will breeze through multiple books a month. If you are able to put out books quickly not only will you satisfy established readers and keep them in your loop, but you'll be able to direct new readers to your backlist of books.

On the flip side, if it takes you a long time to write (like me), you may find it difficult to keep up with publishers' deadlines. Taking a long time to publish has a whole slew of problems all on its own (we can get into that in another post), but it's a lot less stressful only having to explain to yourself why you aren't finished yet instead of an agent.

Motivation/Resilience:

Are you a go-getter? Someone who likes to set their own goals and does whatever is needed to make it happen, even if it means learning new skills? If not then definitely don't self-publish.

When you self-publish, assuming you want anyone to actually find and read your book, which let's be honest that's most of us, then you can't just wear the writer hat, you're everyone. That's right, you're the writer, the publisher, the marketer, the social media manager, and everything else rolled into one hot mess of a person. (I'm speaking purely about myself of course 😁.) Except of course an editor and cover designer unless you already know how to do those, otherwise you probably don't want to attempt to do those on your own.

Now, I think this next misconception has been mostly dispelled, but I have still heard it a time or two so just to set the record straight; even if you are traditionally published you will still have to market your own book. A lot of aspiring authors think that the publisher will handle all of the marketing and maybe they used to, but that's not the case anymore. So if that was the only thing drawing you to traditional publishing you may want to reevaluate your goals and which route is best for you.

Either route is tough though and you will have losses; a book release that flops, negative reviews, not knowing how to work with a social media algorithm, and so many more. But if you want to make a career out of this you will have to pick yourself up, push forward, and write that next book.

Genre:

And last but not least for today's list is the genre you write in. Most of us are familiar with the most popular ones (fantasy, sci-fi, romance, etc.), but there are subgenres within those and mashup genres that may not be as well-known and are harder to sell in. Does that mean you shouldn't write those ones? Not at all! I'm a firm believer in writing what you love and if you love zombie princesses who have to fight off alien invaders, or non-steamy werewolves (like I do) then that's what you should write. You just have to keep in mind that there will be fewer readers actively searching for those kinds of books and almost certainly no agents.

Of course, you can still self-publish if you write in popular genres too! That's the beauty of self-publishing, it really is all up to you!

Final Thoughts:

I hope this gave you a few things to think about as you look at starting your publishing journey, whichever one you choose! As promised here is a list of some of my favorite authors who I've learned a lot from, I'll also list what kind of publishing I believe they do (it may change for some of them since I checked last.) I hope you find some treasures from them as well!

(None of the links are affiliates nor am I sponsored by any of these authors.)

Lindsay Puckett - Traditionally - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@LindsayPuckett

Lidiya Foxglove - Hybrid - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@lidiyafoxgloveauthor

Bethany Atazadeh - Self-published - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@BethanyAtazadeh