Take your brand to the next level: should you publish a book?

Should you publish a book?

So, now you know all the ways becoming a published author can help your brand. But how do you know if you should publish a book and if you’re ready to take on such a project? The answer to this question is – it depends.

The easiest way to know if you are ready to become an author and publish a book is when you are approached by publishing houses interested in pursuing you. Most often, it will only happen for already established names who have large platforms, like Jenna Kutcher.

She had been a content creator for almost a decade, running her business selling courses, and digital products and running a podcast before she was approached with a book deal and decided to become a published author.

However, even if you have a smaller platform, you can still very much become a published author. If you feel like you have something unique and valuable to say, and want to establish yourself as a thought leader and an expert in your niche, then it means you are ready.

How to publish a book

If you decide that you want to become a published author, there are two routes you can take to take you to your destination:

• Self-publishing: you write, edit, format, and publish the book all by yourself through platforms like Amazon.
• Traditional publishing: you get a literary agent to represent you, who will pitch your book idea to traditional publishing houses and sell it for you.

There are cons and pros to both ways, and one isn’t better than the other. They are just different and will fit different people and their needs better.

Traditional publishing versus self-publishing

When you self-publish, you have much more control over the whole process and the marketing. With traditional publishing, a lot of these things are out of your control, but usually, it means that you don’t have to worry as much about marketing and promoting your books.

Also, with traditional publishing, you don’t have to invest any of your own money upfront. All the publishing expenses are taken care of by your publisher. With self-publishing, you have to pay for the editors, cover designers, and marketing all by yourself.

Lastly, there is a different royalty system with both systems. With self-publishing, you earn a higher percentage of royalties, and you can start earning money the moment you publish your book.

When it comes to traditional publishing, you will get a book deal with a publishing house for an amount of money that will be paid out throughout a period of time. Your agent gets a cut from this sum of money, referred to as advance.

And you only start getting paid royalties once your book earns out the advance the book publisher paid you when they bought your book. The royalty rate is lower than with traditional publishing because the publisher and your agent take a cut.

Now, let’s go over the process of self-publishing and traditional publishing if you want to learn how to do it: