by Frank Hamilton
While freelancing has become a popular career choice for article writers and social media managers, fiction and non-fiction writers continue discussing their own career possibilities. There are two ways you could go: traditional publishing and self-publishing. Here is everything you need to know about self-publishing versus conventional publishing.
#1 Permissions
The first matter to consider when considering the two routes is whether or not you want someone over you to be granting you permission to do something (e.g. announce a new book, publish your book on a certain date, do Q&As, talk about character trivia). In this sense, self-publishing definitely has the upper hand.
When you are your own author, you are free to do virtually anything you wish to do. But when you have signed a contract with a particular publisher, you will need to stick to that contract. If you have a deadline for publication, you will need to have the manuscript ready by a certain date without the option of taking a vacation until you are done.
#2 Costs
This is a tricky one. On one hand, self-publishing can be fairly cheap (even free if you know how to edit your book, design a cover, and upload it in the right format to a publishing platform). But the marketing costs can still be quite significant.
On the other hand, some first-time authors going the traditional route will often have to pay for different expenses including marketing costs. It really depends on your circumstances and what you are able to do in your current situation.
#3 Autonomy
Autonomy is actually quite closely related to the point about permissions. When going the traditional path, you will still have some kind of autonomy even if you will need to stick to certain deadlines. However, self-publishing still gives you way more autonomy.
Of course, you still need to consider the benefits you get with traditional publishing even if you will have to give up part of your autonomy. Ultimately, it all depends on your own feelings and what you are willing to do or give up for the sake of your career.
#4 Career Possibilities
Speaking of your career, traditional publishing and self-publishing have very different opportunities for you as a writer. When you sign up with a publishing house, you are more likely to become a big-name author. It’s true that there have been self-publishing success stories in the past few years, but how often do they happen?
Self-publishing is still looked down upon and treated as something to be ashamed of. Self-published authors are often regarded as inferior because “they can’t make it in the traditional publishing world”. The sentiment is changing though, so if you are not afraid of standing up for yourself, then self-publishing could still be a great choice for you.
#5 Outsourcing
Ghostwriting has been around for ages now. While outsourcing is more popular among article writers, fiction and non-fiction authors start using it more often nowadays. For example, you could always hire a writer from a writing services reviews site like Online Writers Rating to write your book for you!
The main point of outsourcing and ghostwriting is to reduce your workload and give you some time to rest or make your days easier. Outsourcing is much easier when you are a self-publishing author, but it can still be done when you choose conventional publishing.
#6 Genres
Another point you will want to consider when deciding between self-publishing and conventional publishing is the genre you write in. Are you a fiction or a non-fiction writer? If you are a non-fiction author, do you write poetry, cookbooks, or something else? If you are a fiction author, what genre or genres do you write in?
Some genres don’t need a traditional publisher to be successful. Cookbooks and poetry, for example, fair pretty well in the world of e-books. Children’s picture books, on the other hand, will usually need a publisher who will release them primarily in print.
#7 Digital
Let’s discuss digital and print publishing in more detail. With so many people using the Internet daily and reading on various mobile devices, digital releases are becoming more and more common. People are not afraid of purchasing e-books instead of printed editions – and it’s not embarrassing to prefer e-books anymore.
At the same time, many printed books are being released on digital platforms at the same time as they are released in print. In this case, traditional publishing has the upper hand because it is much harder to have your books printed if you are self-publishing.
#8 Print
Even though digitally released books are so common now, printed editions are not going out of fashion anytime soon. But because self-publishing authors don’t possess the necessary funds for this, printed books are usually released only by publishing houses.
In other words, if you want your book to be available both as a physical book and as an e-book, you will need to take the traditional route. If you are fine releasing only digitally, then self-publishing is for you.
#9 Anonymity
There are many authors who love the attention and fame which comes when their book becomes a hit. However, there are also those who want to keep their lives private and go as far as publishing their book under a pseudonym. Moreover, some use different pseudonyms for different genres (especially if one of these is erotica and they simply want to stay private).
With traditional publishing, maintaining such anonymity is more difficult than with self-publishing. This is because authors will often have to go on tours promoting their books if they want to grow a dedicated fanbase and build a community of readers who will buy their books again and again.
#10 Audience
That being said, self-publishing authors need to interact with their audiences quite a lot. You can still be successful if you use a pseudonym and self-publish digitally (with Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited, for instance), but most of the time, you will need to reach your audience in different ways.
For example, many self-publishing authors are known for having social media profiles where they constantly reply to their readers, host Q&A sessions, and promote their books. On the other hand, most self-publishing authors can’t really go on tours for book promotions. So, in a way, this is a two-sided coin, so you will need to decide based on your own preferences.
Final Thoughts
To sum up, both routes can be profitable. Think about why self-publishing and traditional publishing can be great for you based on the information in this article – and then choose what you want to do as a writer.
Frank Hamilton has been working as an editor at review service Best Writers Online. He is a professional writing expert in such topics as blogging, digital marketing and self-education. He also loves traveling and speaks Spanish, French, German and English.
For more thoughts on self-publishing and how to price your book, check out this article.
