Self-Publishing: Expectations vs Reality – Book Review

In short, Self-Publishing: Expectations vs Reality is a guide for all the readers who have an author hidden inside them, somewhere. In this book, Nataraj has guided the future writers right from the beginning to the end. Yes, there may be something which might remain to be explored and many new editions of the book will be coming in the future to compensate that. However, with whatever the author has offered as of now, the book certainly provides the answers to many queries that newcomers in writing might have. In this post, I will review the book in details.

Before I get into the content of this book by Nataraj Sasid, Self-Publishing: Expectations vs Reality, let me give you a background which is essential in order to understand why this book becomes very important for the readers, especially the readers who want to become authors at some point in their lives.

I have in the publishing industry for more than 7 years now and I have had enough of what we call experience in general terms. However, I have been constant in seeing one thing again and again that publishers, especially the recent lots of self-publishers, often make fools out of debut authors and almost end their careers before they could even begin. Why? We may have to find out. Meanwhile, this book, being written by someone who has been (and still is) a publisher himself, comes as an important self-help guide for all those who want to explore the opportunities for themselves in the Indian writing industry via the route of self-publishing!

Nataraj Sasid has kept his language very simple and he has tried to do his best at what needed to be done by someone who actually knows how publishing works. In the past, there had been books on issues like publishing and self-publishing but the lack of first-hand knowledge about the publishing industry has not been able to do justice with the books. This time, it has been a pleasure in reading the minute details and coming across the facts that even I did not have understood before. For example, Nataraj explains why a struggling author must never choose those publishers who offer free self-publishing packages. He writes:

“Quality never comes free! Th ey may print a copy or two free for you, and ask you to pre-order minimum 300 copies at premium publishing rates. Don’t get fooled by such antics, your work is your piece of art, do not short-change it.”

And I absolutely agree with him here! There are many publishers in the market who fool the newcomers by offering too many things at lower prices and delivering nothing in terms of results. All such newcomers need to read this book in order to understand what they can expect from their choice of self-publishing their books.

The book comes with 14 chapters and all of them, largely, cover different topics. The author has begun with writing and then gradually hit the topic of self-publishing after giving enough reasons that may convince you why and how traditional publishing has almost failed. Nataraj has introduced the readers with the concept of self-publishing with all the pros and cons so that a decision can be made entirely by the author. He has also given great details about various tools, aids and technology available for free and paid ones that authors can use to design their books. He has also discussed why and how to choose publishing companies when it comes to doing so. You can also read the basics of promoting a book after it’s published because no publisher does enough at promoting a book because of so many reasons. In short, once again I repeat, Self-Publishing: Expectations vs Reality is a complete package for the aspiring authors who will get a comprehensive idea of the struggles and obstacles that the publishing industry has for them. Moreover, they will also get a clear idea of the possible remedies.

You can get the book in a digital format from Amazon Kindle store and read it right now! Click the link below to download the book:

Buy the book from Amazon India store – click here

Review by Alok Mishra