The Hidden Cost of Self-Publishing
What is a hidden cost of self-publishing?
The time and energy it takes to write and publish anything worthwhile.
That’s one example which is a hidden cost publishing. It’s not a bad cost, but there are others which can be more deadly to a writer who wants to succeed. There are both financial and emotional tolls that can be quite unexpected.
Some of these more visible tolls are marketing and money on your book. Many writers now have the option of self-publishing, or getting their work done in a type of custom publishing, where they can have more of a say than in a strict traditional publishing method. Some jump in right away not knowing how much work is involved and others do the research before committing to anything with self-publishing. Others learn the basics and go from there. However any writer goes about along the path to publishing, there is a learning curve.
I would say the biggest cost of publishing, is money- and not putting it where it is most needed.
Some will argue against this idea: they can spend a couple hundred dollars getting their book to a self-publishing company and have it out on Amazon quickly, but as one of my friends who is very knowledgeable about the self-publishing industry that gets you books and nothing more- certainly not readers. Most self-published books do not pay back the writer for the work spent on the book over the years, doing the math is an important part of self-publishing.
Another cost is you will need to market your book to the correct readers.
So if you don’t want to spend thousands of dollars on book marketing, and the money is an issue, then time will be a big factor. Then you need a great time management system and desk that is organized and perhaps a professional blog or three.
A blog or three? I have three that I write on one is about Transylvania, one on writing and one on book reviews I do for authors who ask me for them. My time is at a premium, and if I took a break to deal with the “small things” I would never get things done. Money means less work, but it also means more knowledge about self-publishing. Everyone has a view on what works and what doesn’t in the industry.
3 Comments
Anonymous
I never thought of time as being a hidden cost of self-publishing. Interesting thoughts.
Amy
A bigger time eater is just self-publishing in general when you can do it with a tradional one.
Rebecca A Emrich
Anonymous- thanks for taking the time to comment, time is a big factor we all forget.
Amy- I wouldn't say self-publishing is a bigger time eater, because I've self-published. There is, a but and that is knowing what you need to do and when.