Writing: February 2008 Archives

Today's interview is with Mike Flannery, an editor who works with people to help get their books (and other information products) polished and published.

Mike, why would an author choose to self-publish their book or information product?

I have found that people who choose to self publish (versus going with a publisher) do so for reasons of: speed, control, artistic license and money (it costs less and the profit potential is higher).

But isn't it better to have a "real" publisher if you can?

Some of the reasons to go with a traditional publisher include: credibility, ego or just to 'see if you can'. This route can be slow and expensive. You'll have the benefit of the publisher's editing, layout and marketing team behind you, but you'll also have less control (i.e. other people will be telling you what's okay to do and what's not). And publishers actually don't do as much marketing of your book as you might think.

In your experience, are people happy with their self-published book?

In most cases, writing a self-published book exceeds the authors' expectations. Having a book says you are the expert and it forces you to step up your game and become one. Often, this can help alleviate the 'inner fraud' factor. The process of publishing is also a learning opportunity.

How many books can a self-published author expect to sell?

When you're setting goals keep in mind your market niche - in some cases selling 1000 books may be seen as a huge success. Quite often the authors I have worked with have set goals, but not hard and fast ones and it does take time to reach them. But if the goals are realistic, they are often exceeded. Remember too,