Wednesday, January 25
Pros and cons of self-publishing
Here's a piece I wrote for small business review about the pros and cons of small business owners self-publishing:
Of course, I'm hot and heavy in the midst of organizing The BookCamp(tm), which supports precisely the kinds of entrepreneurial publishers that the article is talking about!
The pros and cons of small-business owners self-publishing include:
Pros:
- Enhance credibility and build expert status.
- Provide a low-risk, high-value way for prospects to get to know your business and your thinking.
- Potential to integrate your business brand with your book's title, packaging, and positioning.
- Stand head and shoulders above competing businesses, even much larger or more established businesses (leapfrog effect)
- Profit potential is much greater from self-published books than from traditional publishing.
Cons:
- Quite a bit of time, effort, and energy is required to write, edit, package, and promote a self-published book.
- Top-notch editing and packaging (book cover design, interior layout, quality printing) can get quite expensive.
- Unless your business is truly well-managed and fully 'systematized', diverting attention from your main business to your book publishing and promotion activities may be financially risky.
- Confusing the medium with the message. For many entrepreneurial publishers, a book is not a good medium. They may want to start with other information products, such as audio CD's, e-books, self-study programs, or dozens of other ways to showcase their expertise.
Of course, I'm hot and heavy in the midst of organizing The BookCamp(tm), which supports precisely the kinds of entrepreneurial publishers that the article is talking about!
The pros and cons of small-business owners self-publishing include:
Pros:
- Enhance credibility and build expert status.
- Provide a low-risk, high-value way for prospects to get to know your business and your thinking.
- Potential to integrate your business brand with your book's title, packaging, and positioning.
- Stand head and shoulders above competing businesses, even much larger or more established businesses (leapfrog effect)
- Profit potential is much greater from self-published books than from traditional publishing.
Cons:
- Quite a bit of time, effort, and energy is required to write, edit, package, and promote a self-published book.
- Top-notch editing and packaging (book cover design, interior layout, quality printing) can get quite expensive.
- Unless your business is truly well-managed and fully 'systematized', diverting attention from your main business to your book publishing and promotion activities may be financially risky.
- Confusing the medium with the message. For many entrepreneurial publishers, a book is not a good medium. They may want to start with other information products, such as audio CD's, e-books, self-study programs, or dozens of other ways to showcase their expertise.
