The Disadvantages of Self-Publishing

   I had talked about the advantages of self-publishing a while ago and now I'm going to talk about the disadvantages.


 You will have to stop writing to edit and revise, format your book for publication and research. You won't have time for a writing project while you search for a cover designer, format your book as an ebook or paperback, research the best way to promote your book, and so much more. A lot goes into self-publishing. It is far from easy, and the craziness does not stop once your book is released. You have to promote it after that and spread word about your book and pitch it to people, and etc. Like I said: A LOT GOES INTO SELF-PUBLISHING. You are the writer, the publisher, the marketer, and more. You alone are a publishing company.

 You have to promote your own book. Super time consuming and an aggravation to some authors, since we are usually trying to stay off the Internet to write. Promotion is a tricky thing, and if you self-publish, you are 100% responsible for this. We are trying to spread out brand, but we can't Tweet about our book 10 times in a row. That is not how to get more followers and likes. You can absolutely promote your book on social media, but you need to also promote yourself. Tell people about you and what you're doing and about the things you like. Promoting through social media is a fin line that you need to pay close attention to. Take the time to update people on social media. It will be beneficial to you and your followers.
 You have to be very active on your social media accounts and create blogs and a lot more to keep your readers aware of what you're doing. You are the marketer for your own book. Traditional publishers don't usually put in the time to market new authors but the difference here is that your book is most likely only available to purchase online.

 You pay for everything yourself. Book covers, editing services, marketing on websites, ordering and sending out Advance Reader Copies to gain reviews on Amazon and Goodreads. It all costs money and you are responsible for paying for it all.

 You are responsible for revisions/editing. I had also put this on the advantages list. Revisions can be either a good thing or a bad thing for some authors. A lot of authors do not know what is necessary and what is unnecessary. Taking things out of their books can be difficult, or nearly impossible. There are parts that could use some speeding up, or slowing down. And there are chunks that probably need to be taken out completely. As authors, we believe that every word is necessary and contributes to our book in some special way. This is not always true. There are things that need to be taken out and added to our books. Author need to pay close attention to identify such things.


Can you think of more disadvantages? Comment below!
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