How to decide whether to self-publish

Basics every aspiring author should know
How do people become authors?
What, or how should I write?
How do I get myself published?
How do I get paid as an author?
Who owns the copyright to the book?

How to write a book?
How to write a fiction novel?
How to write non-fiction?
How to write a children’s book?
How to write an auto-biography?
How to write science fiction?
How to write a romance novel?
How to write a short novel?

How to get published?
What is the difference between a Publisher & Literary Agent?
How to find a Publisher/Literary agent?
How to publish a poem?

How to self-publish & sell your books?
How to decide whether to self-publish?
How to self publish a book?
How to self-publish without spending a cent!
How to market a book?
How to get an ISBN and barcode?

Useful Resources and Links
Warning on scams for aspiring authors
List of Literary Agents' Websites
Facebook Poets & Writers Registry
Literary magazines directory

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How to decide whether to self-publish?

Introduction

Many people dismisses self-publishing as a vanity route for those not good enough to get a publishing contract. However, historically as well as in recent times many famous authors self-published before they became famous. Here are a couple of lists found on the internet.

http://www.groundbreaking.com/SPAuthorsList.htm
http://www.simonteakettle.com/famousauthors.htm

However, before you decide to self-publish, consider the following points:

Printing Cost. The cost of self-publishing is not high in a small country like Singapore, where you can print and circulate 2000 copies island-wide for a few dollars per book. In bigger countries like UK, Australia, or the U.S., however, you may need 5000-10,000 copies just to do a decent launch that covers a respectable number of bookstores. (Unless you are just targeting the few independent bookstores in your town) However, cost of printing is usually the least of self-publishers’ problems.
Editing and Proofreading. Before a book can be sent for print, you’ll need to hire a trained editor to make sure it is thoroughly edited. There is no greater turn-off than a poorly edited book. Editing yourself is NOT an option. You’re bound to miss things out. An average editor will cost around $1000 or more depending on the number of words in your book.
Cover and layout. Designing a cover and laying out the contents of a book is much more than just fidgeting around with some fonts and graphics. It also requires knowledge of the right software and format that printers’ require. Most readers will decide just by looking at the cover and flipping through the book if they are interested to buy it. A good freelance graphics artist will probably cost you another $1000 or more.
Printing the book. After getting the manuscript ready for print, you’ll also need basic knowledge about the printing process to negotiate with the printers on paper type and quality, cover colours and texture, binding, and other details. Dealing with printers and making sure you don’t get ripped off is something that takes experience. Be prepared to devote some time to this and to learn from mistakes.
Distribution and sales. After the book gets off the print, you’ll either have to find a distributor willing to get it into the bookstores for you, or negotiate with the merchandiser of each bookstore yourself. Just getting an appointment with a busy merchandiser is an uphill task which requires plenty of patience and tack. Distributors too, will not deal with you unless you have a significant list of titles and do a decent print run for each book so they can stock it. For dealing with the distributors and the big bookstores, you must be prepared to register a business entity and manage the process as a business (with all the inventory, accounting, tax and other administrative work thrown in). Alternatively, you can negotiate with small independent bookstores individually to set up sales agreements.
Management and administrative work. After you DO manage to get your books onto the shelves, there is the follow-up business process of keeping accounts, collecting payments, tracking stock, and dealing with returned or spoilt books. (Keep in mind that most bookstores work on a consignment basis i.e. they get to return the books to you if it doesn’t sell, and they only pay you for those that do sell after 6-9 months, so don’t expect any immediate returns from writing and publishing!) And don’t forget, you must file taxes for the money you make from selling the books too!
Marketing and promotion is the toughest part and a large factor behind a successful book. Getting the book into the bookstores is really only the beginning of a long struggle and constant battle to promote the book and get people to buy it. Anyone with a small amount of money to spend can publish a book; but getting people to buy it is involves spending the time, effort and money on the marketing and sales promotion! No product, no matter how great, sells well without the marketing and sales machinery to push it.

Tips and Warnings

Self-publishing has the distinct disadvantage that most people perceive it as a way out for those books unwanted by agents/publishers. While in history many famous writers have self-published and then sold the rights to big publishers after it becomes successful, the reality is most agents and publishers still generally refuse to touch a book once it has been self-published. So if you go it alone, be prepared to go all the way!
You WILL run into many problems with managing the people you hire for editing, designing, and printing work. Reliable freelancers and printers will only come about from experience.
Be prepared to spend a lot of time manoeuvring through vanity presses and dodgy printers trying to pull one on you. There are many dodgy businesses out there trying to exploit aspiring writers just like acting, modelling, and used car trading.
If your books don’t sell, then you can pretty much write off whatever you’ve spent on it. Once the bookstores refuse to shelf it anymore (which can be within a year these days), the books you’ve printed are effectively worthless paper.