You want to write a book. Basically you have 2 options:

1. Submit your book idea and proposal to a publishing company, perhaps going through an agent.
2. Self-Publish your baby, your book on your own

(And actually a third choice and what my entire site advocates, is a middle ground where you use an expert like myself or other company you find a good fit, to guide you through the self-publishing process so that you are not alone, but still get the benefits of self-publishing.

Full disclosure, I have never traditionally published a book before so I do not have personal experience in that realm. What I will present to you here is from my own experience in self-publishing, and discussions with friends and colleagues who desire, or have, traditionally published.

So let’s jump right to it with a few definitions.

Book: A publication of at least 49 pages

Publishing: The preparing and distribution of material. Most often containing written material.

Publisher: The person or company that finances and manages the creation of the book/product

Self-Publishing: the process of taking personal responsibility for the management and production of content.

It should be said that although we have large corporations that now deal in the producing and selling of books and other printed goods, publishing was once the domain of the author. When an individual had something to say, they would write it up, print and bind it and distribute it for the world to read and often critique. With capitalism came the selling of ideas for purely financial gain and not only because of your “important” message. Thus, I actually find it ironic that people call publishing under the auspices of a large publishing company “traditional.” Seems to me that “self-publishing” is actually “traditional.” Anyway, I digress!

SIDE BY SIDE COMPARISON

I self-publish because I like having creative control and working on my own schedule.
When making YOUR selection, take your personality and personal circumstances into account. Ask yourself:

Do you need the money from the sale of your book right away?
Do you want creative control?
Do you have the time, effort and mental capacity to submit to several agents and publishing companies?
Are you up for the management of the process?
If you don’t want to manage but still want creative control, do you have the funds to pay for someone else to manage your book for you?

Depending on your goals and particular circumstances you can choose to either work with an outside publisher, self-publish or do a hybrid method.

Self-publishing ALONE can be a lot of work but you can do it successfully. THE SELF-PUBLISHING SYSTEM was created to give you the flexibility and the benefits of self-publishing without having to go at it alone. We guide you through the process and if you like can handle the entire project from idea to launch. If you have additional questions, contact me at Zarinah @niyah.net.

Let’s get your book done!