Over 1 million books were self-published in 2017. Does that mean it’s right for you?

Did you write your book to accompany a service you provide? Expand your business? If you’re a writer of fiction or memoir, does your book have a wide audience beyond those who know you personally? Is there something particularly timely about it?

Lucinda Literary now offers private consultations that can help you to answer the most important questions about publishing, like whether to self-publish or go the traditional route.

If your book will make an impact for thousands of people, then yes—traditional publishing can best serve your goals. While by no means a quick or easy process, there’s prestige and an obvious financial incentive for being published by a top house. But the biggest benefit is the support trade publishers offer in editorial development, packaging and production, bookstore distribution, and marketing.

Let’s say your motivations are a little different…perhaps you’re writing just to try your hand at it and see if there’s an audience for your work. What excites you about publishing is simply having your book out there—and having full creative control over it. If this sounds more in line with your objectives, self-publishing may be the better option. After all, you’ll receive 100% of the profits, and the experience will allow you to test-drive the market for your idea.

Seeking the opinion of someone inside the industry is a great way to get a temperature check on your book idea. And if you haven’t had luck signing with an agent or a publisher yet, our goal is to help you uncover why.

Remember: publishing is a long road. What you choose to do with one book does not decide your destiny! Maybe you’ve already self-published one title, but your platform has since grown and your message can serve a larger audience.

Are you willing to give the time and dedication a trade publisher will require, acquire an agent, re-work your book, give every ounce of energy to marketing it?

Or do you want to decide the schedule, send in your manuscript, and have it available by tomorrow? Which will satisfy you (and your goals!) more?