Julie Broad, founder of Book Launchers, debunks five self-publishing myths: that self-published books are low quality, that you need an agent, that it's easier than traditional publishing, that it's a backup plan, and that it closes doors to traditional deals. Quality depends on your process, not the path you choose.
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Self publishing is just for people who couldn't make it the real way. Self publishing is cheap, fast and easy. Oh really? Huh. Well, please tell me you don't believe those things, but there might be myths you do believe. So if you want to join me in taking a sledgehammer to the myths that are keeping great books from being published, this video is for you.
Hi, I'm Julie the Book Broad, founder of Book Launchers and your host here at Book Launchers tv. Book Launchers is your first choice for all things related to writing, publishing and promoting nonfiction books. And boy, have we stepped up our already strong book marketing game in 2025. We have new software coming soon or maybe out if you're watching this video in June or July, and a new community for authors solely focused on book marketing. Visit booklonchers.com to learn all the new things. But for now, let's get to those myths. Myth number one Self published books are low quality. The myth is of course self self published books are inferior or amateurish. The fact is, quality is about the process, not the publisher. Yeah, some self published books are rough, but to say self published books are low quality as a generalization, is wrong. My favorite thing to point out to people who believe self publishing equals crap is to ask if they've seen David Goggins books, or to ask if they think a crappy book would be on the USA Today best sellers list. Go Imani Roberts. Yeah. Now at Book Launchers, our books go through three editors, content editing, copy editing and proofreading. And even a fact check for a lot of our authors. That is more than many traditional publishers provide. In fact, this is something many people don't realize. But many traditionally published authors have to pay for their own fact check and sometimes indexing if they want that for their book. It's not even something the publisher does. Quality is a choice and self publishing authors who take their book seriously, seriously, like the business that it is, will be investing heavily in quality. You can choose to be great or you can choose to join the other books that never sell or change a life. It's your choice. But either way, to say self published books are not good is not true. Myth 2 you need an Agent to succeed. Some people think you can't make it without an agent. The fact is you can make it with a good book and a smart strategy. Thousands of authors grow massive, massive fan bases, score speaking gigs and sell tons of books. No agent required. Take Mark Dawson, self published thriller author who's built a multimillion dollar empire through Email lists, Facebook ads, and great storytelling. Now publishers come to him. Our author, Jonathan Stanley, had his pick of agents after his book went viral on TikTok thanks to a single book signing at Barnes and Noble. Now what he does next is completely up to him, but he didn't need an agent to make it. It took a viral video that happened after that book signing. And this is important. Being viral is not enough to make it or have big options. You also have to have a great book well positioned, so when your moment in the spotlight comes, you're ready. He was ready when NBC and People magazine wanted to interview him and his book was ready for the spotlight because he'd made sure it was top quality by hiring us. Myth 3 Self publishing is Easier than Traditional Some people think self publishing is the easy way. The fact is, it's the entrepreneurial way. When you self publish, you're the CEO, you're creating intellectual property that you now own. Remember, a traditional publisher is paying you a small fee for each book sold. But they own your ip, and that's IP that you probably have spent years developing. When you self publish, you're not taking the easy route. You're taking the route where you now have the control and the ownership of your work. If you like owning your success, self self publishing is your path. Make no mistake though, being an author is 100% work. Whether you self publish or go traditional because marketing, that belongs to you. If you think it's easy, you're missing something. And if you're looking for easy, don't become an author. Myth 4 It's only for writers who couldn't get a book deal. Some people think self publishing is the plan B, but the fact is it's often plan A. It's by choice. Many authors choose self publishing because traditional publishing does not support their goals. They want to be in charge and they want to own the speed, the process and the final product. A doctor with a niche audience may want their book out in six months, not two or three years. Traditional publishing is slow. You get an agent, the agent shops your book, you finally maybe sign a deal. Now you submit the book and the publisher gets to work. A year later you're on pre sale and presale will probably be four to eight months. So over two to three years later, after you've started this process, your book is finally on sale. You, your self publishing friend, they were out over two years ago. Self publishing, if you need to go fast, you can get a top quality book out in six to nine months. From idea to launch without skipping any important steps. Or maybe you want to control your story. If you have a personal story, you may not be able to decide what is said and not said in your book. If you sell it to a traditional publisher or an author I spoke with is self publishing because he's got it all tied together. He's got a TV show he's also producing, and he wants to own all the assets under one umbrella. So self publishing is important to him. Myth 5 Traditional publishers won't Touch Self Published Authors if you think self publishing ruins your chances at traditional publishing, you're misled. The fact is, publishers love proven sellers. Generally I won't recommend you sign a traditional deal unless you're getting paid handsomely or there's a really good reason for you to pursue it. But if it's important to you, then know the only reason a publisher wouldn't touch you is is because your book isn't selling, not because you've already published. They are in the business of selling books. If you can show traction, great reviews, solid sales, and a growing audience, they'll consider you. We've had plenty of great stories of this too. Becca Powers is one of our authors who set the goal with her first book of getting a publisher to take her next book. We helped her with that first book and she successfully sold enough to get the attention of the publisher she wanted and her her dream deal. And she's recently launched her second book with them. Yay Becca, your book can be your resume. Make it shine and you will see your goals come to life. All right. Self self publishing. It's not second best, it's strategic. It's for authors who want control, speed, ownership and a direct connection with their readers. But like any business, success comes from doing it well and being strategic. That's why Book Launchers exists, to help you write, publish and promote a no boring book that will actually sell. And there's so much more to self publishing than just slapping and a cover on a good edit and putting it out there. And we'd love to support you to create a book that has impact and makes you an income. Reach out@book launchers.com apply to chat with us what self publishing myth have you heard or actually believed up until now? Go ahead and let's chat about it in the comments below. And if you're ready to self publish smart, subscribe and turn on those notifications so you catch our next video.
