Traditional Press or Self-Publishing: There’s No Such Thing as a “Lazy Writer”

Sometimes when it comes to writing, the hardest part is simply getting started.

It is easy to convince yourself that you have nothing original to say, or that your writing is not strong enough to one day sit on a shelf next to some of your favorite writers. And just when you think your insecurities are gone forever, it is time to decide how to publish your work.

“Once the hard part is done and the draft is written, there are two basic routes a writer can take,” said Hugh Howey in an article for Publisher’s Weekly.

For quite a while, those who choose to self-publish have faced an interesting amount of prejudice within the industry, especially considering “the route predates Mark Twain and Benjamin Franklin.”

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Self-publishing requires “hiring cover artists, editors, and typesetters or learning to do these things on one’s own,” Howey said.

The alternative? Sign over the draft to a more traditional press, a company that will usually have cover artists, editors, and typesetters on staff.

“What is being sold with [these two publishing options] is the notion that the self-published author works extra hard beyond the writing, while all over writers simply craft their drafts and FedEx the results to agents in New York,” Howey explained. “Successful authors work their butts off either way.”

Whether they publish through traditional press or do so themselves, the author will dedicate a large amount of time to marketing himself or herself, which could include book tours, blog posts, and engaging with readers on Twitter and Facebook.

They may take time on evenings and weekends to do signings at bookstores, sometimes while working at another place altogether. “Forty hours of writing on top of a full-time job and caring for a family is the norm,” Howey said.

“If you’re weighing the decision to self-publish or publish, like more important decisions in life, it boils down to your personal situation and your expectations,” said Adam Smiley Poswolsky in an article for The Huffington Post. For Poswolsky, whose book was about “millennials seeking meaning in their professional lives,” the decision came down to author intention.

“If you want the credibility that comes with having your book stocked in the Barnes & Noble in suburban Minneapolis, then by all means you should…send off proposals to get a book deal,” Poswolsky said. “And if you want to try to build a community around an idea…I think the self-publishing tools available today to authors are a great option.”

That said, writers interested in publishing with a traditional press can find a number of different companies that offer community-building tools as well as credibility — it does not have to be one or the other.

“Whenever anyone asks me whether I’m publishing or self-publishing,” Poswolsky said, “I respond, “Oh, I’m publishing…[that] is what matters.”

“There is no such thing as a lazy author,” Howey said. “To have finished the work, all authors have taken the most grueling of steps.”

Poswolsky agrees. “Whether you self-publish or publish traditionally, don’t write a book to make lots of money. Instead, find a story people absolutely need to hear, and go out and do everything you possibly can to tell it.”

Sources:

Howey, Hugh. “The Myth of the Lazy Writer.” PublishersWeekly.com. PWxyz, 24 July 2015. Web. 27 August 2015.

Poswolsky, Adam Smiley. “Should You Self-Publish Your First Book?” The Huffington Post. TheHuffingtonPost.com, 6 March 2014. Web. 27 August 2015.