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Self Publishing: Truths & Lies

Author: Terence Tam

Are you anxious to get your book published?

Being anxious to see your work bound and printed is a feeling that all authors have experienced at some point or another, but being too anxious may result in poor decisions that you’ll regret later. So before you join the bandwagon in self publishing your book, let us consider the truths and lies about self publishing.

Lie: Self publishing is expensive. Some writers and authors say that starting with your own cost too much financially.

Truth: Self publishing is easy and affordable. Contrary to the popular belief among new authors, self publishing isn’t hard to break in to and cost little too. Since self-publishing is an evolving industry with lots of competitors, publishers are continually upgrading their facilities, offering higher quality services, and affordable pricing at your convenience.

Here’s how it works. You select a size for your book, format your Word manuscript to fit that size, turn your Word doc into a PDF, create some cover art in Photoshop, turn that into a PDF, and upload it all to the self-publisher of your choosing. Depending on the level of service you choose, it can be as easy as uploaded an unformatted word document to the self-publishing service provider, and voila! They produce a completed book for you!

Lie: Self publishing companies offer low-quality services.

Truth: Self publishing firms are here to stay. They have been in business for quite sometimes now and are continually changing for the better offering high-quality services for new authors like you. The standard of many self publishing companies are quite solid. The sole giveaway that you are offering a self-published book would be if the cover were poorly designed so you have to make sure the company you work with has a great track record to back them up such as testimonials/ feedbacks from their clients.

Lie: All self-publishing companies don’t care whether you believe they’re your ticket to instant fame and fortune. They will make you believe how easy it is to make it to Oprah’s book club.

Truth: A reputable, honest self-publishing company will tactfully attempt to manage your expectations. They will inform you that it’s nearly impossible to make Oprah’s book club even if you’re traditionally published. They’ll explain how much sweat and toil it would take to sell any copies of your book at all once it’s published but will assure you of their support and assistance in marketing your book.

Lie: Your book will sell right away as soon as it’s off from the printing press.

Truth: Even if your book is great, there’s a great chance it will not sell.Book sales will be slow at first which is very common among new authors. This is where your marketing plan comes into effect. Don’t give up, persistence is the key to sales when you self publish a book.

Lie: Only use services of big publishing companies.

Truth: Should you elect to self-publish, you’re encouraged to shop around. The big guys aren’t always your best bet. Many smaller publishers offer excellent service at affordable prices. It all depends on your needs and how much assistance you are looking for.

Self publishing is easier to learn than you may think if you take the time and do your research and take things one step at a time.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/publishing-articles/self-publishing-truths-lies-3297667.html

About the Author

© 2010 Bookpal Australia Pty Ltd – All Rights Reserved Worldwide

http://www.Bookpal.com.au/ is helping self publishers all around the world to successfully self publish and market their books with cost effective solutions to create bestsellers. The website offers a free book for budding self publishers, and many other free resources.

Terence Tam is the founder of Bookpal, he previously spent 6 years as an academic and was a contributing author for several academic books. Frustrated with the level of service he was getting with traditional publishers, he set up his own self publishing company to help other authors publish and market books with cost effective yet efficient solutions.