Fifteen to 20 years ago, if you wanted to publish a book, you had one legitimate option: traditional publishers. These are the big names you’d recognize, like John Wiley & Sons, Penguin, Random House, and HarperCollins, to name a few.
Sure, you could go with a vanity press if traditional publishers weren’t interested in your book, but vanity presses have little to no quality control and charge high fees to produce and print books. They’re not a great option because they’re frequently expensive and sketchy.
In the last few years, however, several new publishing paths have emerged thanks to new printing technology. These printing options are called by different names, including independent presses, hybrid publishers, author services companies, and do-it-yourself platforms, but what they all have in common is that you are in control of your book.
For that reason, they are all forms of self-publishing.
Big picture, the book publishing landscape has fundamentally shifted in the last couple of decades. Traditional publishers no longer hold a monopoly, and self-publishing companies have earned credibility and respect.
Which publishing path makes the most sense for you depends primarily on why you’re writing a book, what you want to have happen once you’re a published author, how much money you have to invest, and what your timeline is.
The Traditional Publishing Situation
What traditional publishers offer authors is credibility and a third-party endorsement. If an established traditional publisher evaluates your topic, your background, and the market and determines that your proposal has merit, they’re giving you validation.
As I said before, they are gatekeepers. And because everyone knows they play that role, getting past the gatekeepers can be a source of pride.
For first-time authors, one of the biggest advantages of working with a traditional publisher is that being offered a contract to publish your book means that you will not need to pay out of pocket for its production. That contract typically states that your publisher will assume all editing, proofreading, indexing, graphic design, formatting, printing, and distribution of your book, as well as accounting for sales.
That’s a big reason authors opt to work with traditional publishers: in addition to credibility and validation, there is no additional up-front cost to produce your book. You may be offered an advance against royalties as a pre-payment of sorts, and then when your book starts selling, you’ll earn anywhere from 8-15 percent per book after your advance is earned back. Generally, that royalty rate amounts to roughly $1/book.
Granted, to get to the point of a publisher considering your book, you did have to first land a literary agent and then craft a strong book proposal, which together can take many months and thousands of dollars if you hire a writer to support you. But after that, the publisher handles the cost of production.
The big disadvantage of opting to publish through a traditional publishing house is the schedule. Large publishers are not known for their speed. That means that it will take, on average, 18-24 months after you submit your finished manuscript before your book hits bookstores. If your topic or your perspective is timely or trendy, it’s very possible the market will be very different in 2-3 years; your book may be obsolete by that point.
Additionally, your publisher has the final say on decisions such as title, cover design, graphics, and cover price. Yes, you do get a vote, but ultimately the publisher has to do what’s in its best interest and what will increase the odds that your book will be profitable.
Since publishers are experts in the business, their decisions are almost always good ones. However, if they have to bump the price of your book well above competing titles in order to make their spreadsheet work, your sales may be impacted. What I mean is that if other books available on your topic are selling for around $24 and yours is priced at $39, you may be at a huge disadvantage. And that’s not a decision you get to make.
For all of these reasons, self-publishing can become an appealing alternative.
The Self-Publishing Revolution
Until fairly recently, self-publishing was synonymous with vanity publishing. The common belief was that if you had to pay to publish your book, it must not be very good.
That’s not the case at all anymore and plenty of self-published books hit bestseller lists. The quality is there; it’s the business model that has changed.
Yes, there was a stigma attached to self-publishing that has, for the most part, dissipated, particularly among business professionals.
Where traditional books require a literary agent, who takes 15 percent of any deal, and a comprehensive book proposal, which can cost $10,000-25,000 to prepare if you want outside help from a ghostwriter, I might add, self-published books do not. You do not need an agent and most publishers want a mini-proposal to better understand who you are, what your book will be about, and why now is the time to release it.
Hybrid and independent presses still review book pitches and do not accept all of them. They want to be sure any new books fit with their current list of books, and not all do. So the acceptance rate is not 100 percent, as it is with vanity presses.
The biggest advantage self-publishing variations offer is speed, as I mentioned. Instead of 18-24 months after delivery of a manuscript, other publishers can expedite production and get it done in 6-12 months. Sure, the more time the better, but if necessary, they can crash it.
Given this speed to market, your odds of obsolescence go way down, along with the chance of a competitor beating you to the punch. This allows you to capitalize on current market conditions.
What’s different about self-publishing options is that you pay for all production and printing costs. You’re effectively launching a new product, which has startup costs.
The cost for production services can range from a low of around $10,000, unless you’re going print on demand (POD) and will pay for each copy as it’s ordered, and can climb to over $100,000, especially if you’re expediting and adding on options like an audiobook (which you should) and other marketing support services.
In exchange for writing the check, you get the final say on everything. You choose the title, though your publisher will make recommendations. You choose the cover design, though your publisher will mock up several options to consider. You review all the interior pages once they’re laid out, and you approve the cover price.
Cover price becomes especially relevant here because you’ll receive the bulk of the proceeds when the book starts to sell.
If you work with a hybrid publisher, they will take 15 percent of sales off the top, just like an agent would. This gives them some skin in the game. Independent presses and self-publishing platforms generally do not take a percentage; you receive all the profits. Those profits typically range from around 35-70 percent of net revenue, or whatever you receive from the sale of a book.
The Marketing Challenge
Many authors mistakenly assume that traditional publishers provide built-in marketing support and that self-publishers do not. For that reason, they see traditional publishers as advantageous.
That is a misconception. Traditional publishers do not provide marketing support for the vast majority of their business authors. Unless you’re a celebrity, you will be solely responsible for marketing and promoting your book.
When I work with my clients, we start talking about marketing as we begin writing their book. I recommend they blog regularly on their topic, to establish themselves as thought leaders and industry visionaries. Associating yourself with your area of expertise long before your book comes out is essential.
Once you have your title and cover design, it’s time to work on pursuing publicity opportunities. I routinely send over publicity opportunities and some clients opt to hire public relations pros to support their launch.
Setting up a book website and landing page are also good ideas, to begin building an email list of potential book buyers and future clients, if you’re writing a book for business purposes.
Creating bonus materials for book buyers to access at your website is a smart move, to get them regularly visiting your website, as is scheduling webinars and encouraging book clubs to read your book.
The Best Choice
Traditional and self-publishing paths are both legitimate and credible. Either one has the potential to help you achieve your objectives, so one isn’t necessarily better than the other across the board.
You get to decide which publishing path is the best for you, given your objectives, timeline, budget, and definition of success.
NB: Yes, I missed my daily blog post for June 19 (I’m attempting to blog daily for the month of June) because the lawncare service weed-whacked my cable line. Since I had no internet for much of yesterday, I’ll make it up with a post on July 1.