Should You Self-Publish Your e-Book or Not?

The question of whether it's worth it to publish an e-book is up to you.  I'm glad I did because I couldn't find a traditional publisher to back my memoir (some said it was because I'm not famous, others said the story didn't have enough to it for them to get behind the work) and one Chinese publisher wanted me to change the message/tone of the book before they would publish it.  I refused to do that.  Self-publishing gave me creative control of work I wanted to share with anyone interested in it.

I wrote the book I wanted to read before going to China and now it's available to people like me and anyone else who's interested for a whopping $.99.  It's been over a year and I have made back the money I spent converting the book (I used booknook and had a great experience with them) for Amazon and Nook and promoting it with a trailer on youtube - around $300 - and then a nice amount more and it's still making some money each month.  I don't have to do more work to get that revenue.  At one point I was selling 400 books a month, but at $.99 (you only get about $.30 on the dollar if you sell at a price less than $2.99) it is not a big moneymaker for me, but it's a nice little amount that comes into my business account each month.  I also made the decision to donate a fourth of my profits each year to Oxfam in my friend Diane Moule's name, so it really was just something I wanted to do more than something I did for the cash.

I would like to correct typos and make other changes, which are mentioned occasionally in my 60-plus reviews, but I'm busy and I'm not sure it makes financial sense for me to put that time and money back in the work yet.

LEARN FROM MY MISTAKES

If you’re self-publishing, I would recommend spending the money to get the typos out up front because reviewers will mention them.  You don't want to lose readers over commas and other bull hockey and you will stop seeing the errors in your own work at some point.  I had a few non-professional eyes review my work, but it just ain't the same as getting a professional to edit for you.

Also, think hard about your listing price.  If you price your work at $2.99 or more, you get to keep 70% of the cost instead of 30%.  But then you might lose the people buying your book on an impulse.  I wanted my book to be like an app that is purchased without much worry about the cost.  I wanted poor travelers to buy my ebook on a whim on their e-reader and enjoy it and not be bothered by the price whether they ultimately liked the read or not.  So the list price is something you should research and consider thoroughly.

Anyone else have good advice for those seeking to self-publish?  Anything I said that you disagree with or that's changed in the ebook publishing world?  Tell us about it…