Unmasking the Self-Publishing Imposters

Before you read any further, please be aware it is not my intention to degrade any company or anyone for that matter. Rather, it is to raise the questions, questions many seem to have but no answers. Consider this less of an exposé and more of a public service announcement for the aspiring wordsmiths.

So let’s talk about this new era of publishing! We’re bombarded with names like BookLeaf Publishing, Notion Press Publishing, Writers' Pocket, BlueRose Publishers, Bigfoot Publications, and countless others. It’s great to see so many platforms promising to whisk newbie writers into the literary limelight, bypassing the age-old gatekeepers of traditional publishing. But here’s a reality check. Not all that glitters is literary gold. In fact, some of it looks more like ‘plated’ to perfection, aiming to snag your hard-earned cash.

Self-publishing refers to the process where authors publish their books independently, without the velvet-gloved hand of traditional publishing houses. It's an author-driven approach that blesses you with greater creative control and the promise of higher royalties. The catch? You're the one juggling all the difficult aspects. Writing, editing, cover design, marketing, distribution, basically the whole shebang. It’s like building your own house, brick by painstaking brick, and paying someone just to imprint their logo over it.

My personal experience with BookLeaf Publishing was, to put it mildly, below mediocre. It started as something phenomenal, a newfound love for poetry and writing. It ended… Well, it made me seriously consider taking up gardening instead. Bookleaf publishing did offer a huge opportunity to enter the publishing world as a beginner. But as the days turned to weeks, they only kept pushing me to upgrade to their paid model. Apparently, giving them more money is the secret ingredient to getting your book actually published!

My book, originally slated for an August debut, finally saw the light of day in October. The reason for this agonizingly slow pace? My stubborn refusal to upgrade and pay them more. And upon asking why the delay (for the thousandth time, mind you), after at least five automated template replies (my wild guess is that 95% of their initial communication is automated templates designed to lull you into a false sense of efficiency), someone actually typed a response, citing ISBN delays. I accepted that, only to realize months later, I was simply fooled.

When I truly decided to embrace 100% self-publishing, without spending a bloody dime on anyone, I applied for an ISBN and got it in two weeks for my second book. For my third book, it landed in my inbox in three days. Apparently, ISBNs are faster when you don’t have a middleman playing hide-and-seek with your dreams.

These business models basically prey on naive writers (and their wallets) with no publishing experience. Or, as I like to call them, dream exploiters. Sure, they might present themselves as a budget-friendly option, but try getting a straight answer or a swift resolution to any question, and you’ll find yourself in a nightmare.

I felt like I was working with a traditional publisher, constantly following up and waiting. Except, you know, without the actual publisher part and with all the paying me part. It's like paying someone to ignore you.

And it gets worse. One author I know was nominated for an ‘Emily Dickinson' award. She paid over a good 3499 INR for it, which was supposed to include social media marketing and a complimentary book copy. Spoiler alert, she never received the award, the marketing, or the book.

And speaking of missing things, multiple authors (including yours truly) have reported not receiving any royalties from their book sales, even after a year or several years, despite sales reports indicating money was owed to them. How much royalty are they sitting on, not giving to the hard-working authors? Probably enough to fund another startup. 80% of authors who ‘self-publish’ through these platforms spend more on the platform than they ever see in royalties.

Then there's Notion Press. While their services are undeniably polished in India, they function more like a vanity press than a true self-publishing house. Spending such a huge amount of money on those services would not return much of what you expect. You pay for a package that boasts some 20 inclusions (19 of which are delivered via bots is my wild guess, and my wild guess is probably more accurate than their marketing promises). They don't market your book. There are no book promotions either. Hell, they don't even post about it on their own Instagram page! Unless, of course, you take their diamond package which can be more than one lakh. For that price, your book should come with a personal bodyguard and a red-carpet premiere.

My mantra is simple, unadulterated, and comes with a side of common sense: Stop spending your hard-earned money, paying others to publish your book, and start truly self-publishing! It is not self-publishing when you do nothing but just write and hand it over to someone else. Let's just call them ‘non-traditional’ or ‘contemporary publishing houses.

Instead, learn the art of real self-publishing your book yourself. In this way, you can publish not one, not two, not three, but unlimited books for a lifetime without having to stress whether you make money from it or not. Instead of handing over 20K (or more) to them, truly self-publish your book and spend that money instead on a good book cover design, effective marketing, targeted promotion, and ads for your book. This has a significantly higher chance of your book actually being purchased. After all, how many times will you force your own family to buy your book? (Statistically speaking, after the first purchase, the likelihood drops by approximately 99.9%).

Go forth, write your masterpieces, and self-publish them like a boss. Your wallet (and your sanity) will thank you.