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Questions arise about publishing whichever way one turns. I've written about publishing problems and publishers in the past, but someone asked me to explain the pros and cons or self-publishing.
The result of that question is this editorial. I hope I have answered some questions.
Viv
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To Self-Publish or Not to Self-Publish – Thoughts about Self-Publishing
Out of curiosity, I hosted a survey about self-publishing. Many people have self-published their books; others have considered self-publishing; and some would never consider self-publishing.
Answers to the questions in the survey varied considerably. One thought that seemed rather consistent was most people didn’t know the difference between self-publishing and vanity press. In today’s publishing world, the two differ, but they also seem to overlap each other at times.
The survey contained six questions or remarks. I will quote or summarize the results and in places add some information found through other research.
1. What is the definition of self-publishing?
A summary of comments include self-publishing is where the author has enough faith in his own work to underwrite the cost of publication.
The author does not go via a commercial publisher, but arranges everything directly with the printer.
Self-publishing is where the author takes on the role of publisher, editor, layout specialist, publicist, marketing guru, production coordinator, and sales manager. For an author who is skilled in these areas, cutting out the middleman and keeping more of the profit makes a lot of sense. However, if an author is not skilled in all of these things, the end product can be a disaster.
According to definition, self-publishing is the publishing of books and other media by the authors of those works, rather than by established, third-party publishers. Although it represents a small percentage of the publishing industry in terms of sales, it has been present in one form or another since the beginning of publishing and has seen an increase in activity with the advancement of publishing technology, including xerography, desktop publishing systems, print on demand, and the World Wide Web. Cultural phenomena such as the punk/DIY movement, the proliferation of media channels, and blogging have contributed to the advancement of self-publishing.
2. Is self-publishing the same as vanity publishing? What is the difference or how are they the same?
One person answered, “No! But they do tend to carry the same stigma, for the same reasons. Too many people are too eager to see their words in print and too impatient to carefully attend to the details, so ‘self-publishing’ and ‘vanity press’ and ‘subsidy publishing’ all share this image of high price and low quality. I doesn’t have to be that way, though.”
Other remarks supported the first statement. In some respects the two are the same, except some publishers found ways to blur the lines. At least one “publisher” doesn’t require the author pay anything to have a book published, but the author receives little or nothing in return. Only the most surface editing is done, and the book is not promoted. The royalty fees are low, and the author’s rights are kept for seven years or more.
3. Have you ever self-published, or will you in the future? Why or why not?
The first group of comments deal with “no” answers. “No, though I easily could. But a writer shouldn’t have to force himself on an audience … But then, John Grisham is noted for self-publishing his first effort to sell out of the back of his care.”
“No. I’m a bookseller. We resist vanity presses (considers self-publishing and vanity press as synonymous) all day, every day. Here’s why:
The lack of an impartial selection process.
The (likely) lack of an editor in the mix.
My prior experience of hideous uncommercial amateur jacket art – do not let anyone tell your jacket design is irrelevant to a book’s chance of selling.
The fact that Sale OR Return won’t be happening, so if the vanity press title does not sell, the cash that purchased it is tied up in increasingly scruffy stock on the shelf.
Space issues, cash issues in the current book trade leave our profit margins so tight we have little leeway for risks.”
A few answered yes they have been self-published or would consider being so in the future. “Yes. The first time, it was because I wanted to try out Lulu.com. I had a collections of previously published short stories – some of them award winners – that I thought readers might want, and publishers probably wouldn’t touch (note: publishers often won’t consider collections of short stories or poetry). I know how to lay out and format a book; I have dealt with commercial print vendors for many years; I have friends who are professional writers and editors and editors who are willing to read and critique (and tell me if I’m going to make a fool of myself by self-publishing)."
“I am seriously thinking about it. I would like to have my poetry in actual book/collection form. The market for poetry is tiny.”
4. If you have self-published or know someone who has, what were the pros and cons?
Some of the pros mentioned were as follows:
1. The author keeps more of any profits by cutting out the middleman.
2. The author keeps the rights to his work.
3. Self-publishing means no rejections.
4. The author sets the cost of the book.
5. The author has complete control.
6.The product can get into the hands of readers.
Some of the cons include the following:
1. Most self-published books are not well edited.
2. Many self-published are amateurish.
3. Doing so takes much money and time.
4. Self-publishing can be profitable, but often isn’t.
5. Most book stores will not accept self-published books.
5. Which would you prefer and why: self-publish, go through small publisher, try an independent publisher, or wait for a major publisher to discover you?
“A small or independent publisher can be the initial goal for that first book. Perhaps a successful book with one would catch the eye of a major publisher.”
“Go through a small publisher. I know I can’t sit and wait for a major publisher to find me. Only as a last resort would I self-publish.”
“I like the freedom of self-publishing for now.”
“’Wait for a major publisher to discover you’? That’s a myth, right? … Seriously, if you want to get ‘discovered,’ you have to work at it – you have to submit your work over and over again; you have to learn to market yourself (this is also true whether with a major publisher, small publisher, or self-publishing) – you can’t just ‘wait’ for it to happen. Publishers see countless unsolicited manuscripts, and most don’t even get read for one reason of another. I’d prefer to have a publisher who plays fair with writers – doesn’t have to be a ‘traditional’ publisher, but if someone starts telling me I owe it to the world to get my work into print, and they’ll help me do that for just $4995, I’m going RUN, not walk, the opposite direction.”
“I think a small or independent publisher would treat my work with far more care and dedication than a major publisher.”
“Small publisher = smaller slush pile.”
6. Comments:
A person should decide what he wants from being published before deciding what kind of publisher wanted.
From the bookseller: “I’m not sure that writers get how intensely booksellers despise vanity presses. You cannot imagine how abysmal the stuff they put out can be. … The big commercial house put out enough bilge.
“My opinion is not formed by experience, but I have seen enough to sense that the ‘times they are a changing.’ A number of artists, mainly recording artists, now produce and distribute their own works, bypassing the stranglehold and limitations of the established producers.”
The bottom line is whether or not an author has the means to have his work thoroughly edited, to have a quality design for book block and cover, and is will to do all the promoting necessary. If so, he might consider self-publishing. However, once the book is printed, the hard work begins: getting bookstores to accept the book, marketing it so that enough copies are sold to create a profit.
However, as noted above, getting work accepted by a traditional publisher is also extremely difficult. Even if an author is fortunate enough to have a quality agent accept him, persuading a publisher to accept a manuscript is hard.
Small publishing houses might be the answer for beginning writers, if they are good writers. Self-publishing may be answer for some authors and some types of writing. A few publishers fill the gap between major publishers and self-publishing, giving the author more control over his (or her - for the person who wondered why I used he all the time) work, yet providing in depth editing, even rejecting material not up to standard. Also such publishers provide marketing help.
Anyone wanting to publish a book or article or short story has to search for the publisher that meets his needs, and one whose needs fits his writing.
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Words from Readers
My last two newsletters were guidelines for writing for children. The following comments concern those editorials.
pee 
Great guidelines, i could use a good number of them though i dont specifically write for children, just one question though, what do you do if you feel the message you are trying to put across may not be understood by your readers? U know what i mean?
Thanks for the compliment. However, I'm not sure what you mean about the message not understood by your readers. If an author writes clearly and uses correct grammar, sentence structure, spelling, etc., he should be understood. If a writer takes short cuts, using informal writing or chat, then he may not be understood. Having others proofread and doing extensive revisions and polishing helps make sure what we write is clear, too. Also practicing writing clearly in all situations helps a person write more clearly.
Peter Yule 
How about an article on experiences of persons who have self published, pro and con?
As you can see, I covered that topic in this newsletter. I hope it helps.
Cubby 
Viv, I was happy to see my Jimmy of the Jungle included in your newsletter last week. I received some wonderful reviews because of it. And I'm ALWAYS happy to see anything dealing with writing for children. Perhaps someday a weekly Children's Newsletter might be included along with the others.
Anyway, I enjoyed your editorials on the genre. Thanks for the great advice!
Cubby ")
I agree that more needs to written about writing for children, but I don't know if there is enough to fill a newsletter four times a month for a year, much less for years. I plan to continue to have editorials on children's writing at least three or four times a year, though.
Darikana
Thanks Viv! Your children's book advice is great! I hope I can use this information in the future.
-Darikana
I hope you found information that you can use in the future, too. The thing about good advice about writing, most applies to almost every type of writing. 
I hope this newsletter helps you in your writing endeavors.
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For Authors: October 03, 2007 Issue [#1981]
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