Will I Be Less Legitimate If I Self-Publish? đ¤
Itâs common for soon-to-be authors to feel fear that if they self-publish, they wonât be taken as seriously, or wonât experience the conventional success they want.
In the Substack Note above, the author recognizes that this fear is something he made up.
Heâs right.
That imposter syndrome is made up, and I can prove it to you.
Clients like Amy Suto and Beth Binger, and other authors like Mike Michalowicz (author of The Toilet Paper Entrepreneur, Profit First, and The Pumpkin Plan, among others) found conventional commercial success as self-published authors, selling thousands of copies without the middleman of a publisher.
My friend Dan has sold over 40,000 copies of his book without a publisher.
My friend Ollie has sold over 200,000 copies of his books without a publisher, supporting his consulting business.
My sales coach, Macy McNeely, self-published her 80-page book Persuade for Good and has sold over 5,000 copies.
For every 20 books Macy sells, 10 readers join her $25,000 program, so she can help more women become better at selling.
Macy has always believed her message was more important than someone giving her validation.
Macy has never allowed a 3rd party to give her permission to feel âlegitâ enough.
Just like how 2 people can get the same degree from the same school and 1 person finds success and the other person doesnâtâŚ
Author legitimacy is not about the path you take.
Author legitimacy is about YOU.
See the below video to see what I mean.
Before we break down the 3 main styles of publishing, letâs define the word publish.
The definition of publish means to take information and make it public.
The definition of the word publish means to take information and make it available to the general public.
Note that the definition of publish does not include any information regarding outcomes.
Did you know that everytime you post to Facebook or Instagram, you are publishing?
Hundreds of years ago, when information was handwritten, making something public required people to make copies on stone or get on horseback to share the word.
Below is a picture of the Edicts of Ashoka, information created by the Emperor Ashoka who ruled the Mauryan Empire in India in the 3rd century BC.
This information was published, put onto stone tablets, and spread across thousands of square miles across the Indian subcontinent, for thousands of people, before the invention of paper, and well before the invention of the printing press.
The Edicts of Ashoka. Published information is simply information made available to the public.
When the printing press was invented, anyone who could pay a printer could get their ideas packaged and printed.
Below is a picture of one the most important pamphlets related to the founding of the United States of America, a pamphlet written by Thomas Paine called Common Sense.
Thomas Paine hired a printer to take his handwritten notes, lay them into a printing press, and print out multiple copies of his notes.
These pamphlets were promoted in the newspaper, gained popularity, and required a second printing.
Thomas Paine hired a printer to help him print multiple copies of his message.
When you hire a traditional publisher or hybrid publisher, you are in a sense doing what Thomas Paine did.
You are hiring someone to help you create multiple versions of your work so it can be distributed to many people.
At the end of the day, however, did the printer give Thomas Paine âlegitimacyâ?
Thomas Paine knew his message was the only thing that mattered.
He hired the right people to make his vision come to life.
Then started a movement because of it.
By wanting to promote a mission using your words, you are not too different from Thomas Paine!
It didnât take long for people who loved to write and share messages to need help printing, designing, and distributing their work.
These authors needed help!
So the invention of a publishing business was born to solve for this problem.
A publishing business, also known as a publishing house, specializes in taking authorâs writing, and helps them print, design, and transport their book to bookstores so that customers can buy the books.
Note that it is a business.
A business wants to make a profit so it can support itself and help more authors publish.
When customers bought a book, both the author and the publishing house would split the money they got back.
Pretty soon, authoring became so popular that publishing houses had to get selective about work they could accept.
Itâs like applying to a university. So many people apply to the university that they can only accept a few.
Publishing houses got so many applicants that they were forced to make it more selective to decide who to work with.
Common criteria for a publishing house to help you print, design, and transport your book includes having a manuscript that is well-written, a marketing plan to assure the publishing house that you are a sound investment, and these days, some demonstration of a customer base, like an Instagram audience or Substack newsletter. These days, publishing houses want a lot of reassurance, so I hear the magic number is 40,000 followers.
However, just because you have 40,000 followers does not mean your book will be successful.
My friend Aryn worked with an author at HarperCollins publishers with over 1 million Instagram followers. His book tanked.
Audience is not the only reason why a book will be successful.
There are 3 main styles of publishing: traditional, hybrid, and self.
Traditional publishing is when a publishing business agrees to help you take your work and print, design, and transport the book. They buy the right to sell your work, and they keep the majority percentage of each book sale.
but a publishing house does not help authors promote their book.
Once you sign on the dotted line, the publisher owns what your book looks like, what the title is, how much it costs, and where it gets distributed to. For novice authors who donât know the difference, it can seem like a dream come true.
Thatâs why it can feel âlegitâ when someone else says yes to you.
Itâs like the football star in high school telling you youâre cute.
Cute at the time. A little cringey in retrospect.
Taylor Swift and Dua Lipa commented recently on why they signed their deals with their music labels when they were young and naĂŻve, because it felt good to be chosen. Until later when they realized the kind of business relationship they had entered. This is famously documented in how Taylor Swift went to court to buy back her masters and re-record the music she felt was her intellectual property.
When a publishing business agrees to take on your work, you are partnering with a business to help you. There are terms of ownership and who gets paid how much.
Just like when you hire an HVAC guy to help you install a new furnace. You are partnering with a business to help you, but you are the originator of your idea and vision.
Self-publishing bypasses the middleman.
Self-publishing is, in a sense, what Taylor Swift does now.
Why would she need a business partner to package her work when she can hire the help she needs, directly?
The help she hires works directly for Taylor Swift, Inc.
As a self-publisher, or full-rights publisher, that is what you do too.
The designer, editor, distributor, and marketer you partner with work for you and your company. đ
Youâre the boss. Youâre the CEO. Youâre the sovereign of your destiny.
Thereâs this saying that goes, âOffense can only be taken, not given.â Someone can only offend you if you get offended. Otherwise, they have no power over you. Youâre the one with the power. Always have, always will.
Same thing applies to publishing.
Author Emma Gannon experiencing fun, happiness, success, and legitimacy, even without a publisher for her book, A Year of Nothing.
You have access to the best book professionals in the world who work for no one else but you. đ
If youâre feeling overwhelmed by who to work with, especially if youâre new to the world of book publishing, no worries.
Thatâs why Smokinâ Hot BooksÂŽ exists.
Smokinâ Hot BooksÂŽ offers services to personally guide you through the process of creating your book.
If you choose our VIP services, such as Write Your Smokinâ Hot Book, this is a white-glove service, meaning the checkpoints of your book will be delivered to your inbox simply for your approval. I partner with some of the best book professionals in the world, who are pre-vetted and deliver only excellent work.
Itâs like hiring a great wedding day planner, who takes on the handling the details of your wedding in the background so all you do is enjoy your day.
Youâre the boss. You get paid accordingly, too. You own the rights to sell your book, you can sell the right to sell your book internationally, you own the right to change the title of your book, the cover, the price, whenever you want. You canât do that if you hire a publisher.
Someone may wonder what is the benefit of having this power.
I have a friend, Emmy, who is an international bestselling novel writer. Her last book bombed because her publisher changed the title of her book last second. To Emmy, the right to control what goes into her final product is priceless.
Can you see how itâs YOU who decides if youâre legit, not your publishing path?
Finally, there is hybrid publishing.
Hybrid publishing exists to provide the service of a traditional publisher while helping authors keep their rights to sell their book. Hybrid publishers are not necessarily marketing experts, and they have varying degrees of access to your publishing account, your title, and your cover.
You can learn more about Smokinâ Hot BooksÂŽâ opinion on hybrid publishing here.
Self-publishing is the preferred path of Smokinâ Hot BooksÂŽ because you get EVERYTHING (the rights, the money) PLUS the marketing help you want to achieve your goals of success and impact.
No other publishing path offers that.
If youâre looking to keep your power, keep your legitimacy, and also get the marketing expertise and white-glove guidance no other publisher can provide, look no further than Smokinâ Hot Books.ÂŽ
To save time and see if itâs a good fit, book a call here.
To you and your bookâs success!
Renee