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There are many reasons an author might decide to self-publish instead of pursuing traditional publishing, beyond the facts that the barrier to entry is much lower and the opportunities for print quality and book distribution are level. Here are a few answers to the question: Why should I self-publish?

Advances in technology have given writers the power to put their words to paper and publish a book. In the not so distant past, traditional publishing was the only way for authors to get their works printed and distributed with any credibility. Now, aspiring authors can do most of this work on their own and the bias around self-publishing is falling away. If done correctly, self-published books can have the same superior quality and marketability as books that receive treatment from a traditional publisher and here's how.

One thing many indie authors come to terms with is that they’re not just publishing a book, they’re starting an author business. Here's what you need to get it going: a publishing imprint comprised of an appropriate name and logo, a budget that takes into account the book marketing you'll need to do to make that money back, and—more likely than not—a little hired help.

If you’ve been considering the idea of how to publish a book by becoming an indie publisher, here's a brief overview of core publishing topics, from crafting your creation to bursting onto markets across the globe, and why they're so important to achieving publishing success. 

It’s hard to believe that Ingram Content Group's print-on-demand (POD) technology has been around for over 20 years. This technology was the brainchild of Ingram's then chairman and CEO, John Ingram, hoping to solve the problem of being out-of-stock of publisher’s deep backlist titles. In those days, publishers would deem titles out-of-stock if sales didn’t warrant a trip back to the printer. With demand from retailers and libraries going unfulfilled, Ingram thought there must be a better way.

Book marketing and promotion are how you get the most traction for your book. It's always good to be thinking about how you can strengthen your author platform as a means to sell more books, because your platform can either thrive or fail based upon how well you promote your book and market it to readers. And not only promote your book, but also promote your author brand.

Before you can determine how much to discount your book you need to consider your ideal sales channels. Will you make it available online, in physical stores, or both? Do you plan to make it available in libraries, chain stores, indie bookstores, or all of the above? Your discount will depend on how and where your book is going to be available. IngramSpark allows you to change your discount, but you still need to understand how book discounts work.

You've written a great book, set up your printing and distribution, made it available online and—good news—it's selling! Now you want to sell it to brick-and-mortar stores but aren't sure how to get it on their shelves. You might also be wondering about the difference between independent vs chain bookstores. Is there a difference in how you should approach them? Here's what you need to know.

How much does it cost to self-publish a book? This is one question every indie publisher asks and one for which the answer varies. First of all, there are two types of costs associated with self-publishing a book: intangible (your time and effort) and tangible (that's the money part). For now let's focus on the tangible: how much money it takes to publish your book independently.