Dee Osah

How many of you have published with an established publishing company, only for you to find an egregious amount of typos and inconsistencies in your printed book? Now what on earth did I pay you for? *Insert facepalm*

Self-publishing can be intimidating and time-consuming. Most would rather leave their manuscript in the hands of a professional. Would want another set of eyes, preferably one with better grammer skills, to check their work before it’s in print. To have the name of an established company stamped on the cover of their books like a stamp of approval.

Believe me, I was there. At eighteen years old, I just written my first book and looking to put it out into the world. The publishing company (whose name shall not be mentioned) offered support from editing to typesetting at a “decent” price. But I’d have to create the cover myself and they’d do the rest. Fast forward to the day I received a copy of my officially-published book. Imagine my excitement when the printed copy arrived on my doorstep weeks later. As I thumbed the pages, my excitement morphed to bewilderment then horror. Simple typos littered the pages, not to talk of the inconsistencies that till this day make me cringe. Can I fully blame the publishing company? No. At the end of the day, I wrote the book and I am fully responsible for every word on every page (including the misspelled words, extra punctuations and redundancies). So why not own the process of getting it published?

Not to say you have to do everything yourself. You don’t have to design the cover or edit the manuscript yourself. For sure, delegate when necessary but OWN the process of publishing your book.