The Hard Truth About Self-Publishing (Indie Author Reality Check)
Let’s be real for a second:
If you’re not ready to handle marketing, publishing logistics, and the business side of being an author —
then self-publishing might not be your lane.
And honestly? That’s okay. It’s not failure. It’s just the truth.
Here’s what surprises most people:
Writing the book? That’s the easy part.
The moment you hit “publish,” you’re not just an author anymore.
You’ve become a business owner — whether you like it or not.
That means you’re responsible for:
• Promoting your own work (yep, even when you don’t feel like it)
• Figuring out ads, platforms, and ever-changing algorithms
• Managing production, formats, and where your book even shows up
• Tracking finances, doing taxes, maybe even hiring help
• Building a brand — and keeping it alive
It’s hard.
Like, really hard.
There’s no roadmap. No promises. No shortcuts.
You can publish a book in five minutes.
But building a career around that book? That’s the real grind.
If the idea of learning all this, or juggling all these hats, makes you go “no thanks”?
You should definitely explore other routes.
Like:
• Polishing your manuscript and querying agents
• Trying small, mid-size, or even Big 5 publishers
• Launching on Patreon or similar platforms
• Looking into hybrid or vanity publishers — but seriously, research those carefully
A lot of authors who’ve done both indie and traditional publishing will tell you this:
Traditional deals come with tradeoffs.
Less control. Slower timelines. Smaller royalty percentages.
But — they also take a load off your plate:
• You’re not running your own ad campaigns
• You’re not formatting files or negotiating printer settings
• You’re not the whole marketing department
That said, the hardest part of traditional publishing?
Getting in.
You can write an amazing book and still get told “no” a hundred times.
Not because you’re not talented — just because the market’s not buying what you’re selling right now.
Take sci-fi — that’s where I started.
But right now? It’s not exactly a hot genre for publishers.
Doesn’t mean it’s impossible, just… tougher odds.
So, here’s the real talk:
Self-publishing is starting a business.
It’s a job. And it might be a job that never pays you back.
If that makes you uneasy —
then yeah, this might not be the road for you.
From the outside, it looks easy.
But once you’re inside?
You’ll see — it’s anything but.