Why I Chose to Self-Publish My Debut Romance Book
I set out with my hopes and dreams firmly in the traditional publishing camp when I started writing my debut novel, The Half of It. The idea of assembling my own team of people (editors, a cover designer, etc.) sounded like way more work than I could handle; I wanted a team selected for me, I wanted an agent on my side, and I wanted the excitement and fanfare that comes with trad publishing.
My querying journey wasn’t terrible, but in the year+ that I sent my books to literary agents, none of my full manuscript requests resulted in an offer of representation. I received a really encouraging rejection, though, and that was my Aha! moment. Rather than wait around for an agent or a publisher to grant me permission, I warmed up to the idea of self-publishing. I knew my book was good, but I would be waiting a long time, maybe forever, for it to find a place in the traditional market. I wanted it out in the world.
Every author’s path is different, and choosing to self-publish your book is a big decision. You’ll go on a roller coaster of highs and lows. The creative control can’t be beat, while the intense timeline pressure to continue churning out books is insane. As the author, you get the final say in everything related to the book, but that also means reviewers are critiquing your choices, from the characters to the editing style to the cover. So if you’re trying to figure out if self-publishing might be right for you, in the way that it was for me, then read on!
Why Authors Self-Publish: The Pros of Self-Publishing Your Book
There’s a bit of a misconception that authors who go the self-publishing route have failed at querying. You might even consider my own journey and think that’s the case, but it’s not. Over the course of a year of slow batches, I queried maybe 40 or 50 agents total. I didn’t exhaust my options; instead, I’d gone down the traditional publishing path and went a short distance before turning around and desiring a different route.
Many authors set out wanting to self-publish from the start, because traditional publishing can be a bit of a double-edged sword. Self-publishing is appealing to many because:
Almost anyone has a fair shot to self-publish - For marginalized individuals especially, self-publishing opens up a lot of opportunities that trad withholds. It’s not uncommon for agents to tell querying authors with LGBTQIA+ characters or BIPOC authors to hear that their characters “weren’t relatable,” while white authors recycling the same storyline over and over go on to get six-figure book deals. Even for agented authors who are marginalized, the support from their publishing team may not be the same as the support a straight white author receives. And this doesn’t even take into account how truly problematic authors continue to get a platform.
You get creative control - As a self-published author, you have full say over everything—every edit you accept, what the book’s title is, how you’ll market it, the cover…everything!
You get creative freedom - Same as the above, but different. Something I’ve especially loved about self-publishing is that I get to focus on the projects that I’m excited about. I read a Substack post from a traditionally published romance author where she mentions outlining a next project. She was so excited and had written (if I recall correctly) 50 pages for an outline, only for the publisher to tell her no. Because she had signed a multi-book deal, she had to write something else and put this project, which she was genuinely excited about, on the backburner.
The timeline is faster - Traditional publishing is a notoriously lengthy process, but self-publishing allows you to bring your book to readers on the schedule that works for you.
Certain genres have voracious indie readers - Happy readers are arguably the best part of any publishing journey. Some genres, like romance, are incredibly popular in the indie/self-pubbed space, and readers will happily pay their monthly Kindle Unlimited membership to consume as many books as they can. I’ve heard that self-pubbed fantasy is super popular too, but self-publishing can work for any genre (even kid lit).
The finances could work out in your favor - At the end of the day, any money earned from your book goes into your pocket, and all the rights to your work remain yours. There are self-published authors who make a decent living, no author advance from a publisher in sight. There’s also something to be said in knowing that the work you put into your book, and into promoting it, can influence your paycheck directly.
You can build a writing career on your own terms - You get to shape your career based on what you want and what you want to give your readers. Traditional publishing typically sticks to stories that they know will sell; innovation is often happening in the self-published space, and it can still be worthwhile financially.
The Challenges of Self-Publishing
Self-publishing isn’t for everyone. If another author has a book that doesn’t get them an agent, my advice for them is definitely not to jump into self-publishing. The journey is hard, and you have to determine if it’s actually something you want to go through. People struggle with the self-publishing route because:
You have to put an investment of time and money into the project - You will need some time, money, and energy to get across the finish line if you want to self-publish. Whereas a publisher would handle all the costs to prepare your book (including an advance), you’re taking care of the bill before your pub date. It’s totally possible to self-publish on a budget, but depending on your goals, you’ll need to hire editors, a proofreader, and a cover designer at minimum. I’ve also personally been hit with sneaky extra costs that I hadn’t anticipated at first, like buying a pack of ISBNs since I wanted a paperback book, doing a NetGalley co-op in order to reach ARC readers, and even the cost of shipping an author proof to my address in Germany! Those small costs add up.
The stigma - Although self-published books are becoming more widely accepted, some people will always see self-published books as lesser than. Furthermore, some bookstores, reviewers, and literary prize competitions favor traditionally published books.
There’s a steep learning curve - I have spent many a night on YouTube looking up tutorials to things I didn’t understand or seeking blog posts to better understand the next step in my self-publishing journey. Even with a mentor and writer friends, it can be a lot to wrap your head around. Mistakes will be made! And guess what? You’re going to be the one to have to fix them.
The responsibility falls to you - As a self-published author, I’m in charge of it all: finding the folks I hire to make the book ready-to-publish, making a marketing plan, formatting and distributing the book, and so much more. Some people love being the Person In Charge, but sometimes it’d be nice if someone just told me what to do!
If you want PR or marketing support, you’re going to have to find it yourself - While the PR and marketing support for traditional authors varies, self-published authors start from zero. If you want help in that department, you’re going to need to figure it out (or hire someone).
Your distribution may not be as wide as with traditional - Through using a Print on Demand service like IngramSpark (which I use) or Draft2Digital, your book can be made available for purchase in all the big and small bookstores…but will you walk into a Waterstones or Barnes & Noble and see countless copies of your book sitting on the shelves? That’s less likely. I’m personally going to reach out to a select few romance bookstores to carry my book, but I’m definitely not expecting to walk into any old bookstore and see it there.
It’s emotionally taxing - Publishing your own book is a lot of work, and it will tire you out emotionally. I’m sure traditional publishing is the same, but the added responsibility makes it quite overwhelming sometimes.
Why Self-Publishing My Debut Romance Novel Was Right for Me
There were a few key reasons I decided to self-publish my romance book rather than continue querying or shelve the manuscript.
My book is good and deserves to be published. I was querying, but there was nothing stopping me from publishing the book—so I started questioning why I wanted to query, get an agent, and do traditional publishing in the first place. Mostly, I just wanted to have someone hold my hand through the process, so I gathered my courage to self-publish. I also worried that I’d be waiting around for a while with trad, since my querying was such a slow process. I wanted to move onto the next project and not let this one gather dust.
I love creative freedom. When I decided to pursue the author path, the first thing I did was plot, draft, and edit a novella—Match Made in the Maldives, which is the freebie that anyone who signs up for my newsletter gets. I got to plan out what I wanted my career to look like, and I got started with it on Day 1. I’m now in developmental edits for Book 2, and Book 3 is plotted and itching to be written. I loved writing my novella, so I might throw that in somewhere between 2 and 3…we’ll see! But I get to call the shots.
Self-publishing does not preclude me from going traditional in the future. If I choose to query in the future or do a traditional publishing deal, I can! This isn’t an either/or choice I have to stick to forever. Traditional publishing can be a great decision, for the right author and the right book, and if it feels right in the future, then I can try for that. In fact, I think having a little following of devoted readers and some book experience under my belt would be advantageous to agents and publishers.
Romance is a great genre for indie publishing - I can’t speak to other genres, but as an enthusiastic romance reader myself, I know that people who love this genre care a lot less about something being trad or self-published. If it sounds interesting to them, they’ll pick it up and give it a try. Realizing that I could publish my own book and reach readers easily made me a lot more comfortable going this route.
Self-publishing can be difficult. There will be tears, you will second-guess yourself, and you will make mistakes along the way. But holding your book in your own two hands, knowing that you made it happen? There’s no other feeling quite like it.