My name is John and I self-publish.
 
That’s how it feels sometimes. Like I’m in a 12-step program for recovering authors who just ‘think’ they are published when all we did was just click some buttons and publish a book. But I did actually have to write the book first. And hire and pay an editor. And get a professional cover designed.
 
But, crazy thought, what if I actually want to be self-published? Whoa. Surely I want Simon & Schuster, Penguin, or Random House to come banging on my door. Well, I wouldn’t turn them away before talking to them, but there’s a lot of downsides to playing with the big boys. They don’t actually put a lot of effort into your promotion. They actually expect you to do most of it, so, just like if I self-published. They get my book available on Amazon.com in eBook and print, just like I do if I self-publish. Hmm. They give me 12.5% royalties, twice a year, where I get 70% royalties monthly self-publishing. What?
 
I’m not in it for the money. But the money doesn’t hurt. Anyone who says “I’m going to write a book so I can become rich” needs to be given stronger meds. I’d love to be able to devote 100% of my working time to writing, but that will likely never come. If I can keep releasing books I’m proud of and bring a few extra dollars, I’m happy.
 
So, keep reading, and check out the independent authors section on Amazon. There’s a lot of people out there writing books that aren’t named Patterson, King, Brown, Rowling, etc.