I’ve been on both sides of the publishing table…Well, it’s probably more accurate to say I’ve been on most sides of the big round table of publishing.

• I am currently an author of 8 books published by traditional houses.
• I was acquisitions director for children and family for 7 years at a traditional house (Tyndale).
• I also worked in other capacities at houses that publish curriculum and some books  (McGraw-Hill Education and Urban Ministries, Inc/UMI)
• And I work as a publishing company with some excellent writers to produce top quality books.
  

  I edited and consulted on this great project by Latoya Nicole.

  This is the second book I’ve had the privilege of editing for my Garrett classmate– Rev. Dr. Virgil Woods, an innovative pastor.

  

  I edited this book for Arionne Yvette Williams; she chose her designer and printer…And created a great product.

So what are the benefits of self-publishing?
1. Time–While it may feel like a long time to write, edit, design, and print a book as an individual, trust me, the self-publishing route is a lot faster than with a traditional house. When you go through a traditional house, you have to submit a proposal, write a few chapters, get that approved,  sign a contract and get a deadline to turn in the manuscript. Then that goes through at least a 6 to 8 (probably more like a 12-month process) of being edited, copy-edited, designed, presented to sales, presented to accounts and distributors, printed and shipped (did I mention how long it takes editors to read submissions? I was guilty of taking more than a month or so!). If you have a book that you want to have printed by a certain time–for instance if you are speaking at a conference within 3 months or so–you will not be able to get that done by a traditional house in that amount of time unless you are a high-profile author with a proven track record of high volumes of sales. (And we’re not talking about 500 units.)

2. Control As a self-published author, you have more control over your work. You can make the final decisions on the content, the cover, the trim size, the paperweight and the price point for your book.

3. Money When you self-publish, you pay for everything, but you also keep all of the proceeds from each book you sell. You do not have to split the proceeds with the publisher (who in a traditional setting pays for everything upfront, including, in most cases, an advance for the author).

4. Print Runs When you self-publish, you can reprint your book anytime you want to; you do not have to wait until a certain quantity is sold or until someone makes the decision that it’s time for a reprint or update. You are in control and can reprint–or update your book–anytime you’d like.

5. Freedom If you self-publish, you can also enter into contracts with other publishers; if you go with a traditional house, you probably will have a clause in your contract stating that you cannot publish another book or a competing book within a certain time frame.

6. Attention from a Traditional Publisher If you self publish, it can be a great avenue to get noticed by a traditional publisher. After all, even with the growth in self-publishing, many writers ultimately want to be paid to write and be published by traditional houses. But, most publishers are looking for established authors with established platforms. And here is the chicken and egg thing…How do you get an established platform without a book? You can self-publish and push, push, push and sell, sell, sell your book; you can show your sales records to a publisher who may take note and give you a contract for your next book. But don’t quit that day job just yet!

Good Luck!
Esteem Publishing may be able to help you with editing and/or consulting on your next project. Send me an email at katarapatton@gmail.com.
I look forward to hearing from you. I will make referrals based on your needs as I’m not currently accepting new individual clients.