In this article, we are going to talk about the advantages of Self-pub over Traditional, and why we think that it’s better for writers, readers, agents and book bloggers overall.
But before we start… an advice.
IF you are a self-published writer, or even a traditional published author, or intend to, even if you just want to write and dream of being a writer, I advise you to read this LIFE-SAVING book by Mark Leslie. Wide for the Win is THE book marketing guide that every single writer should master before they do anything else. Here’s our review on it.
1-It’s FREE and limitless.
That’s the coolest, and most obvious, feature of Self-pub platforms. Good Self-pub platforms don’t charge you to post your books, and keep a reasonable amount of your profits while giving you the tools you need to increase your sales, because it’s in everyone’s best-interest. The best around, our opinion, is Draft2Digital and here’s why.
This feature makes each and every self-pub platform a market into itself where readers can grab the books of their choosing and writers can put all of their works without all the pressures and with all of the control. I mean, you can edit your book/cover real quick and post it in less than 5mins! Something that isn’t possible with traditional publishers.
2-High Competition
Indie publishing is FIERCE and competitive, making it self-regulatory, where The Best in terms of marketing and quality stand out and keeps standing – Because marketing only makes a bad product fail faster–
This is a trait of self-publishers that is seen as a drawback, but it isn’t, and here’s why: given that thousands of books are being published in these platforms, only those books that are well promoted get the attention they deserve, and only those well written get the success, a.k.a sales that they deserve. The more sales you get, the more reviews you get and the better is your ranking, closing the cycle.
It doesn’t matter how many books you publish, if you don’t promote them, if you don’t work relentlessly on their quality, well… you are just not going to make it.
A note that I have to make and a point that I’ll have to reinforce: Marketing is only half the battle, because your book MUST have a lot of quality for readers to actually read it and then recommend it.
3-It creates opportunities
Self-publishing opens MANY opportunities for profit for everyone instead of creating monopolies. Let us take a look at the “food-chain” that self-publishers creates:
The writer has a book – the books needs editing – good editors can be found everywhere take a look here – then it needs beta-readers to test the market appeal , which book bloggers and Review sites as ours can help with – then it needs marketing, here’s how you can do that as well – and then, you only need to reap your rewards by constantly marketing and engaging with readers!
So, one book, lots of people involved. See? It’s sure takes more work, of course! But you cannot afford not to do such work if you want it to make a sale, or reach the best-seller status, as some of our Guests have.
That said, you see that there is no “ONE” entity taking over the game and all creating a mini-monopoly. No. There are LOTS of people involved, but the writer always keeps the command of his book.
4-Readers have more power of decision.
This one is a no-brainer. Given that the book isn’t being shoved in the reader’s face, or influenced harshly by Ads everywhere, the reader can actually take his or her time to pick-up a new and cool book. I’m not implying something here, and don’t get me wrong, but most times, traditional published books tend to stay on a defined and confined spectrum, as we said on our previous article.
5-Freedom of SPEECH!
The content of the book is not “watered-down” and “made mainstream” by publishers!
We’ve have seen, heard and experienced books that were outright rejected because they were “offensive” and not “politically-correct” enough.
As we said on this article, Traditional publishers take great care not to disturb readers and play as safe as possible, in general, in order to keep clientele. So, when you are self-publishing, well, you can say all the Fucks, you want and express yourself as you wish, instead of taking the orders of a “compromised” entity.
This is essential, because, Literature itself, has the purpose to jolt, shock and awake the mind of readers. It’s art, and art shouldn’t be dulled or “normalized”, or it ceases to exist.
6-More money to the writer
It might not seem like it, but overall, if you do what it takes, for as long as it takes, you can make lots of money. Ok. I agree, it wouldn’t be “as fast” or “as easy” as with a BIG traditional publisher, but… given that you are in control, you can make as much as you want, IF, IF, you are willing to put the equivalent effort.
7-New Regulators
Book Bloggers and Vloggers are the new regulators. But there are so many that none controls and everybody influences.
When it comes to self-publishing, readers, of course, will look for a “trusted” third party to guide them into buying the best books, the best indie-books around. Scribble’s Worth is a VERY good example of that. In here, on our site, we only accept reviewing the BEST quality books, no matter their origin.
Book Vloggers and Podcasts, Reviewers overall, are the new influencers of the game.
The great thing about this is that you can compare the opinions of several, unrelated reviewers on one book and make an accurate buying decision. No ads. No compromise.
8-Agents take part too!
Good Agents working with great quality book bloggers and vloggers, make much more profits in the long run.
Once again we go back to money and the game, but this time is different. So, a very good way to increase your chances of being successful with your book is to find a GREAT agent, or even a GREAT Book Blogger. Let’s us start with agents.
A GREAT agent will be PRICELESS to your success and you can pay his/her weight in gold. We at Scribble’s, work with a few agents, and let us tell you that those people are the jewel that most indie writers need. They will give sweat and blood to find the best outlets for your books and will stand by you in everything!
When it comes to bloggers, we can not say much about other book bloggers, we know a few, and have relations with even fewer, but we can give you a tip: Find a book blogger that will keep promoting your book even after you paid them. Make sure that they help you with your book’s promotion on the long-run. We do this. But others do it too, so pick your favourite and go with it!
Good luck and DO check our E-mags to help you on your journey to the top! Here’s our latest!
Scribble's Worth 