Dohertys Publishing

Writers often wonder: “Should I self-publish my non-fiction book – or is a publisher better?” It often helps to write a plan for your book before you can make a final decision. This isn’t as complex as it sounds. Basically, you are establishing who your target reader is, why they would want to buy your book, what is unique and special about your book, and any ideas you have for promoting and marketing you book. What many writers fail to grasp until it’s too late is that most mainstream publishers are distributors rather than marketers. They sign on the dotted line only to find they still have to do all the book marketing themselves – and then hand over a large percentage of the royalties! So here are some of the questions you really MUST ask yourself before making any final decision:

1. How much PR & marketing experience do you have? If you know little about them, then are you willing to learn? Can you afford to pay someone else to do your PR and marketing for you? Do you have the spare time to promote your book?

2. Can you sell your book? Do you have a ‘list’ of people you could sell your book to? How big is your ‘list’? If you’re a business person or a professional with a list of clients or customers, then can you market the book to them?

3. Can you persuade someone else to sell your book? If you don’t have a ‘list’ of your own, can you think of any experts in a similar field who would sell your book? These are known as joint venture partners. Don’t be put off by the jargon. All a ‘joint venture’ means is that you will ask them if they’ll recommend your book. If they like the sound of your book and it ties in with their business, they should be more than happy to help. For example, if you’ve written a book about childbirth, then midwives or baby experts would be good people to approach. You might also reciprocate at some point, recommending them in return.

4. Would you like to create other products from the same content? You might want to produce an e-book, a home study programme and an audio series with the same content. This can sometimes be the deciding factor as you won’t be able to do this with a mainstream publisher under their book contract.

5. Is this your passion? Finally, the most important question of all! Self-publishing a book can bring amazing rewards for authors – there’s no two ways about it. However, it is hard work. If you don’t love selling your book, if your heart isn’t in it, then self-publishing definitely won’t be for you.

To conclude, the answer is different for everyone. Some writers would be dreadful at self-publishing. Others – usually, those of an entrepreneurial nature – would be annoyed and frustrated by the constraints of mainstream Publishing. By answering all the above questions, you should be able to work out what is the best option for you.

Stephanie J Hale is founder of The Millionaire Bootcamp for Authors. She’s a world-renowned writers’ coach who has worked with bestselling authors and millionaire entrepreneurs for over 20 years. Learn From Millionaire Authors – Sign Up Now