4 Proven Benefits of Self-Publishing in 2023
You must have heard people especially authors or publishing agencies talk about self-publishing books, and I believe you are wondering how you can also be in their shoes and achieve the results they’ve achieved. Well, it’s not impossible for you. You can also be like them, and that’s why I’m sharing this blog post with you to help you get results from self-publishing your books in 2023. One of the many things I’ve come to discover is that being a self-published author one-time is the courage you need to be able to replicate it anytime you need it. Of course, like every other thing it comes with its cons and pros, but for the purpose of this article, we will focus on the pros more because I am interested in helping you get results in 2023. Book publishing on its own has been discovered to be responsible for the transfer of knowledge across generations. This means that if you have particular knowledge you want to transfer from your generation to another, then book publishing is the way. It’s your knowledge, you should have the sole responsibility of determining everything that has to do with the book, and that’s why we have self-publishing. What is Self-Publishing? Self-publishing is the process of publishing your work of art without the influence of a traditional publisher. This process gives you the opportunity to have control over creative decisions, the cost of publishing, and profits from the sales of your work of art. For the context of this blog post, the work of art is a book, either an ebook, hardcopy or audiobook. As an author, you don’t have to get worked up about the content of your book because traditional publishers can decide to edit the content without your permission in a bid to satisfy their preferred audience, which is not totally wrong judging by the fact that they will be covering up the cost of the entire publishing process, and they have a specific audience who feeds on the books they publish. “Writing a book makes you an expert in the field. At the very least, when you hand someone a book you wrote, it’s more impressive than handing a business card.” —James Altucher As a self-publishing author, you determine who your audience would be and you write to suit them. Here, you have two people controlling you as the author, the author, and the people you are writing for. Benefits of Self-Publishing 1. Complete authority over the content of your book Just as I mentioned earlier, as a self-published author, you determine what you want to write, and the style and tone of what you want to write. It gives you the freedom to not only express yourself but to also define the entire publishing process which includes writing, editing, book design, printing, marketing, and sales. You can choose to do all of this yourself and you can choose to hire a professional. When you hire a professional, you are not handing over your control and authority over the book to the professional, but instead, you are hiring them to get the job done according to your preference. This is why agencies like ScribeTribe Africa exist to help you with the process of book publishing. 2. Saves time Getting your book published by a traditional publisher is time-consuming, as you have to source a booking agent willing to take up your project and search for a suitable book publisher for you. This simple process can span from one day down to months and if possible years. The time you spent on this process could have been used to write and publish more than one book. Imagine if you have to replicate this process for every book you want to write. Coupled with the fact that technology has made it possible for people to spend lesser time churning out quality content. Self-publishing is your best approach to converting your manuscript into a book and getting it into the hands of your readers in the shortest time possible without watering down its content quality. 3. Build your brand or reinforce an existing one It’s no longer news that book publishing is one of the pathways to thought leadership, and as a professional with years of experience under your belt, self-publishing will further help you to stand out in your preferred industry. Why? The book you published was strictly your ideas, knowledge, research, and experience. It serves as proof that you have in-depth knowledge about your field, and that’s what makes you a thought leader. It further gives you endless opportunities and exposure to showcase yourself, your business, and your book to a larger audience. With the advent of covid19, it has become apparent that social media is a tool that can be used to amplify your brand, but you need to have quality resources to meet the needs of your potential audience in 2023 4. Higher Royalty As a self-published author, you have access to 100% profit as opposed to earning a low percentage of royalties from the sales of your book. With this, you can decide to invest 50% of your profit into the publishing and marketing of your next book, and then you have multiple streams of income at your disposal. Conclusion Self-Publishing is a tool to help you establish your authority as a thought leader. In the article, I have highlighted the definitions and the benefits of being a self-published author, and I know this will guide your decision as you proceed. At ScribeTribe Africa, we offer support services for authors who want to self-publish their books. Does this seem like what you need, contact us now! More Articles for you to read 6 Mistakes Self-Published Authors Make 5 Effective Thought Leadership Strategies For Your Brand What Is Book Publishing? Types Of Book Publishing
6 Mistakes Self-Published Authors Make
Self-published authors are an alternative way to publish your book especially if you want total control over the content of your book as well as the revenue generated. While it is a good alternative, you can also go wrong with it if you don’t know the right way to achieve your desired goal of self-publishing your books. Who is a Self-Published Author? A self-published author is an individual who completes the entire process of publishing a book on their own or with just their own resources. The publishing process includes but is not limited, to writing, editing and proofreading, formatting, cover design, printing, and also sales and marketing. You will agree with me that’s a whole lot for an individual to take up, especially if book publishing is not the only thing they do with their time, For instance, a Bank Manager who wants to write and publish a book. We can not completely dismiss the possibility of things going wrong because you are either clueless on the what and how or you do not have experience or what it tasks to successfully publish a book. To successfully publish a book, there are mistakes you should look out for. 1. No timeline for book projects It is compulsory and important that your book project has a timeline attached to it, just like a regular project in a corporate environment. This will help you to measure the resources and effort required to get you the results you desire. It also helps you to be strict with your resource allocation to avoid wastage and zero results. If you don’t have a timeline for your book project, what should ordinarily take you 2 months will span into two years, and at the end of the two years, you will realize that you are miles away from achieving your goal. As a self-published author, you can’t afford to make this mistake. 2. No specific target audience Another error you should avoid making is writing for everybody. No, you cannot write for everybody. Why? Because everybody is a generic word used to describe many people. Many people are of a different race, gender, nationality, age, background, standard of living, education, exposure, religion, culture, etc. So why do you want to write to all of them at once? If you want to write for everybody, you will end up writing for nobody because everybody won’t be able to understand what you wrote as it was not written in a language they understand. For instance, you want to write a book on How To Build A Sanctuary, and you expect a medical doctor to read or you expect a 10-yar old to read and understand. That’s impossible. This is why it is advisable that before you start writing a book, create a reader persona that describes: Who your audience is What interests them more What problem or challenges do they have; your book should be solving a problem How your book will solve their problem If you can answer this question, you have your target audience and can commence your book publishing journey as a self-published author. 3. Skipping professional editing and proofreading I know that you trust yourself so much that you are sure your manuscript does not need to be edited, but there is a need for a second eye to look through, to help you ensure that the grammatical construction properly communicates your intention to your potential readers. This second eye has to be a professional who has proven experience in this subject. It is not enough that you have written well, but can your audience understand what you have written enough for them to find value in it? Resist the urge to skip professional editing and proofreading, and hire someone to get the job done for you. It doesn’t have to be expensive for it to be quality, you can always find a professional within your budget. Do not settle for less. Include this in your publishing plan, remember we spoke about creating a timeline, factor this in as well as you proceed on your journey as a self-published author 4. Every graphic designer is a book designer Not every graphics designer is a book designer, but can a graphics designer be a book designer, definitely. How would you know? By making inquiries, and in the event that you find someone who claims not to be a book designer, do not force them to take up your book design. If you do, you have a tendency of getting a low-quality design, wastage of resources, and of course, your project timeline is extended because of the back and forth in trying to get what you want. An author once told me that he doesn’t have an idea of what his book design should look like because he had not previously authored a book, if he had gone to meet a random graphics designer, and not a professional book designer, that would have been a great mistake. Do you also know that a book is judged by its cover? If the book cover design is poor and of low quality, it won’t captivate the attention of your prospective reader and that’s a loss on your end. 5. Desire for a quick profit Publishing a book can be compared to a business venture where you devote funds and resources with the aim of making profits. The problem is not the desire to make a profit but the desire to make a quick profit. In every business, your goal should not be quick profit as sales and profit depend on many factors. Your desire to get quick profit from your published book could lead you to desperation which would lead to frustration. Publishing books can be categorized as a passive income, which means that you may not get your entire expenses spent on the process at once, and at the same time, you can get them all at once. It’s more of a lifetime investment
What is Book Publishing? Types of Book Publishing
Book publishing is an integral part of our lives that makes it possible to transfer knowledge from one generation to another, it is also a means to preserve knowledge and information that would otherwise get lost or missing as the years wear in. Imagine you still have access to discoveries and knowledge from years ago, and the good part is that it is not restricted to some particular set of people. You found this article because you were looking to acquire more knowledge about book publishing either as an individual entity or as a brand, and that is what I will be sharing with you in this article. As a bonus, I will share the requirements for you to publish a book, remember I said everybody could publish a book, and I also recommend where you can publish your book. What is Book Publishing? A book is a set of printed sheets of paper that are held together inside a cover, and it can also be a long written work that can be read on a computer, according to Britannica. Over the years, we have seen a transition from the regular definition of books that could only be accessed when you walk into a physical store or your physical library at home, to something we can access with our devices which is what we call e-books. Regardless of the name tag, as long as it falls into a book, it fits into what I will be discussing in this article. Book publishing is the art of making information, and literature that has been compiled into a book available for members of the public at a designated price or for free. it basically refers to the creation, compilation, and distribution of information and knowledge. It involves a lot of work whether you want to publish as an ebook that can be accessible with our mobile devices in digital stores or as a paperback that will be accessed through physical stores. There is the process of identifying what you want to write about, your audience, and other factors that will be considered. If you’re looking toward writing and launching your book, and you don’t know how to achieve that, you can reach us at ScribeTribe to help you sort it out and you will have your published book at your doorstep. Moving on, Importance of Publishing a Book Credibility: It helps to prove your credibility in your preferred industry. Writing a book is an avenue to transfer knowledge from one generation to another, and it also allows people who are interested in hiring you to see that you have sufficient knowledge about a topic that will be helpful in you delivering value to them. The more books you write and publish, the more your credibility is defined. Thought leadership: Book publishing establishes you as a thought leader in your field. People will look up to your perspective on subject matters relating to your industry because they have seen trails of your wisdom in solving industry-related challenges, providing solutions to problems, and providing helpful market insights. It also serves as an endorsement of your professional knowledge and experience. Lead generation: It generates leads for you either as an individual or as a corporate organization, yes, a corporate organization can also publish a book. This leads Types of Book Publishing 1. Traditional Publishing This type of publishing is the process where your book is published by an existing publishing house. The publishing house handles all the processes required to publish your book and takes off the stress of the bulk of the job, but at the same time, you are also giving permission to adjust your manuscript to fit their desire, you have no control over the content of your book and the price. Also, you will get paid royalties in percentage depending on the contract agreement. The publisher or publishing house basically buys the right to publish your book and pays you royalties from the sales made. For traditional publishing, authors don’t get charged the publisher foots the entire cost of publishing the book. 2. Self-Publishing to self-publish a book means that you are committing to learn how to bring your book to life or contracting it out to other people who handle all aspects of the publishing journey and you still own 100% copyright of the work. Most times self-published authors hire editors and, designers and pay them as they would a painter or bricklayer. Unlike traditional publishing, a self-published author has total control of the manuscript and gets full payment for the book instead of royalties. Another benefit of Self-publishing is that you get to bypass gatekeepers defining what your book should be and what it shouldn’t be. In a world like ours, it’s difficult to successfully get the right set of people to handle your book project considering the fact that you may not have experience in the industry and also the time and effort that goes into identifying and sorting vendors alongside compiling your manuscript takes much more time and resources than you imagine. This is why we do what we do at ScribeTribe Africa. We are not a regular publishing company, we simply help you achieve your dreams of becoming a self-published author without compromising your manuscript and the process involved. If this is what you need, send us a message here. Due to the large number of requests we get from interested authors like you, hurry now to secure your spot before it’s closed. Conclusion In this article, I have shared the definition of book publishing, its importance, and the types of book publishing that exist. I will end with this, an author is not an individual who has their book in the corner of their brain but someone who publishes the information that has been stored in the brain. More Articles for you to read Dear Thought Leader (1): On Becoming A Thought Leader How To Successfully Launch A Book 5 Books On Real Estate