Six great reasons for self-publishing

First, you don't have to convince anybody but yourself that your book should be published. Making a good case to yourself for publication of a work you have created should not be difficult at all. No one else shares the high degree of enthusiasm you have for your book. Why give a third party, with intentions, interests, and priorities different from your own, the final say? Self-publishing gives you total control.

Second, if you have filled an existing void with your book and/or are able to create a demand for it, you will make more money than you would make with a standard publishing contract. Instead of a paltry 5% to 10% royalty, you'll make 20 to 80% of the purchase price. Once your self-published book is successful, you can negotiate with a larger publisher from a position of experience and strength.

Third, you can see your book in print within a few weeks, or at most a few months, of your manuscript completion. The larger publishers most often work on an 18 month cycle, and that is just too long to wait.

Fourth, you can get distribution for your book through Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, Baker and Taylor, and Ingram just as easily as Dell and Random House can for their books.

Fifth, you can preserve your own heritage, or that of your community or club or whatever, in an inexpensive, quality format. Not everyone publishes to make a profit. Maybe you just want to leave a legacy with your family or share what you have learned with others. Your offspring and relatives will appreciate a perfect-bound book with a color cover about your childhood or war experiences or travel adventures far more than a musty photo album and loose double-spaced pages of manuscript.