The ability to write a book and aspiring to find a suitable audience for the literary work is almost every writer’s dream at some point in time. Once you are in proud possession of your completed masterpiece, you desire to give a beautiful shape to that dream and embark upon making it a bestseller. But the world of publishing is so vast, populous, dissimilar, and bewildering than the rosy sphere you had envisioned while creating your masterpiece! Once you step out of your comfort zone and creative space, there is an enormous publishing process ahead with daunting tasks and colossal milestones before you can see your book take its form.
Writing, which was considered more constricted earlier, has now evolved and spread into different areas of life, embedded in the common masses, and spanned across a wider marketplace. Self-publishing and a more Digital world have increased the means and ease of expression and communication. But how far has Self-Publishing succeeded in rousing the promise of success among new and aspiring writers?
The idea of publishing a book is like a distant dream and the journey is more like an alternate reality where you reach out to an audience who would appreciate your book and are willing to pay to do so. It feels no less than magic! But before you reach that stage, there is the mammoth task of publishing your work rightly. Convincing a publisher of the quality of your content, being able to easily distribute it through retailers who would agree to make enormous investments to sell your book, and reaching maximum readership, can be challenging and confusing.
The general traditional channel where your creative expression is picked up, often with an advance offered and involved, the work is formatted, edited, represented, and published; so why should you leave the comfort of this assurance and move towards a self-publishing route?
Skipping the long lines to get evaluated, assessed, and thoroughly reviewed by the time-consuming process of traditional publishers, avoiding the stoic rejections, more and more authors are opting for Self-publishing in recent times. Opting for either a packaged deal or a publishing agreement infused with marketing activities, where content is not scrutinised and curated but does undergo a quality check. Throughout the process, you get to maintain complete creative control over your work with a promise of higher royalty rates and in lesser timeframes. What could be better! Self-publishing does sound easy, seamless, and hassle-free! A real process where real authors publish books and end up selling several copies through online and offline distribution channels.
However, with promises there are perils, and self-publishing is no different from the rule. So, what are the perils that are hurled your way in becoming a bestselling author and living your dream of being an accomplished writer? First and foremost, as a self-published author, you miss out on being an inherent part of the ‘favourable ecosystem’ that traditional publishing provides, and due to which, you fail to be effortlessly included in the marketing, branding, and distribution activities, and placing your books across offline distribution channels and nationwide bookstores. Your role is no longer restricted to being an Author, but you become an Authorpreneur where you think beyond writing. Whether it is the cover design, creative editing, video trailers, etc., in the initial stages, or the business aspects later, such as pricing, marketing, distribution, promotions, and branding.
Another aspect that challenges the self-published authors is the assurance of the quality of the work. While the presentation can be worked upon, access to a target audience may be achieved, and a good marketing strategy could be adopted, but there is always room for doubt in terms of guaranteed quality content due to a lack of rigorous editorial checks, as in the case of traditional publishing.
Although there are only exceptions rather than a general norm that go to becoming bestsellers and acclaimed authors, it is not an assured strategy to consider self-publishing as a stepping-stone to huge success. Allowing you the freedom to control and shape your dream as you aspire and adore, an assurance of getting your book in its truest version out there, a better chance of success and tracking of sales volume, and most importantly, being able to resonate your voice with enough readers; self-publishing is most certainly an alternative path to living an author’s verve. Alternatively, if you have envisioned a brand associated with your literary work and nothing would gratify you more than that name, just go for the experience of the traditional publishing route.
Regardless of what process you follow, what’s more important is your belief in your work, knowing your audience, being aware of your purpose of writing, and having conscious mindfulness of your goals as an author. So, make choices accordingly and enact them wisely through an act of curation. Don’t shy away from challenging your boundaries. Either route does not guarantee success unless you set your objectives, goals, and vision, and follow your chosen path with consistency, confidence, and passion!
About the Columnist
An HR-turned-Author, proud winner of ‘Top 50 Indian Icon Awards 2025’, Columnist, TEDx Speaker, Speaker (IITs, IIMs), The Times of India Write India Winner, Jyoti Jha has authored, edited, and translated several books in both English and Hindi. Awarded ‘Vidya Vachaspati’ and ‘Dr Shanti Jain Smriti Samman’, ‘Iconic Authors’, ‘Savitribai Phule Raashtriya Samman’, Judge at IITBHU (Kashiyatra), she has conducted Writing Workshops at IITs and NITs. She is the Chief Coordinator, Let’s Inspire Bihar’s Literary Chapter, and Sr Editor, Today Magazine. Known for her bestselling novella ‘Aanandi’, her writings have been featured and published in international anthologies, prominent media houses, prestigious literary magazines, and journals. Her poem has been appreciated by the Karnataka Sahitya Parishad. To help raise awareness at the very core of a caring society, her latest book, ‘Spectrum and Beyond’, is on autism.
