Professionals and scholars often have to compete for valuable publishing space. Traditional publications such as journals and magazines can only publish so many papers in every edition. As such, they need to be quite selective in the works they publish. Additionally, traditional publishing companies are often quite judicious in the books they select for publication. More often than not, traditional publishers seek the bottom line. This implies selecting books that stand to generate sales. This situation leads researchers and scholars to self-publish books. Naturally, there might be some uncertainty surrounding self-publishing a book. In this article, we are going to look at three reasons why professionals and scholars should self-publish an academic book.
- Getting a message out there
Authors of academic texts often have a message they want to get out there to the world. However, that message may not align with the objectives of publishers. As such, publishers pass on great content. Publishers have specific philosophies to maintain. As such, any time a publication does not match up, they pass.
Consequently, self-publishing a book would enable the author to get their message out there without having to go through the bureaucracy of traditional publishers. Moreover, that message can be transmitted with a specific target audience in mind. Therefore, the message can hit the intended audience.
- Self-promotion
While academic texts have a scientific purpose to them, they also have a self-promotion element to them. Self-promotion occurs when the author(s) get noticed. In particular, self-publishing can enable authors to position themselves within a specific field. The drawback is that the acknowledgment of being published in a mainstream journal is removed by self-publishing. Nevertheless, the commercial success of a self-published book can provide credibility for its authors. When the authors seek to position themselves as experts in a particular field, potential clients will find published works to be an important reference. However, authors should take care in avoiding blatant self-promotion. After all, the aim of the work is to highlight the science, not the marketing.
- Raising Awareness
Many times, there are causes that need attention. Nevertheless, mainstream publications may not pay close attention to them. This may compel an author to go the self-publishing route. In such cases, it makes sense to self-publish as self-promotion or profit is not necessarily the main purpose. As such, authors simply want to inform the public about a specific topic. Moreover, authors may seek to provide a solution to the issue raised in the book. Doing so is part of contributing to the greater good as opposed to self-promotion or getting a message out to the public. Often, academic texts have a specific agenda like getting a political message to an intended audience. In this case, the purpose is simply to inform the public so that interested people can get access to valuable information. This is something that self-publishing can enable authors to achieve without going through the hoops and ladders of traditional publishing companies.
