In my blog on how to tell whether a manuscript is publishable, I wrote that three factors are vital—1) clean, mistake-free copy; 2) attractive, consistent layout and design, and 3) well-written, interesting copy. If you meet these three standards, you have a self-publishable manuscript. Yet, these three factors don’t take into consideration whether or not there is a market for your finished book.
Traditional Publisher’s Needs
Traditional publishers must make profits. That means a print book must have potential to sell to a large number of people. Publishers can’t afford to have warehouses full of inventory. When they do, the expenses associated with printing those books aren’t recognized by the IRS.
In the past when an author’s work targeted a niche market, the so-called vanity press was the only way to go . For example, Carmen Leal had a manuscript for a book on Huntington’s disease. There are only 40,000 people who have this disease in the U.S. That’s not a large market. Yet, Leal had personal insights into the effects of the disease on the families coping with a loved one who has been diagnosed. She self-published.
