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When self-publishing, authors take on the entire expense of publication: printing, binding, cover artwork, marketing, storage, and distribution. All prerogatives remain with the writer, the finished books are their property, and they get all of the revenues from sales. Since writers can put every piece of development out for bid and not just having to accept a preset package of services, they can obtain good pricing for smaller runs. Lots of authors don't keep an inventory of their books, but instead print it only once it is requested, and doubtless the majority of them don't wind up making a lot of money from their work if they self-publish. Many have done rather well, though. A few best selling authors who have self-published their works include James Joyce, William Blake, and Walt Whitman.

There are several reasons why authors should self-publish their books, even if the challenges may be greater. One reason is self-publishing enables the author to retain control from concept to marketing to distribution. Lots of times commercial publishers won't get involved in a particular manuscript when it has a narrow market. One example would be the selection of tales from a particular period in the past. If an individual is related to one of the people profiled in the book, they might want a number of copies, however it may not be a profitable book for any commercial publisher to print. Some other reasons would be an author with little or no following, subject material confined to a certain geographical area, a topic or subject matter that has a scope of interest limited to a specific demographic or controversial subject material such as religion or politics.

Authors whose books have a limited market should see greater financial returns when self-publishing. Although it will require a significant up front investment, they'll usually receive a lot more than if they'd given their book over to a publisher. The publisher would retain ownership of the book while handing the author a royalty and would fully control cover art and design, and many times will insist the author make changes to the content. They're occasionally forced to “dumb down” the book if it relates to a popular topic but is considered too technical for the potential buyers.

Often people think vanity or subsidy publishing is identical to self-publishing, but they are actually very different. Whenever a publisher approves a manuscript, regardless of its marketability or quality, this is often viewed as an appeal to the author's vanity as they will get to be a published writer without having to worry about developing the completed book. These vanity publishers impose very high fees for their services, which is how they turn a profit. Many times the publisher only does the cover design, printing and binding leaving the marketing tasks, like distribution and promotion, up to the author. Vanity scams usually hurt authors who've a bigger interest in being published than in making an income because the publishing company does not care about the quality or subject matter. They generate income no matter how good or bad the book turns out to be. Writers who choose to enter into relationships with vanity publishers must make certain that they comprehend and are in agreement with all facets of the contract. Many writers have been duped by vanity publishers through the years, so it is probably a good idea to avoid them.