Authors who choose not to publish traditionally are referred to as independent, or indie, authors. Indie authors must make several decisions throughout their career as an author. One of those decisions is how they will publish their books.

The chart below provides information about four indie publishing options—self-publishing, self-publishing + distribution, assisted publishing (a.k.a. vanity publishing), and partnership publishing—with main characteristics, positives, and negatives of each. This chart will help indie authors to make an informed decision when considering available publishing options.

Use the comments to share your thoughts, choices, and experiences about indie publishing options.

Self-publishing

Main Characteristics:

• Author does all the work—responsible for hiring outside services (editing, cover design, formatting) and other assistance.
• Author chooses retailer(s).
• Retailer receives a portion of sales.
• Author keeps all rights to book.
• Author is responsible for all marketing and promotion.

Positives:

• Maximizes earning potential.
• Author can change prices.
• Author can make changes/updates to any part of book when needed.
• Author can view sales figures at any time.
• Author has maximum control over book and marketing.

Negatives:

• Some retailers demand exclusivity (e.g., Amazon KDP Select).
• Author is responsible for all marketing and promotion.
• Requires the most time, skill, and effort from author to get highest quality book possible.
• Difficult to place books in bookstores.