Should you self publish your book?

Many people who self-publish do so because a) they believe that in the long run they’ll make more money on their book, since the publishing houses won’t take a large chunk of their profit and/or b) they’ll be able to have total control over their book. You may be be thinking of publishing your own book, but have you thought of everything? Here are four factors to consider if you’re considering self-publishing.

1) What’s included? Typically a writer will contact a few printing companies to compare prices. Some printers will help you find a book designer and/or layout and production artist. Others expect you to find your own and submit final files. Either way, find out what’s included. Will your designs come from a template, or are they custom? Do you have a choice in the design? How many versions of the designs are presented? How many rounds of revision are included?

Your cover design is crucial. If you’re publishing a book that doesn’t include artwork, where does the cover art come from? Does it cost extra? How many versions of the cover are included in the price? Typically most designers will provide 3 initial designs and a limited number of revisions (I include 5 rounds of revision. That’s pretty average).

2) What will it look like when printed? As with all things in design, what you see on your screen can have very little resemblance to your final printed piece. Colors and image clarity can be very different, and can only be checked with a high quality color proof. If you’re printing a book that is only illustrated on the cover, or is black and white throughout, you’re looking at a small additional cost (somewhere between $30-70). However, if you’re printing a book with many photos or illustrations and you want to check the color on each image, this can really add up.

Some printers will provide color proofs of all of the pages after the book is submitted and is at press. Find out ahead of time how much it costs to go into the files and make changes at this point if you need to. It can be cost prohibitive. If you care about the way your book will look when printed, though, there’s no good alternative for getting high-quality printed proofs at some step of the process.

3) Is it right? You’ve read your book backwards and forwards and have caught all of the typos and grammar errors. You even had a friend look it over for you. Why pay extra for a copy editor?

Bad idea. Unless you’re very fortunate and your friend is a professional copy editor who was willing to throw you a freebie, you really need a trained set of eyes to comb through your manuscript. Nothing looks less professional than a badly edited book, and the rules for editing are extensive. Take a look at the Chicago Manual of Style (at 933 pages) to get an idea of what a good copy editor has to know.

4) Who takes care of the details? Your book will probably need an ISBN code, bar code and Library of Congress card catalog number, and you should consider registering your book with the United States Copyright Office. Who’s responsible for this, and how much does it cost?

Self-publishing can be a great way to get your words or artwork in print. Know exactly what’s involved before you get started.