The question of whether to go with a traditional publisher or to self-publish has become a popular debate since the advent of digital books and e-reader devices. In the past fifty years self-publishing was mostly through vanity presses or was used by those who sold industry books to a select audience. If you were on the dog show circuit, you would sell a self-published book about dog grooming at events because going through a traditional publisher didn’t make any sense. If you were writing a memoir that only family and friends would be interested in, you would go through a vanity press and print a limited run. However, with changes in the book industry many of these ideas about self-publishing have become archaic. Writers have to ask themselves the same questions that James Joyce, Henry Miller, and others had to ask themselves when they finished their great works. “Should I go with a traditional publisher or do it myself?”
Instead of debating the relevance of contemporary self-publishing or how the market has become saturated with amateur writers (Smashwords boasts having over 44,000 writers published through their website) we will simply look at the pros and cons of self-publishing and traditional publishing.
Distribution: Traditional publishers guarantee print distribution through their network. Depending on the publisher the book should end up on the bookshelves of major bookstores. Self-publishing does not guarantee print distribution and it is near impossible to get a self-published book on the shelf of a major book store. Self-publishing relies on distribution through online stores like Amazon, Smashwords, Barnes and Nobel, etc.
Income: Self-publishing has the ‘potential’ for higher income from sales. In most cases if you sell your book online you will get a return far higher than if you had gone through a traditional publisher. Traditional publishers give 10% to the writer for hardcover, 7.5% for paperback, 8% for mass market, and about 17.5% for e-books (these numbers are the average, source). Through self-publishing digital distribution it is possible to get higher percentages. Most places offer 60-70% return for a book priced between $2.99 and $9.99.
Time: A traditional publisher can take as long as two years to get a book to the press. If you have a timely book about a recent event in the news it may be in your best interest to self-publish. With digital self-publishing you can literally have your book on-sale overnight. Of course if you have the book edited, hire someone to create the cover, and someone else to transfer it to various digital formats you’re talking more along the lines of 6 months.
Creative Control: With self-publishing you have complete creative control. Traditional publishers may want to change your book, or edit it so that it is not offensive. If you want to publish exactly what you wrote, self-publishing may be the only way.
Editing: Traditional publishers have in-house editors who will go through your book for typos and often larger issues. If you self-publish you will have to find and pay for your own editor(s). The final say that this book is ready to go to press will be on you instead of the publishing house.
Cost: When you publish your book yourself you have to pay for all the costs. Cover art and design fees are paid by you. Any marketing costs are paid by you. If you have your book printed you will probably have to pay thousands of dollars to get a limited amount of books. Traditional publishers cover all these costs except marketing. While many people think a traditional publisher will push their book for them, most marketing and its costs end up on the head of the writer unless they are a big name.
Looking over these six points would probably make anyone want to go with self-publishing. You make more money, have control over your content, get the book out there in a timely manner, and get distributed online where millions of people can buy your book. However, there is a seventh point and I think this is where the real debate comes in.
Credibility: If you are published through a traditional publisher you gain credibility. Since your book has been filtered through the industry it can be thought of as a ‘real’ book. Want to get reviewed by the New York Times? Are you interested in being interviewed on NPR? It’s far more likely that the media and readers will see you as a serious writer if you have been published by a place like Random House.
Credibility is one the most important points on the list. In the end the debate really comes down to income vs credibility. With a self-published book you have the potential to make far more money. Many already credible authors are self-publishing because they look at the numbers and see that 60% is a lot more than 17.5% for royalties on digital sales. Still, the credibility that publishing through a traditional publisher gives is a huge value to a writer. If a writer thinks about their writing career in decades instead of years, it’s easy to see that gaining credibility far outweighs income on a debut novel. At the same time there are many people who are more interested in getting their books out as quickly as possible and hope to break even or make a bit of income. For them credibility is not as important as seeing their book finished and online.
In the end the choice is up to the writer and should be considered with all the above points in mind. How you go about disseminating your work can be as important as the ideas in your book.
If you have any comments, please leave them below.