Traditional publishing, self-publishing, or something in between?
Whether you’re just getting started or you’re putting the final polish on your manuscript, I’d be willing to bet you’ve got an end-game in mind, and you’ve likely spent some time visualizing the finished product: a published book. Your story, beautifully packaged and ready for readers to devour. But even though the end goal is clear, the path to that final product may still be uncertain.
How Do You Get from Final Draft to Published Book?
The good news is, authors today have more publishing options than ever before. The bad news is, with so many options, it can be tough to suss out the right path for your book. Let’s break down the three biggest categories: traditional publishing, self-publishing, and the middle ground of hybrid publishing.
Traditional Publishing
The traditional publishing model is likely the first that comes to mind when you think of publishing a book. Traditional publishers include everyone from Big Five houses (Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette, Simon & Schuster, MacMillan, and all of their imprints) to midsize houses like Houghton Mifflin Harcourt or Scholastic to smaller shops like Graywolf.
An author who works with a traditional publishing house assumes no financial risk. Usually, the publisher pays the author an upfront advance to purchase the book. If and when this advance is paid back through book sales, then the author will start earning royalties. The publisher will leverage in-house expertise for editing, cover design, pursuit of subsidiary rights and licensing, distribution, etc. Publicity and marketing budgets and activities will vary by publisher and by book, and authors may need to invest in promotion, themselves.
For very small publishing houses, this may not be true, but in most cases, an author who wants to work with a traditional publisher will need an agent. In exchange for a 15 percent commission, a literary agent works to sell the book to a publisher and manage contracts and rights on the author’s behalf. In order to secure an agent, fiction authors will need a full manuscript, and nonfiction authors will need a book proposal. Every author will need a bang-up query letter.
If you’re an author with a strong platform or following and a quality book with mainstream appeal, traditional publishing may be your best bet for getting your book to a wide audience—through retail distribution, publisher name recognition, and more. However, it’s important to keep in mind that traditional publishers give authors less control than any other model, the process is long (multiple years in many cases), and while the upfront payment is certainly a plus, the majority of authors never earn out their advances. That means that, while they never have to give back that upfront payment, they won’t continue earning royalties in the long-term, either.
Self-Publishing
At the opposite end of the spectrum is self-publishing (also known as “indie” or “DIY” publishing). Under this model, you’re on your own, and you have total artistic control. As the author, you also become the publisher, and you’re responsible for handling—or contracting out—all of the publishing responsibilities, from editing and proofreading to cover design and layout to printing and distribution.
Unlike traditional publishing, where the publisher pays the author and assumes all financial responsibility, when you’re self-publishing, you’re on the hook for every expense. The good news is, that means there’s a lot of flexibility here to publish a book within your budget. The bad news is that it’s all too easy to go as cheap as possible and wind up with a low-quality product. While you could handle editing, design, marketing, and distribution yourself, you’ll almost always be better off hiring experts to help with these processes. As you pay these team members, the cost of self-publishing increases. But, of course, so does your earnings potential. And the beauty of self-publishing is that you, the author, get to keep the vast majority of proceeds.
If you’re entrepreneurially minded and savvy about the options and obligations of self-publishing—and if you plan to publish a high volume of books—this model could absolutely be for you. Just be sure you’re willing to invest the time and money to do it well.
Hybrid Publishing
Somewhere between traditional and self-publishing is hybrid, or assisted publishing. Under this model, the author pays the hybrid publisher a fee upfront (but can usually expect a much higher percentage of net sales), and the publisher manages the process of creating the book.
While a self-published author is tasked with finding, hiring, and paying a team, the hybrid publisher has that team in-house. Often these services are offered a-la-carte, meaning you can pay for only what you need help with and manage the rest yourself. When it comes to promotion, you may be able to pay for marketing services, but you’ll be largely on your own for sales and distribution, especially if you want to see your book on retailer shelves.
Hybrid publishing can be a valuable opportunity for an author who wants to produce a high-quality book without the management burden. (It’s the model I used for my 2019 book, Austin Brown Dogs.) However, the upfront costs may make this model unsustainable for aspiring career authors. Many of these companies are run by former traditional publishing professionals, and their expertise—along with the expertise on their teams—can lead to beautiful results. (Do watch out, though, for companies like AuthorSolutions that make money by taking advantage of inexperienced authors and producing subpar results.)
Which Model Is Best?
Guess what? There is no one *right* model for every book. As you make your decision, consider the unique qualities of your particular book, your short- and long-term publishing goals, and your own experience and work preferences. And remember, choosing one model now doesn’t mean you’re locked into that model forever. You may go the hybrid route at first and then switch to self-publishing once you have a better grasp on the landscape. You may start with self-publishing and then seek a traditional publisher after you’ve built a following. It’s not an either-or, all-or-nothing proposition. It’s just a question of what works best for this book at this moment in your life.
Hopefully, this post gives you a good foundation as you start making a plan to publish your book, but I’ve just scratched the surface. For a more in-depth overview, I highly recommend Jane Friedman’s “2019-2020 Key Book Publishing Paths” chart. And as you wade in, feel free to reach out! I offer publishing consultations, and I’m always excited to talk through your options.