Another side hustle
Have you ever considered publishing your own book? Most people think you need a publishing company; however, it is challenging to get your book accepted for publishing. Actually, the game has changed, and you can self-publish your books!
It is incredible how many options there are to own your own business today. In the past, many people shied away from publishing because it is highly competitive and frustrating working with commercial publishers. Now in the digital age, there are so many options available.
What is self publishing
I actually tripped across the option of becoming a self-publisher. One afternoon, I watched a TV program my daughter was working on and saw an ad for a class. I had no idea that a person could write a book and publish it independently. While people can publish anything on their own such as music, and creative works of art, I am referring to publishing a book without a publishing house.
A self-publisher can write a book and complete the publishing process, such as editing, designing the book cover and formatting the book and own total rights to the book. Let’s dig a little deeper and examine the self-publishing process.
Why self-publish
An author who self publishes a book has complete creative control. In fact, you would also have higher royalties and complete autonomy over the entire process. You can decide on the type of book you want to publish. In fact, you can either write the entire book yourself or write an outline and highlight what topics you what written and hire a ghostwriter. Not to mention, you can even decide to use a pen name to keep your work and home life completely separate.
How to self-publish
In order to self-publish, you will need to use a self-publishing platform. The most common and easiest to use is Amazon’s KDP. KDP allows you to self-publish eBooks, paperbacks, and hardcover books for free. As a matter of fact, KDP offers you all the resources you need to get a book published. Of course, you can hire your own staff if you prefer. Whatever path you choose you will oversee the entire process, from start to finish.
Cost to self-publish
The one downside to self-publishing is that it is at your own expense. The cost of self-publishing will vary on what you can do yourself and what you need to outsource. Thus, depending on what you need help with is where much of your costs will come from. Depending on what you can do on your own, you might have to hire people to do some work for you, such as editing, formatting, designing the book cover, book promotions, etc. Please note this is not a complete list, just an example of some costs.
Up-side to self-publishing
When you self-publish your book, you retain full ownership of your book’s rights. In fact, your royalty rates are higher as a self-publisher, and it becomes passive income for years to come.
Other advantages are you are on your own timeline, have complete creative control, and there is no one to get in your way of publishing to the world.
Summary
Keep in mind this is an introduction to self-publishing. Many people do not realize they can write and publish their own books. It is a great way to have your dream come true of becoming a writer. The bonus is it is passive income for years to come. Check into it!
