Published: June 11, 2024
Thinking about indie publishing? You’re not alone. According to available data from Bowker Books in Print, at least 2 million books are self-published each year. Faster and potentially more lucrative than traditional publishing, indie authors are stepping up to take control of their books.
There are a lot of good reasons to indie publish, and here are six driving motivators that push authors to become self-publishers instead of seeking a traditional contract.
- You can eliminate the gatekeepers
This is a big one. Rather than spending time searching for an agent (who, if you’re lucky enough to find one, will shop your book around to publishers who may or may not want to buy it), indie publishers are diving right into getting their work out there. They are taking control and not waiting around for someone to approve their work for publishing.- TO CONSIDER: Traditional publishers are more and more driven by marketing data and they have stricter, less predictable parameters to accept works. This means fewer manuscripts will be traditionally published, especially in niche genres.
- It’s a lot faster
If you think the process of getting your book accepted by a publisher takes a while, you’ll find the time it takes to get your book to market excruciating.
Indie authors still need to spend time on editing and publishing tasks, but the time from finished manuscript to printed book is greatly shortened and can be done at your own pace. Once the editing process is done, it can be a matter of weeks or months—not years—to put your book in readers’ hands.- TO CONSIDER: Time from manuscript to market can be crucial for books related to current events or topics. In general, self-publishing allows authors to beat traditional authors and hit the market quickly.
- You get a say in the design and editorial process
We all know authors who are less than thrilled with their covers or have had their work edited to blandness. Indie authors get to drive on this front. We recommend working with a professional editor and designer and listening carefully to their advice, but when you indie publish, no one is going to make you publish a book you don’t love.- TO CONSIDER: Book design is a big part of your book marketing strategy. Having a design that reflects your expectations can help you reach your goals. Also, being involved in the process is a lot more fun.
- You take the risk, but reap the rewards—no splits on the royalties, unless you want them.
With conventional publishing, your slice of the pie can be pretty thin—sometimes as little as 8 percent of the retail price. And the royalties are paid against that advance (which you’ve already received), so additional profits can be a long time coming. With indie publishing, it’s possible to keep up to 100 percent of your royalties, and if you hit it big, that can be quite significant.- TO CONSIDER: Advances are getting smaller and smaller and traditionally published authors still need to invest in their book. Having control of the distribution and keeping high royalties let indie authors earn from the beginning.
- Retain rights to your work
If you sign with a publisher, you sign the rights to your work away. Contracts are written to include foreign rights, movie rights, and more. Imagine contracts written before the Internet age—who owns the rights for e-book or audiobook versions? What technologies might be around in the future that aren’t accounted for in your contract today? With indie publishing, you don’t need to worry—you retain the rights to everything and control the format and distribution of your book.- TO CONSIDER: Keeping full control of your work allows you to maximize the opportunities. Indie authors can, for example, go with a traditional publisher for their audiobook but keep 100 percent of the revenue on all other editions.
- You enjoy connecting with an audience and have a plan to market your book
Let’s face it: even if in traditional publishing, most of the marketing will fall on the author’s shoulders. If you’re already great at this, why not take a chance on yourself and indie publish? You’ll reap the benefits of your hard work, financially, and may even find you’re a natural.- TO CONSIDER: Book marketing is becoming a critical skill for all authors. Relying solely on someone else to promote your book can be very detrimental to the book’s success.
We believe these are all great reasons to self-publish, and we are here to help you.
But let me tell you one giant reason not to indie publish:
If you want to support yourself off your royalties AND you’re allergic to the idea of marketing and sales, this combination is deadly, and self-publishing will not be the best choice for you. Even if you have the resources to pay someone to market your book, the price tag will be too high to make your investment back, especially if you only have one book out. If this is the case, go ahead and search for an agent and publisher. There are some advantages, and even if the bulk of marketing falls on you, publishers have accessible resources to help and guide you.
If you’re interested in learning more about self-publishing, follow Luminare Press on social media and get our free publishing checklist. If you have a manuscript you want to publish independently, get in touch or schedule a free consultation with our team.
