Contrary to much of what you have been reading the last few weeks, there is still a decision to be made about whether you should self-publish or find a publisher for your next book.

When you sign with a publisher, you hire an army. The first member of your platoon is the editor who signs you and chances are there was a group of people who gave the green light, so add them to the unit.

You get the salesforce. And the marketers. And the publicity. We can argue about how much they’ll do and if it is enough, but these are more people in the army who are going to actively promote your book to other people.

Now think about all the people who are going to see or touch the book. The copyeditor. The proofreader. The production designers. The printer. The press people. The warehouse folks. The purchasing agents. The booksellers. These are all people who are exposed to the book and will be pushing your book into the marketplace. This is the army of people you get when you sign with a publisher.

So, do you have 1000 people (because that if probably what it is) who you can expose your book to and who you can energize to become advocates for your book.

Now, here is the paradox. If you don’t have your own army, it is unlikely a publisher will let you use theirs.