In an article for writing.ie, our very own Tom Chalmers considers the multitude of reasons you should self-publish your next novel, and delves into some easily avoidable mistakes.

If you’ve written a book, there’s a strong chance you’ll have considered heading down the self-publishing route.

Having said that, it’s important to realise self-publishing is no small undertaking. It takes guts, determination and the realisation that you’re more than capable of doing something significant without the aid of a huge publishing house. And this realisation is one of the main reasons why self-publishing continues to capture the attention of growing numbers of aspiring novelists.

Here are our top five reasons you should self-publish:

You’ll regain time

You read that right; by self-publishing your work, you’ll regain valuable time that would otherwise be lost in dealing with big publishing companies.

If you’ve ever attempted to land a traditional publishing contract, you’ll know the huge amount of time which you have to invest in the process – time that is usually lost to constant chasing, and eventual rejection.

Even if you get the deal you’ve been searching for, it can often be a long time before your book hits the shelves. With self-publishing, you gain full control (see number 5), and that means you’ll benefit from a much more efficient process.

You’ll boost your profile

There’s something very special about self-publishing your work, and it lends a certain credence to everything you do thereafter.

If you’re an aspiring author your profile is vital to your success, and any method you can use to boost it should be taken advantage of. After all, the bigger your profile, the most likely you are to get noticed (and we don’t need to tell you that’s how books sell).

You set the royalty rate

Most traditional publishing contracts guarantee you a 10% share of the royalties (on average). When you self-publish, you can set the rate and keep more of the profits for yourself.

The counter argument for this is that the book sales may well be less than you might gain from a big publishing house, but it’s important to remember how much time you’ll save when embarking on the self-published route – and time has great value.

The money you raise can then be reinvested into your next book, or simply retained and enjoyed thanks to all of the hard work you put into writing the book in the first place.

You won’t have to make creative compromises

If you work with a publishing house there’s a strong chance they’ll ask for changes to be made to the novel before it can be published. With self-publishing, you can have 100% creative influence, enabling you to publish the book you want to publish.

You’ll remain in control

When you self-publish, you remain in control of every aspect of your novel. Whether that’s the creative element (see number 4) or the channels through which your work will be distributed. You get to make the decisions – not someone else.

Traditional publishing houses get more involved than you might initially realise, which is why self-publishing is becoming so popular among aspiring writers. And that makes sense – why on earth would you want to relinquish control of your masterpiece to people you hardly know?

Read the full article and Tom's top 5 easily avoidable mistakes by clicking here.