I get asked a lot which is better; to self-publish your book or go with a traditional publisher. And then there are done-for-you services, which appeal to busy business owners for obvious reasons.
It can feel like a tough call; do you pay £30,000, £50,000, even £100,000 for a traditional publisher because it feels safe and it’s “what authors do”, or do you decide to embrace courage, and go down the more rugged individualist path of self-publishing? Do you spend hundreds of hours on writing your book, sourcing the other complementary service providers like editors and designers, experiencing the various frustrations and setbacks, go through the publishing process alone, and then spending further hours/weeks/months on the marketing? Or do you simply outsource the lot to someone who can provide the full package?
How on earth are you supposed to decide? The honest answer is, it depends entirely on your goals, but that’s not very helpful on its own so I’ve put together the scorecard below, which shows how the two publishing options facilitate the features and benefits of publishing a business book.
Of course, all traditional publishing firms’ offerings may vary, just as the benefits of self-publishing can be felt more strongly by some than others. You might say that I’m biased as my business, Write Business Results, provides done-for-you packages, but then we also coach those who wish to write their book themselves and offer a video coaching program online, so we don’t point people towards a done-for-you service when they simply want process and support.
The list below provides a detailed overview of the main services you can expect to have access to, and allows you to choose the best publishing route for you. If you don’t have the time to do your research for the scorecard, do just take two minutes to look at the 30 main benefits and services on there that could and should be available to you.
If you’re too busy to complete this exercise, I imagine it’d be a challenge to fit writing your own book into your schedule, so traditional publishing and self-publishing can be instantly ruled out. You’ll be best off working with a company that can take on the parts of book production and promotion you can’t take on or don’t want, under one agreement with a fixed fee. Email my team to find out about working with us.
Conclusions
You may have your own decision-making criteria as well and that’s great, the list above is not absolute. Self-publishing provides significantly more creative freedom and control to authors than traditional publishing, with less expense. If you want to become a bestseller, you can still accomplish that with self-publishing. It just requires a specific and focused marketing strategy.
Self-publishing can, however, be very draining on your time if you’re having to create the content, write the book and manage the rest of the production and promotion. It’s not just the writing you have to worry about; it’s also the planning that needs to come first, specific writing and marketing techniques such as story-telling, the editing, design work, copyright, and your marketing strategy.
At Write Business Results, we provide packages that can take the entire book project, including the planning, writing, design, publishing, and promotion, off your hands completely, while leaving you with full copyright and royalties. If you want to:
- Get ahead of your competition
- Own the space you’re in
- Attract more right-fit clients
- Get more speaking gigs
- Make more money
- Share your knowledge and wisdom
- Impact others
- Become an influencer
- Raise awareness of your brand…
…you can easily achieve those things by becoming an author. You might just want to secure a smooth ride getting to the self-publishing stage. Some worry that they won’t do it right if they write it themselves, that their idea isn’t good enough, that going with a traditional publisher increases their chances of success.
None of these scenarios have to be true. You just need to get really clear on what you want your book to do for you, and a clear process to lead you through the project from start to finish. Publishing a great book that you’ll be proud of and your clients and prospects will love to read can be simple and stress-free – you just need the right level of support.
If that sounds like you, contact us to talk through your goals and concerns before starting your self-publishing journey. We’ll also send you a copy of our unique Book Creation Process™ completely free of charge, so you can see exactly what’s involved and your time commitments.
Tel: 020 3752 7057
Add a Comment
You must be logged in to post a comment