It takes a village ...

... or at least a committee to publish a book.

That's if you care about quality.

A lot of self-published authors do everything themselves. I'm guilty of having done that. I learned better. Learn from my mistakes.

The DIY attitude stems, I believe, from a the misconceptions that self-publishing is free and that skilled professional services aren't necessary to produce a book.

In truth, self-publishing is free. It costs nothing to upload a document and an image file to Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) or Lulu or other online publishing platform. The platform takes its payment from the royalties generated by book sales. The expense of self-publishing is incurred before the book becomes available to the public. They include:

1. Purchase of an ISBN. E-books do not require an ISBN; however, printed books do. Amazon offers a free ISBN through KDP; Amazon then owns that ISBN. That's an issue with some authors. Other authors who publish exclusively with Amazon may not see any issue with that.
2. Editing. (This includes proofreading.) I've said it before and I'll say it again: The author is too close to his or her book to see its flaws. Editing software does not replace a human editor. Proofreading does not replace editing; it's the final step to polish the manuscript before it's published. An editor offers an impartial perspective with the expertise to help the author correct the manuscript's problems. For most authors who care about the quality of their manuscripts, editing is the largest expense.
3. Book formatting. Many (most?) self-published authors have no background in document design, yet they insist on formatting their books themselves. Worse yet, many use Microsoft Word to do that formatting. (Microsoft Word is not a document design program.) Proper book design entails more than filling the page with text; it directly and substantially affects the reader's experience.
4. Cover design. Many self-published authors don't have graphic design experience and don't begrudge this expense because they understand that a poorly presented cover won't inspire potential readers to pick up their books. The cover is the first hook. It's got to be good.
5. Marketing. Again, I believe most authors aren't well-versed in marketing, much less book marketing. This, too, is something they attempt to handle on their own rather than pay for professional marketing services. Unfortunately, many fail to realize is that book marketing is its own specialty and it may take a lot of time and effort to be effective. Wouldn't you rather spend that time and effort writing?

When it comes to producing a book and selling it, the self-published author must understand that he or she undertakes the responsibility of a traditional publisher. That includes the aforementioned services and the costs they incur.

Rather than insist on doing it all oneself, the self-published author should perform an honest self-assessment of his or her time, skill, and availability. Think of the first time you tried cooking a meal, fixing a car, or some other task. You probably made a lot of mistakes. Perhaps you burned supper or compounded a mechanical problem. Likely the result of your effort was distinctly amateurish.

Is "amateurish" the impression you want to give potential readers?

If you want to learn how to properly produce and promote your book, then I encourage you to learn the skills you either lack or need to improve. Just don't mistake "learning" for "competence." Even if you never develop true expertise, you'll have acquired the knowledge to know what you want, what works, and what doesn't work. That's valuable, too.

The pros you hire have only your book's best interests in mind.

I have been accused of implying that those authors who don't hire editors and other professionals don't care about quality. Some don't. They may be so arrogant as to believe their work needs no improvement, or they may believe they truly can do it all by themselves at a professional level of expertise. Most people simply don't have all those skills and shouldn't delude themselves into thinking they do.

Those who care about quality and who are operating on constrained budgets have other resources to help them reduce the costs of publishing a quality book. Skilled volunteers are a godsend.

Money may not be necessary: have you considered barter? What can you offer in exchange for the service(s) you need? What valuable skill can you offer as compensation? What do you possess or what can you make that the pro you want to hire may find of sufficient value to trade? Be creative.

Perhaps the tradeoff is time. Abandon your self-imposed deadline and speak with the pro to see if payments are acceptable. Perhaps the project can proceed at scheduled intervals so your budget can accommodate the fees for service. I'd guess most pros serving self-publishing authors will work with those authors to get them the service their books need.

Hen House Publishing offers professional editing, proofreading, and book formatting services. I care about serving your book's best interests.

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