Traditional Publishing or Self-Publishing — Which Is Better?
The pros and cons of your chosen publishing route.
I’m not going to sit here and pretend that I don’t have a bias towards self-publishing, because I do. There’s something about it that stirs my heart more than traditional publishing ever has. But regardless, I still want to look at some of the pros and cons of each.
When I was in my early teenage years, and the dream of being a traditionally published author first welcomed itself into my mind, I fully believed there was no other option. No other way it could go. It was traditional publishing, or nothing. And as I lean back in my desk chair to ponder why that was, I realise that traditional publishing had been so blown up in my mind that I thought I could only be seen as successful if someone else chose to publish my stories, never if I chose to publish them myself. Don’t get me wrong, traditional publishing does have its perks otherwise, why would it still exist. There’s the element of being able to step away once you’ve handed in your manuscript as everything else is pretty much taken care of. The book cover design, the editing, the marketing, all of it, including your rights to the book. Once you sign that contract, it is no longer your story.
It becomes your publisher’s story, and there’s something about that I can never get past.
There are authors who prefer this way of things. They prefer being able to do the creative work and just write away, which is perfectly fine! But for me, the reality cannot be ignored. Even traditionally published authors are expected to do some form of marketing on their part, and include some aspect of self-promotion on their social media, and for some that can be challenging. Not only that, but if you’re like me and planning to publish a series, there is no guarantee that just because a publisher has taken on your book one that they’ll take on the rest in the series. It all depends on how well the first book sells.
Then you’ve got self-publishing. The thing with self-publishing is that anyone can do it, anywhere. There are so many platforms and distribution companies forming that there really is an option for everyone. There are companies like KDP, Kindle Direct Publishing, and Ingramspark, which make the process really simple and doable, no matter what prior knowledge you have. But forget about that. Let’s talk about creative control. My gosh, the creative control! You have the final say on book cover designs, you have the final say on marketing campaigns, you have the final say on book titles and illustrations and promotions and everything in between! And although traditional publishers do have the experience in professionally marketing, and are able to get into bookstores faster, it is not out of reach to teach yourself these skills. It may take time to do so, but the benefits far outweigh the time or cost you would be sacrificing.
Another thing is the timing of publication. Normally, traditional publishing can take anywhere between six months to two years before you actually see your book in print. I personally don’t want to wait that long because my publisher is busy dividing their attention onto other upcoming novels. And let’s face it, no one is going to care for my novel as much as I am, and no one is going to care for your novel as much as you.
