You may already know David Kazzie through his YouTube videos “So You Want to Go to Law School” and “So You Want to Write a Novel.” Even though he has an agent, he chose to self-publish his debut novel The Jackpot. I stumbled upon his blog this evening and found this interesting piece on self publishing.
The moral of the story is that a self-published book needs to be just as polished as a traditionally-published one. That means no covers that look like they were done by a kindergartener using MS Paint and no text that looks like it was typed by drunken howler monkeys. Unless you’re lucky enough to have the right friends, you’re going to have to pay for professional editing and cover design, and it could cost you a sizable chunk of change.
Unfortunately, it may be difficult to recoup that initial investment since most self-published ebooks still sell fewer than 100 copies. Even when one becomes a hit, it usually endures several months of sluggish sales before it starts to sell well. For me, that uncertainty is one of the biggest drawbacks to self publishing. Traditional publishing certainly doesn’t guarantee success, but at least you don’t have to pay money upfront.
Codex Lochianus 
To do a decent self publishing job, it sounds like you really have to take on all the work that would be done by agents, publicists, graphics artists, editors, and more. Even if you do farm some of that out to professionals, that’s a lot more work than just writing.
LikeLike
Yeah, the downside of having sole control over your book is that you also have sole responsibility. I simply don’t have the time to be my own agent/editor/publicist/graphic designer, and I’m reluctant to spend the money to enlist the aid of professionals when there’s a very good chance that I’d never see a return on my investment.
When you look at a lot of the successful self-published ebook authors, you notice that many of them already had an established track record of success in traditional publishing. Presumably, this means that they either have the time to devote themselves entirely to writing and ebook production, or else they have the money to hire it done. Of course if they already have a sizable fanbase, it’s highly likely that they’ll be able to recoup their expenses.
LikeLike
Hi Jason
Thanks for your post about my self-publishing column. Glad you found it interesting.
David Kazzie
LikeLike
Hi David,
Thanks for stopping by! There’s so much hype about self publishing nowadays that it’s great to see more realistic commentary. I think people need to realize that self publishing is a ton of work; it’s not just a matter of typing “The End,” uploading your manuscript to the Kindle store, and then raking in the dough.
-Jason
LikeLike