Online Self Publishing is... Relevant?

Okay.

Online Self Publishing gets a few suspicious glances. Sure, it's not traditional, but it is also not 'online-dating' meets 'the memories you have of that middle aged, creepy guy, selling cassettes from the trunk of his van'— online self publishing can actually be quite beneficial. However, you should approach online self-publishing the same way you would that creepy guy, or cupid.com— you have be careful and understand what you hope to get out of the experience.

First, here's some benefits.

Provided your manuscript is already complete, the online publishing process is Quick and Super Easy!

Here's how:

1. Set up an account through the publishing company, as well as a method for receiving profits (Paypal, etc.). This usually only consists of providing a bit of personal information.
2. Format and upload your manuscript. This process could be as simple as converting a word document into a pdf, but some companies require you to include things like page numbers, teasers, spine info, and proper sizing. Be careful. Most companies do not provide editors, so make sure your work looks exactly the way you want, before uploading.
3. Set a price for your book. Self-publishing companies usually require a flat distribution fee on top of a percentage of the total royalties, so your book must be expensive enough to outway the total cost of distribution. However, your work must be cheap enough to sell. If you're charging more than $10 for your title, ,make sure you have a really good reason.
4. That's it. Your done. Some self-publishing companies, like Lightening Source, require you to have your own publishing company— but this only means you have to drum up a company name before uploading your manuscript

You will retain complete creative control.

I mentioned before, that websites like Lulu and Creative Space do not offer editing services— well, technically they do , but the cost is too ridiculous to consider. However, this means that nobody will override your decisions on the title of your book, or which chapters get to make the cut, or how much info the teaser gives away, etc. By self-publishing, You own the rights to your work. You have the the final say.

The costs are light.

When publishing digital books, there are no cost at all, if your work is hosted solely on the website of your online publishing company. Companies like Lulu and Lightening Source offer ways to sell your books on Amazon and other canon online retailers, for a fee. They also offer ways to print your work— like, make actual books that you can pick up and read. Again, these options cost money, usually ranging from three to six dollars per book, but such routes certainly make your work more available to the public, and can therefore work in your favour.

I mentioned earlier that you should have the right approach to self-publishing online.

Don't expect to make any money. Every day, hundreds of new Authors self publish their work through Lulu, CreateSpace, etc. Almost none of these authors see any money from their publications, I'll repeat: Don't expect to make any money from the book you published last week. Of course there are exceptions to this rule, but while Hugh C. Howey and Sarra Cannon have had moderately successful experiences with publishing their work online, I would be willing to bet you haven't heard of either of them.

And if you have heard of them, guess which cliché I'm thinking of right now...

However,

the correct approach self-publishing isn't sales money, its publicity. And the best publicity is being able to refer people to a book that actually exists. It would be good practice to invest a little bit of money into having your work printed and available on Amazon or Kindle. Most websites will do these for you. By having copies in print, you can physically hand them to the right people— people you think can get you good publicity, like newspaper editors or local celebrities. Then, the right people can refer the public to Amazon or Kindle's website, where your book may be purchased. Ideally, a buzz will generate around your work.

And that is the goal of self- publishing your work online: Buzz.

If your book draws some attention, then that gives publishing houses a reason to look at your work. Then you have a chance at making some money from your second publication.