Disadvantages of self-publishing or First steps in Business

Self-publishing can be a smart choice for beggining writers. It's cost-effective and relatively fast way which pays much better than standard royalty contracts. Another bonus is that it lets you maintain control over the publishing process. But what about downsides:

First of all, you need starting cash. Not much, but! Print on Demand (POD) allows writers to print a few copies at a hefty price, but this is not so practical for the author who intends to make a commercial success of self-publishing his book. Check prices of typographies in your home city, to take a correct numbers. You need to get a low unit cost to be able to give those review copies away. I found it is cheap to head somewhere in new European Union countries to find a better prices: they stand a hole book-publishing proces for between 3,000 and 12,000 euro to produce 5,000 copies.

Another point you'll need to discover, than you are not just "printing" the book; there are fees for editing, interior design/typesetting, film production, cover design, printing, freight, etc. This prices can varies on length, number of colors on the cover, hardcover versus soft, interior photos. Remember, this is a business.

Remember, that you need to sell a book, not just to give it away to your friends. So, if writing may have been great fun, sales for many authors arent. Aspects of PR make them feel about as comfortable as going bear hunting with a switch. So, if you're affraid about merchandising something, than do not waste your time on self-publishing. There are ways around this where you can still promote and be comfortable. You can hook up with distributors that will place your books in the chains and independent bookstores. But, another secret is that only 48% are sold in bookstores. Other books are merchandised via other venues such as direct mail, in catalogs, Internet, etc.

Thanks for reading, and wait for my new topic "Is it profitable much being self-publishing author?" comming next week. Feel free to comment and point me any errors I have in English and facts.