Traditional Publishing vs. Self-Publishing

What's the difference between traditional publishing and self-publishing? Which avenue is right for you? 🤔

Today’s post has been stirring in my mind for awhile! As a full-time memoir/informative book ghostwriter, I’m often asked about the differences between traditional publishing and self-publishing. Since the short response I give clients and fellow writers doesn’t cover all the important ins and outs, I’m putting together this pros and cons guide for traditional vs. self publishing.

Overview: Define Traditional Publishing and Self-Publishing

• Traditional publishing is when your book is published by an established publishing company. It typically requires finding an agent to pitch your manuscript to companies, getting your manuscript accepted by a publishing company, and having your book published through that company.

• Self-publishing is when your book is published by you, meaning you’re the one who puts your book out there for readers to find. Self-publishing comes in many forms. A couple of examples are publishing your manuscript on Substack or publishing your book through a sales platform such as Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) or Barnes & Noble Press.

Traditional Publishing Pros:

• Professional editors work on your manuscript: Once you’ve signed a contract with a publishing company, that company will handle much of the manuscript preparation and publishing process for you. The company’s dedicated editors will offer suggestions and changes for your manuscript, and you don’t have to pay editing fees. Score!

• Marketing/exposure assistance: Another great thing about working with a publishing company is that they’ll typically assist in marketing your book. While there are many writers with great stories to share, not all are adept marketers (myself included!). It’s awesome to have experienced marketers on your team who know how to get readers excited about your upcoming book release. This is another aspect of your book launch that might be too overwhelming, expensive, or time-consuming without the backing of a publishing company.

• You’ll get to see your book in traditional bookstores: The traditional publishing route often brings a sense of respect from others that self-publishing doesn’t (HEAR ME OUT: This is not to say that self-publishing shouldn’t bring the same respect or never brings the same respect that traditional publishing does. It is only to say that in the real world, people often associate “prestige” with traditional publishing). A major reason for this added respect is that you’ll find traditionally published books on bookstore shelves, rather than self-published works.

Traditional Publishing Cons:

• Especially for new authors, the process of “getting your book out in the world” is typically longer and more difficult with traditional publishing.

  • Here’s a brief overview of the typical path to traditional publication: Most authors first submit a query (a pitch of approximately one page in length) to agents they’re interested in working with. After you’ve landed/signed with an agent and made any editorial adjustments that were agreed upon, your agent will start pitching your manuscript to the appropriate publishing companies. If your manuscript isn’t picked up after awhile (say, half a year), you may have to make further revisions, present your agent with another piece that you’ve written, or find a new agent. If a publisher makes an offer on your manuscript, you have to review the terms of the offer and decide whether it’s the company that you’d like to move forward with. Once you agree to a contract, your book’s launch date will be set. This date is usually about a year and a half out, but this can vary based on a variety of factors. During this “waiting period,” you’re not just waiting! You’ll apply developmental edits from the company’s editors to your manuscript, and your company will begin pre-launch marketing, cover designing, etc. for your book. And, of course, your manuscript must go through copy and line edits as well. All of this must happen before your book can launch!

• Giving up creative freedoms: With traditional publishing, you won’t maintain complete control over your book’s cover design, marketing tactics, and edits.

• You receive lower royalty rates than with self-publication: The royalties that you receive from each book copy sold through traditional publication are much lower than those that you receive through self-publishing. This is because a large portion of book proceeds will go to your publishing company, which has to pay all those lovely editors, designers, and marketers who got your book ready to go!

Self-Publishing Pros:

• It’s simpler to get your work out there: It’s pretty simple to get your book self-published, especially with the ongoing success of Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP). You can upload your manuscript and cover whenever they’re ready (and you’re ready 😉)!

• You maintain full control over your work: When you opt for self-publication, you get the final say on your book cover design, edits, and marketing techniques. You alone determine what happens if your book gets an offer for a motion picture adaptation or if you get an offer to appear on a talk show. You maintain full control.

• You receive higher royalty rates: You receive a higher royalty rate for each book sale with self-publication. There’s no publishing company to pay, so if your project is for sale, you typically only have to pay a cut to the platform through which you’ve self-published. If you’re selling physical book copies, a cut will also be taken by the platform for the printing/shipping cost of each book. Otherwise, the rest of the royalties are yours! 👑

Self-Publishing Cons:

• You have to fight the “anyone can do it” misconception: One of the most difficult and frustrating things about self-publishing is trying to convince people that your work is valuable and worth their money/time. Since self-publication is so accessible today, it’s easy for people to assume that your work must not have been “good” enough for traditional publication. You have to convince your ideal market that your book is good, high quality, and worth buying.

• Marketing/exposure and editing are up to you: Without a publishing company to do these things for you, you have to put in some extra leg work prior to your book’s launch. You have to do all of your marketing/editing yourself or hire professionals to assist you, which can be expensive and time consuming. If your book doesn’t do super well once published, you may find that your efforts didn’t pay off financially.

These are some of the pros/cons I’ve discovered when it comes to traditional publishing vs. self-publishing. Weigh them carefully when deciding which route is best for you, and remember that regardless of the path you choose, your work is valuable!

Thanks for reading today’s post. Consider subscribing and/or upgrading to a paid subscription today to support me in my writing journey. 😊