There are endless options when you’re considering writing and publishing a book. What kind of book will it be? Do you want a co-writer, or a ghost writer, or to build a collection of essays from different authors?

Do you want to self-publish, or go with a traditional publisher, or a small indie press?

How do you want to spend your marketing dollars? Social media ads? Contest fees? Conference exhibitor fees?  Traditional media advertisement?

And those are just a fraction of the questions you’ll face.

What constitutes a “right” answer is different for every one, but its important for every author to make sure that you’re making strategic choices that best serve your objectives and goals for your book, rather than your ego.

I’ve seen many authors fixate on the idea of going with a traditional publisher just because they see it as the only path toward legitimacy.  In many cases waiting for a traditional publisher to pick up you book could mean waiting years just to find out your book wont be published. Meanwhile, non-traditionally published authors are seeing great success by most measures. As such, the choice to only pursue traditional publishing is  ego – versus fact – driven decision.

I’ve seen indie authors spend upwards of $500 for reviews from places like Kirkus, because of a desire to see their book listed on the Kirkus website. But even authors who have been gotten massive exposure from such outlets generally still sell significantly fewer books in their first year than authors who spent the same amount of money on sending personalized review copies of their book to social media influencers and book bloggers. Spending the majority of a marketing budget on a single review was an ego driven decision.

The problem is that ego isn’t concerned with your budget, or your long term goals for your book or writing career. Ego wants immediate pay-off and reinforcement and is not always a trustworthy guide for financial or long term planning.

But at the same time, who would ever share a word they wrote with the world without the urging of the ego, whether it’s a booming voice or a whisper urging them on? So we don’t want to ignore our ego, just make sure it’s not running the show.