6 tips to decide between self-publishing and traditional publishing.
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Self-publishing vs Traditional Publishing: Which is Right for You?
It’s common in writing circles to hear authors debating over whether to submit their manuscript to agents or editors or whether to self-publish. The anguish is real! New writers, in particular, often feel they are at a crossroads and need to choose the “right” path forward.
Adding to the difficulty is the fact that there are a myriad of opinions, biases, and fears that come with either choice, and sometimes authors are pulled in many different directions, none of which seem clear.
So how do you make this huge, potentially life-changing decision between self-publishing and traditional publishing? I’m going to give you some food for thought, in hopes that either your path will become clear, or you’ll at least feel a little freer to experiment with one path or the other. I do want to acknowledge that there are a lot of hybrid publishing models out there, though I’m just going to deal with the “big two” options of self-publishing or traditional publishing.
When determining which path may be the best for you, use the following tips to make that decision a bit easier:
Tip #1 - Don’t react from fear.
Making decisions (about anything in life) from a place of fear likely means you’re being reactive instead of proactive (and we all know that reactive characters are boring!). For example, someone who really wants to publish traditionally might react by self-publishing out of fear of rejection or of how much time it might take to get their book accepted and published by a traditional New York publisher. What if they go that route and their dream never happens? If they fear rejection, they might self-publish just to be able to say they are an author.
Conversely, an author may submit to agents/editors because they’ve been told that “indie authors aren’t really authors” and they fear they will never be taken seriously if they self-publish.
If you go into either business model with a sense of fear, you’re doing yourself and your career a huge disservice. An author who hits “Publish” and then forgets about their book, or a writer who goes through the submission process in a half-hearted manner, even when they know their book isn’t for traditional audiences, aren’t likely to be successful either way.
It’s okay to have nerves, but make your decision for self-publishing vs traditional publishing based on information rather than emotions. instead of reacting due to fear of what “might” happen, be proactive in your decision instead.
Tip #2 - Get more information.
Don’t assume things about either publishing model. Instead, do some research, analyze what you want from your writing career and what the pros and cons are based on your goals. Then use that information to decide what might be best for you.
For example, there’s a hugely erroneous assumption that being traditionally published means you won’t have to do any marketing of your book yourself. If you’re making your decision to go the traditional route based on that belief, then you’ll be in for a rude awakening when you find that’s not the case at all, and that you’ll be expected to do some (or all!) of your own promoting.
Self-publishing also lends itself to assumptions about how much (or little) work is involved. So get really clear on how successful indie authors model their businesses, what the costs are, what the expectations are of an indie author, and then decide if any of those models would work for you.
Don’t make your decision without getting all the “facts.” (I put “facts” in quotes, because what is one person’s experience may not be that of another person…so make sure you check out multiple avenues of information.)
Tip #3 - Think outside the box.
There aren’t just two ways to publish. You can, for instance, self-publish while seeking agent representation at the same time. In fact, if you have good sales numbers as an indie author, you might be able to prove to agents, and later to editors, that there’s a strong market for your message or story.
If your start out traditionally published, no one says you can’t also self-publish (though you may have non-compete clauses in your contract, so you may need to self-publish in a different genre).
Rather than look at self-publishing versus traditional publishing as an either/or situation, look for ways you can approach things from a different angle.
Tip #4 - Tune in to your gut.
Which publishing option actually feels better to you? If your intuition tells you your book would do well as a traditionally published book (with all the info you gathered above), and the idea lights you up, then you might consider the extended timeline of traditional publishing worth it.
If, instead, you’re motivated by the idea of the preparation and promotion of self-publishing, along with having complete control over every aspect of your book, then go for that!
We often dismiss our gut feelings, particularly if there is outside pressure from others. For example, if you have a group of indie-published friends, they may have some bias against trying to get an agent or “giving in” to a traditional publisher. But if the idea of having to hire editors and book cover designers or needing to figure out how to use Amazon KDP makes you want to throw up, then maybe self-publishing isn’t for you. And ignoring that feeling isn’t going to bring about success.
Tip #5 - Don’t make rash decisions.
It’s okay to think about things for a while. While I don’t recommend letting indecision paralyze you, there’s no time limit. Book publishing, traditional or indie, will always be around.
If you’re uncertain, follow the tips throughout this article and give yourself time to feel right about one decision or the other. You can always change your mind later. Just because you sold a traditional book doesn’t mean you can’t self-publish your next one or vice versa.
Tip #6 - Remember there is no “right” decision.
One publishing path is not better than the other. This can be a hard concept for writers who have spent years thinking that only traditionally published authors are “real authors.” That’s simply not true.
Being traditionally published doesn’t guarantee riches or success or even that you’ll ever sell another book to a traditional publisher again. (Just as there are one-hit wonders in music, there are one- or two-hit wonders in publishing.)
On the other hand, self-publishing isn’t cheating, and indie authors have just as much right to call themselves authors as any other published writer, and can be hugely successful!
There are, of course, pros and cons to both self-publishing and traditional publishing, and part of the decision-making process involves looking into those pros and cons and determining what will work best for you.
Bonus Tip
Whichever way you end up going, consider that you’re building a writing business (if that’s what your goal is), and be sure you treat it that way from the very beginning. Savvy business owners start out knowing what their goals are; do research into the best equipment, suppliers, or services to get their businesses off on the right foot; and make clear and informed decisions about how to proceed. Treat your writing the same way, and you’ll be miles ahead of your competition, regardless of which path you choose!
I hope you found the above tips to be helpful! The key takeaway here is that there is no one right way to approach your writing career. Both self-published and traditional authors can be successful.
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Whether preparing to self-publish or to start the submission process, I’m here to help! You can Request a Quote today. If I think we might be a good fit, I’ll provide a 3- to 5-page sample edit of your manuscript to show you what I can do for you!