If you are a new author, I know you’ve asked yourself that question. You’ve read the books and struggled with the decision. You’re afraid that your credibility as an author may be damaged if it is found out that you self-published – that the traditional mainstream publishers will look at you as a second class citizen because you paid to be published.
Want the truth?
Yes… mainstream publishers, critics and agents will probably look down on you.
There is a good reason for this. The recent advances in print on demand technology has made it possible for literally anyone to be published, but unfortunately with that comes many books that may not be ready for publishing. As a result, the self-publishing industry as a whole has been tainted. But that can change – it is changing. You can help change it
You can prove the mainstream publishers, critics and agents wrong.
Do you want to know what it always comes down to?
Show them the money!
Find your target market and uncover what they want. Create the best book you can and market the heck out of it.
Guess what? Book sales turn naysayers into believers.
Show them the money and they’ll be knocking on your door, instead of you coming to them with your hat in your hand.
Want proof?
OK.
Vicky Lansky realized new moms needed information about how to care for their babies, so she wrote and self-published the book, Feed Me, I’m Yours. Vicky marketed her book largely through baby boutiques and baby furniture stores. She sold 300,000 copies of her book.
This attracted the attention of Bantam, who bought the rights and went on to sell another 8 million copies!
Ken Blanchard and Spencer Johnson found their market and self-published their book, The One-Minute Manager. They sold over 20,000 copies at $15 each in only three months!
Guess who came knocking? William Morrow bought the rights and the book has gone on to sell more than 12 million copies!
Richard Paul Evans wrote his book The Christmas Box as a special way to express his love for his daughters. He later self-published the book due to demand from local readers. Eventually, Rick was selling 3,000 books a day!
Show them the money and they will come…
Dozens of mainstream publishers participated in a two-day auction to buy the rights to The Christmas Box. Simon & Schuster won and agreed to pay Rick $4.2 million dollars for the rights!
These are just a few examples of how self-publishing can lead to mega-success. The point is that if you have a quality, well-written book with a targeted market, self-publishing can be a very acceptable way to bring your book to market and may even be the best way to publish in certain cases.
I’m not saying to forget about traditional publishing. There are many advantages to having a large house publish your book, not the least of which include excellent distribution and access to the larger review publications. But the bottom line is don’t let what others say stop you from achieving your dream.
To self-publish or not to self-publish, that is the question… a question you’ll need to answer for yourself.
But remember, if your book is well-written, well-designed, fills a need and is well marketed, it will be successful, regardless of how it’s published.
To find out more about how the authors listed above achieved their phenomenal book marketing success, check out Bill O’Shea’s new eBook, Book Marketing Millions – Success Secrets From Over 40 Best Selling Self-Published Authors. This book will teach you the underlying principles for successful book marketing as well as reveal the specific secret techniques of the masters. Find out more at www.bookmarketingmillions.com.
