Why Pay for Advice?

Unless you have a 60% + guarantee that the advice you are paying for is going to be worth it then why would you part with your cash?

When I first looked into, 'Self Publishing Help', many of the search results came back with website's that gave an encouraging introduction and then when you find the section you really need, you are hit with the price.


However, as I have done my research I have realised, 'self publishing' is mainly to do with common sense and doing your research.


Firstly, I asked myself, 'why should I publish my book myself instead of waiting for an agent' and came back with the following answers:

• Sending my work off to agents was getting expense and soul destroying so instead of wasting that time, I could do it myself and see what happens,

• Publishing contracts can take years to sign and then once you've signed, new books are usually put on the waiting list and aren't published for one to three years,

• I didn't want to give large percentage of my profits to a literary agent as it was all my hard work and although, they would publicize it more than I could, due to me being a new writer, with hardly any experience, I don't think they would put in as much effort as they would with an already established writer as they would be risking too much time and money, which is probably why they rarely take on new, unknown writers,

• When you sign with a publisher they pay you an advance on sales. This means if your sales aren't high enough, that money is NOT yours to keep. Then, you receive royalties on book sales, once sales levels pass your advance payment. Royalties are, at the very MOST, 10% of the price of the book. Ten percent?? For all your hard work, can you imagine only earning ten percent? Now even though many self publishing website's take a percentage of the sale, none I have researched take more than 60% (and over 20% would make me think twice about allowing my book to be sold through a website that could take that much profit!), and;

• When I finished my book and designed the front and back cover, I was elated. It was a personal achievement for me to actually finish the book, and to create the front and back cover myself (getting glowing reviews from friends and family who saw my accomplishments) gave me even more pride. Now, although it would be great to get a literary agent to take on my book, along with the contract taking a long time to sort out and them taking a large chunk of the profits, I also didn't want them to change anything about the book, which they would. They can change it all if they are not happy or they do not understand the concept of your book and you cannot do anything about it as you have signed the contract.

Secondly, I looked at my marketing options and then lastly, I looked at the reviews from the 'self publishing' websites to check what the users and writers who have had actual experience with them said about their services.

In my next post, I will list all the things you should start thinking about when you are ready and have decided to publish your book...this will be FREE advice and help which I have learnt from my own research.