Why You Self-Publish as a Healthcare Professional

I never submitted my diabetes book to traditional publishers. I went straight to self-publishing—and made $15,000 in book sales, plus another $15,000 in business revenue in one quarter. Here's why I chose self-publishing, and why it might be the smarter path for you too .

Why I Skipped Traditional Publishing

I was in a writer’s conference about 18 months ago. There was an expert speaker who nicknamed herself a “pitch witch,” and she was helping aspiring authors workshop their pitches to traditional publishers. She was great at her job, and she significantly improved the pitches she workshopped. She also cautioned authors that they might have to submit their manuscripts to hundreds of publishers, and that their manuscripts might be rejected because editors had already met their quota for the year, or because an editor already had a competing book in the hopper, or for numerous other reasons unrelated to the quality of the manuscript.

When you work with a traditional publisher, there may be as much as a 24 month timeline from submission to publication, and as the author, you still need to do much of the marketing yourself. Authors give up control over pricing, cover design, publication timeline, and in some cases, the rights to the published material. When I do the math, it doesn’t make sense to me. Why wait two years and give up 90% of the revenue when I can launch in 90 days and keep 60-70% of the proceeds?

Do you want to write a book, or build a business?

If you have dreams of writing a best-seller and retiring to a private island, I’m with you. But here’s the honest truth that you won’t hear from a lot of people who provide publishing advice: a single book (whether it’s self-published or traditionally published) isn’t going to make you rich. You would need a series of books selling well to make a full-time living from your publishing career. For non-fiction authors in the healthcare space, the more viable path is to build a business from the expertise you provide in your book.

I published my first book in November of 2021. Since then, I’ve made about $15,000 in book sales, but I’ve also made $15,000 in a single quarter from additional revenue streams generated by the book. In my free guide, 7 Ways to Profit from Your Self-Published Book, I list all the ways my book has generated income. Only one of them is book sales. The book became my business card—the thing that opened doors to digital offers, coaching clients, and speaking opportunities that generated far more income than Amazon royalties ever could.

You Already Have What You Need

As a healthcare professional, you are uniquely positioned to self-publish successfully. The questions your patients repeatedly ask are a perfect source of book topics. You already know that people are seeking this information. Chances are, if people are asking those questions in the treatment room, they’re also searching for the answers to those questions in a book.

Because you have clinical experience, you can add nuanced information that a writer outside your field simply could not include in the text. When your book is complete, your professional network provides a built-in audience for your launch, and your credentials carry more authority than any publisher’s logo ever could.

Self-Publishing Process Is Simple and Inexpensive

I talk with a lot of healthcare providers who say, “I definitely don’t have the tech skills to publish.” I felt intimidated when I set out to self-publish, too. But self-publishing is a learned skill like any other. I do invest in a line editor at a cost of around $300 per book. I format my books using a software called Atticus (the costs is a one-time payment of $147).

Some people do their own cover design, but people really do judge a book by its cover. Since I can barely draw a stick figure, I outsource my cover design for a cost of less than $500. Amazon KDP (self-publishing software) is free to use, so the total cost of self-publishing is less than $1000. I’ve spent more than that on a single education conference. Self-publishing has an infinitely better ROI.

The Credibility Question

Maybe you’re wondering, “But don't traditional publishers add credibility?" No patient has ever asked me, 'Who published your book?' They see 'Registered Dietitian' on the cover and trust the content. Self-published books look identical to traditionally published books.

Readers are actively looking for information. They read the book, and if the information makes sense to them and they like your style, your credentials carry the credibility for you. A quality book is much more important than a traditional publisher.

What's Holding You Back?

Most healthcare professionals never publish—not because they can't, but because they're waiting. I wrote my first book during the pandemic, while building a private practice, as a single mom of two. I didn’t have a lot of time, but I did have determination. The most common barriers to writing that I hear people bring up (other than time) are:

• Perfectionism: You don’t need to write a perfect book. I hire an editor, and still find typos in my books after they are published. You probably will too. The good news is that you can fix those quickly, upload your manuscript again, and the next person who buys your book won’t see the typos. Amazon prints on demand.

• Fear of self-promotion: You will have to let people know that you’ve published your book in order to sell it. If you produce a quality book with helpful information, consider that you are actually doing people a service when you let them know that your book exists.

• Thinking you need permission: You absolutely, unequivocably don’t need permission from anyone to write your book.

Here’s the bottom line: The only difference between healthcare professionals who have published books and those who haven't? The ones who published took the first step, and decided to start.

If you’re ready to turn your healthcare expertise into a published book and a profitable business, download my free guide: 7 Ways to Profit from Your Self-Published Book. Inside, I break down the exact revenue streams my book created—including realistic income expectations for each one.