Cory A. Ross

The way I see it self-publishing is no different than independent filmmaking or entrepreneurship. In the former, a person or group of people go ahead and make a movie with little or no money, and without a built-in audience, in the hopes that it acts as their calling card to the industry. In the latter, a person or group of people create a product or service in hopes of providing something not yet available on the market.

And that’s what a self-publishing author is doing, isn’t it? Showcasing his calling card to the publishing world, saying, “I can do this. People are paying to read words that I’ve written.” This same person is also providing a product that’s not yet on the market: his book. Self-publishing is a sole-proprietorship.

Dude killing traditional publishing...?

Now, I’m not saying it’s smart for a writer to take out a line of credit to publish a physical book in hopes of making his money back and then some. I’m all for risk-taking, but that just doesn’t seem smart. I do believe, however, that with companies like Amazon offering self-publishing options for their Kindle – at relatively reasonable royalty rates (how’s that for alliteration?) – that ebooks and e-publishing offer a low risk avenue for writers to showcase their talents at little or no cost, save for time. Bonus if that writer understands how to market themselves. Double bonus if that writer actually writes a good book. Good, of course, is a very subjective word when it comes to books, so I’ll leave that open for discussion on purpose.

If you’ve done any amount of research into self-publishing, for any reason at all, you’ve probably come across one or two names in particular of people who are making very good money selling their books online. And by very good money I mean somewhere between hundreds of thousands and millions of dollars. Whether that’s in the course of a year or over a few, it doesn’t really matter. It’s still more than most of us will make in that same timeframe.

In some cases, these authors have a very rabid fan base, which is exactly what any ‘real’ author wants. A lineup of readers waiting for your next book, telling their friends about you, paying your bills by buying your books (hey, alliteration again!). Not only that, but at least one of these self-published authors has recently garnered a traditional publishing deal in the millions of dollars for, I believe, four new titles separate from her existing family of books.

Why do traditional authors write? Is it to entertain? Probably. Is it because they simply enjoy it and do it for fun? Many authors get started in their spare time while working a full-time job.

But do authors write to earn a living? I mean, is it possible for an artist to actually want to make money off their work and still be considered an artist? Sure. Of course.

So who’s to say a self-published book isn’t a real book?

cr