Traditional vs Self Publishing

The journey to becoming a published writer is similar to a rollercoaster ride that'll take you through so many twists and turns until you get to the finish line. One of the abruptest turns you'll have to take near the end is how you intend to publish your book. Weighing the pros and cons of both self-publishing and traditional publishing is essential, and the choice is fairly subjective, changing from one person to another.
Since the choice is quite daunting as it is, we've decided to gather a pro-con list to help you make the right decision.

Self-Publishing

The self-publishing journey is the road to freedom. It is often more difficult than the traditional route, yet it allows you to have full control over your life and business. Here are the pros and cons of self-publishing.

PROs of Self Publishing

1) Liberty

Authors make their own decisions. Which means, they decide their book's title, design, marketing angle, and everything else by their own. Writers who sign with traditional publishers find themselves torn between their dreams and visions on one hand and the expert advice on the other. For many authors who can't agree with their publisher's implementation, this stage can be very frustrating and enough to leave the path of traditional publishers. This, in turn, a self- publisher can immediately create empowering changes.

2) High-profitable margin

Authors who sell their ebooks directly from their sites and social media gets all the profit. Self- publishing platforms and aggregators do take a cut on the sales; however significantly less than that of a publishing house.

3) Frequent payments

Publishing a book on Amazon or similar marketplaces, ensures a once a month payment, unlike with traditional publishing houses where authors can get paid quarterly. The independent route on the other hand, such as with a personal website, provides an instant payout anytime whenever a book is sold.

4) No agents needed

Self-publishing is a risky yet possible way to launch a book successfully. Instead of allowing publishers to judge a book's potential, a self-publish author can test and discover the true potential of his work on his own. Which means, no need to appeal to different agents. Authors can publish their work without having it to be approved for publication.

5) Instant publication

There's no need to wait for years to get a book to be ready. A self-publisher can decide the publication date and plan it according to his own will. He doesn't have to abide by a release cycle that traditional publishers go by, which can take up to a year or more.

6) No time constraints

Self-published authors don't have editors or agents hounding them to meet deadlines for edits and revisions when they're behind the schedule. Meaning they have all the time in the world to write their book so that they at least get to the quality they want it to be, without needing to rush.

CONs of Self Publishing

1) Risky

With traditional publishing, an author knows that he has a huge shot of "making it through". However, a self-publisher writing and publishing his book by himself can be very risky. It's because, if he is stuck or don't get good initial feedback, or his budget runs out, his book's reach and performance will immediately decrease.

2) Upfront investment

Self-publisher has to support the costs of professional editing, designing, and pre-marketing campaign. Sadly, these things can cost a small fortune if they expect real quality. Meaning, it is going to cost him on every step of the publishing process.

3) Skills and resources needed

Self-publishers have to do everything on their own. If their budget doesn't allow them to hire other freelancers to help them design, promote, and sell their book, they'll need to personally develop and outshine at all these things, which is always a tough job.

4) Marketing and distribution

A self-publisher will also need to be a great marketer to make it in the self-publishing world. The online competition is remarkably high, as thousands of ebooks are published every day. With the proper budget, resources, and help, they will have a decent chance of making their book popular. Without all these, it's almost impossible.

5) Work's credibility questioned

There's a long-running belief that self-publishing your books is taking the easy way out. Which is one of the reasons why self-published books are less acknowledged as legitimate than traditional ones ( as we mentioned before, that's starting to change). The numbers of authors self- publishing recently have increased drastically, but several companies have remained as the top self-publishing platforms like OrangeBooks Publication.

Traditional Publishing

Traditional publishing involves finding an interested agency that'll promote your book to an interested publisher, who will conclusively sign another contract that normally involves printing, publishing, and promoting your book. Here are the PROs and CONs of traditional publishing.

PROs of Traditional Publishing

1) You Gain Validation

So many authors lack self-confidence and self-esteem, so they set their standards low even if their book is a goldmine. If a publisher pays attention, he can validate his effort and gain momentum to do even better.

2) You'll Make a Friend

Your agent won't just see a publishing opportunity. Once a deal is signed, he will constantly look after your interests, negotiate better rates, and try his best to improve the profits.

3) Help from A Team of Professional

Traditional publishers are doing all the marketing and sales work, they deal with the printing, and will work on everything except the writing part.

4) Signing Bonuses (Advances)

Rather than charging you, publishers will offer you signing bonuses that will be paid on every milestone you will accomplish.

5) More Time and Focus for Writing

As I mentioned above, your team, as well as agent, will do most of your work, so that you can focus on what you do the best.

6) Less Stigma

Many book readers undervalue the self-published books, and may rather choose a much "safer" option (big-named publishers.)

CONs of Traditional Publishing

1) Lower Royalties

Traditional authors never get to keep the entire royalties from their book’s sale. Generally, up to 15% goes to the agent, the publisher's rate is according to the book's format, and the author's get usually between 30% to 40% on ebooks and 10% on print copies. An author will only get paid once his book's sales exceed the advances he had initially received from the signing of the contract.

2) Rare Paydays

Traditional authors don't get monthly payments. Instead, they'll receive their cuts twice a year, regardless of their book's performance.

3) Loss of Control

The creative control is always important, and unfortunately, it will be taken away from the author. The publishing company will ultimately decide the book's cover, title, promotion strategy, and many more.

4) Loss of Rights

When you sign a deal with a publisher, you're giving away the rights of your book indefinitely or for some time, depending on how you sign the contract. This can lead to many complications in the long term.

Takeaways

As you have noticed, this is a subjective and critical decision that you must have to take. Use your logic, do your research, study other publishing attempts, learn from renowned authors, and be confident what to choose. If it goes wrong, you can always go back and choose the other option. Take our PROs and CONs into consideration and make a wise decision.