This springs from a conversation I had on another forum, where a forum member was criticizing the advice that self-publishing authors who can't edit their own work should hire someone to do it. His view is that you'll never recoup the money and you're best off just doing the best you can yourself and getting the book out there. I think that is terrible advice, personally.
In a traditional publishing relationship, you have at least two entities: 1) author; and 2) publisher. The publisher bears certain expenses, including the expense of editing. When you self-publish, you're taking on both roles. You are author and publisher. So it stands to reason you're going to take on the expenses of the second role - editing, cover art, and so on.
I think it is best viewed as starting a business. Upwards of 80% of restaurants fail in their first year, but you wouldn't tell someone who is starting a restaurant not to invest anything, not to hire staff to do things she can't do, &c. So why would someone advise a self-publishing author not to invest in their business.
Your competition isn't just people throwing up amateur work on Amazon. That's the least of your competition. Your competition consist of books from traditional publishing houses and those self-published works of like quality. If you're not willing to invest in your business and do it right, why are you doing it?
In a traditional publishing relationship, you have at least two entities: 1) author; and 2) publisher. The publisher bears certain expenses, including the expense of editing. When you self-publish, you're taking on both roles. You are author and publisher. So it stands to reason you're going to take on the expenses of the second role - editing, cover art, and so on.
I think it is best viewed as starting a business. Upwards of 80% of restaurants fail in their first year, but you wouldn't tell someone who is starting a restaurant not to invest anything, not to hire staff to do things she can't do, &c. So why would someone advise a self-publishing author not to invest in their business.
Your competition isn't just people throwing up amateur work on Amazon. That's the least of your competition. Your competition consist of books from traditional publishing houses and those self-published works of like quality. If you're not willing to invest in your business and do it right, why are you doing it?
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