Seriously, this question was posed to a friend of mine who contemplated hiring a self-publishing company for his first book. The author who asked him this was trying to make the point that no one buys self-published books. This author, of course, has had a few books produced—all of them by traditional royalty publishers.
But wow, what a question: “Have you ever bought a self-published book?†I can’t imagine very many people responding in the negative. Of course, we’ve all bought self-published books.
First, let’s identify a self-published book. It’s a book that was produced independent of a traditional royalty publisher. It’s a book published by an individual who becomes an independent publisher or through one of the many fee-based POD “self-publishing†companies. If you’ve ever bought a book at a book or harvest festival, a flea market or holiday boutique, for example, it was probably self-published. If you’ve purchased books in the back of the room after a conference, speech or other presentation, chances are, it was self-published. Do you buy books online? Some of them may be self-published. And, certainly you’ve purchased self-published books in bookstores–especially independent bookstores.
When you bought the book, did you check to see who published it? Probably not. Did you care whether or not it was self-published? If you’re fascinated by astrology and you found a neat little pocket guide to astrology, you’re probably going to buy it no matter who published it. If you discover a quaint little book of poems about children, you may purchase it for your niece who’s expecting her first child whether it was produced by Simon and Schuster or the Mom and Pop Publishing Company of Kansas. If someone recommends a fantastic novel, you’re going to order it no matter where it came from.
I probably buy more self-published books than traditionally published books. And I do so consciously. I like to support my fellow independent publishers and those who teamed with fee-based POD “self-publishing†companies to produce the book of their dreams.
I wonder if the author who asked that controversial question knows that Mark Twain self-published his work. And is he aware that James Redfield (Celestine Prophecy) and Richard Paul Evans (The Christmas Box), Beatrix Potter, Zane Grey, Edgar Allen Poe and Patricia Fry are all self-published authors? Most of us have had publishers pick up some of our works after we demonstrated their worth in the marketplace.
It’s too bad that the self-publishing stigma lives on in the minds of some people. How can we change that? By producing the very best books that we can. This means, study the publishing industry so you know what it will bear and how you can participate in raising the bar. Write a book proposal so that you ultimately produce a quality book that is wanted/needed by a large segment of the population. Commit to promoting your book so it receives the recognition it deserves. Also, support independent publishers who are producing quality products. Join with others to convince booksellers and major reviewers that they should consider books by merit rather than company name.
If you are new to the world of publishing or if you are struggling and have questions, you’re an excellent candidate for studying my self-published book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book (revised, second printing) and the brand new, Author’s Workbook. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html and http://www.matilijapress.com/