I’ve found that the more time you spend in a problem area the more you realise how many of your preconceptions were mistaken.
So, instead of just assuming I know what the pain points of self-publishing are based on my own experience, I figure the best thing to do is to simply ask people.
In general, publishers face two separate problem areas:
- Making the book as good as possible. This means making the text as good as possible (writing and editing) and making the product as good as possible (typesetting and design).
- Finding a paying readership for the book. (Selling, marketing, PR, events, etc..)
I’m pretty sure most problems self-publishers face fall into those same areas but I also suspect that their specifics and details are going to be unique to self-publishing.
And by self-publishing I basically mean any publisher with only one or two employees and who publishes only ebooks.
So, what are self-publishing’s biggest pain points? I’d really appreciate any answers, either in the comments below, twitter or, if you want, in email. (My email is baldur.bjarnason@gmail.com for those who prefer not to contribute in public.)
