Is it worthwhile for the author to pay for publishing his books himself?

A non-published author has a very slim chance of getting published by regular means which is why so many turn to self-publishing. In a lot of cases they are good writers...they just can't catch a break. Self-publishing is very expensive unless you publish an ebook on Amazon which costs nothing but a percentage of the sale.

I think that more and more authors are self publishing. There has been lots of changes over the years which makes this process easier and also cheaper for authors. The idea of self publishing does not hold the same meaning as it once did.

I used to think the same as you. Up to a point, I still do. Free self-publishing is quite widely available so it does seem strange that someone would choose to pay for it. I could understand some reasons why people would choose paid self-publishing, though. It could be (as I discovered myself) that it is hard to get publishers to do certain things. My late uncle self-published a book (before the internet). It wasn't of general interest as it was focused on our town and family. At the time, a publisher would most likely not have entertained it - not necessarily because it was second-rate but because it wouldn't have sold beyond our town.

Great question. All I know is hard times, The way they have system designed now I would not blame anyone for doing what they think they have to do. I am sure we all would love someone come up and say we want to publish you. We will even pay you and your book or books get published free of charge.

It seems you have many responses that might help you. Let us know if you decide what to do!

Looks like HenryBoy provided answers.

Some authors are self publish. I think it is okay.

I don't know. They can publish ebook and can self promote in digital platform.