So you have your book manuscript and now you’re wondering how to publish your book, or whether you should be publishing the traditional way or be one of the self-published authors. You’ll also then wonder about publishing houses or royalty rates or book deals and such. Overall, there is a lot to think about when publishing your books.
No matter which route you choose, the path of getting your book published is a lengthy process! If you’re deciding between traditional publishing and self-publishing, keep in mind that there’s no set time frame for either decision. Each author’s unique circumstance will dictate how long it takes, and there are different pros and cons to each method of publishing.
Publishing a book traditionally comes with some risks that self-publishing doesn’t have, though. A publisher will not accept any manuscript without a book contract and all contracts come with conditions. For example, it’s possible for the publisher to terminate your contract for a variety of reasons including (but not limited to) bankruptcy, if you are allegedly involved in plagiarism or defamation (even if untrue), failure to deliver on promised deadlines, and more. This may result in all rights reverting back to the author including any previously sold subsidiary publishing rights, such as foreign rights and audiobooks.
Self-publishing bypasses many of these publishing headaches which may make you seriously consider self-publishing. If you’re not ready to take the plunge yet, there are options for you! Some publishers have come up with hybrid contracts that give authors more control over their manuscript once it’s been published. This is an option for those who are still unsure.
Traditional publishing comes with its own set of pros and cons, too. While you might receive a larger advance from your publisher, you’d also lose a greater percentage of the royalties (60-70% vs 80%). It’s also possible that your book could sit on a bookstore shelf for years without selling a single copy.
Another option is to self-publish digitally or physically and then get representation from an agent at a later date. It’s possible that the publisher may contact you when they discover your book independently published and hope you’ll sell it to them, too! However, you’d need to keep in mind whether or not
If you decide to go through this route, you’ll most likely have to give up some of the rights to your book (and all that hard work) in exchange for a publisher’s marketing dollars. Book contracts typically last between three and five years, and once it is up you’ll have no other legal binding ties with the publisher.
If you choose to self-publish, you don’t necessarily have a say in who edits and markets your book, but you retain all the rights to it.
Book covers are more important than ever; you want to make sure yours is professionally designed and catches readers’ attention. Author websites can be used as a marketing tool for self-publishing authors as well, and there’s an opportunity to be more creative with the design if you’re not boxed into a certain number of words or pages. Book blurbs are also important because they give readers an idea of what your book is about and the tone it takes. Book blurbs can make or break sales, so they should be crafted carefully!
And how do you find a reputable publisher/agent if you want to go the traditional route? One of the best places to start is by looking up agents/publishers in the Book Publishers Directory. There are a lot of other sites, too – including your local library!
Remember: publishing a book takes time and perseverance. So many authors want their books out there for sale, but they give up after one rejection letter or because they can’t find a publisher/agent. Book publishers receive thousands of manuscripts every year, so you have to be persistent! Book publishing is not a race. It’s more like an obstacle course and everyone has to do it on their own timetable.
What to Consider When Deciding Between Traditional vs. Self-Publishing
1. Write a Book People Want to Read About
Publishing isn’t all about the authors, though – readers have to want it too! Have you written a book that follows what publishers/agents and readers are looking for? Have you done your research and made sure your book is full of well-written content with an interesting plot/concept?
Book publishing is hard work and it takes more than just a great idea. Book Marketing Services will help you find the right readers for your book, but if they don’t know about it in the first place… you’ll be hard-pressed to get sales. Believe it or not, self-publishing is still an ‘old school’ process that involves writing a book people want to read and then letting the readers know about it.
How can you write a book that people want to read? It comes down to giving your readers the content they’re looking for. In order to do this, it’s important not just what type of books or genre but also who is reading them and how old are they. One way of knowing which types of material will be popular among different groups is by doing market research in advance before publishing anything at all.
First, start by writing a book that will appeal to your target audience. Look at market trends and see if this is the right time to write what you’re thinking of writing. Research the content, people, and resources that will make your book unique and knowledge-packed.
Prepare for a long process of writing and editing. Once you’ve finished the main part of writing, don’t rush to publish it yourself – get someone else to proofread it! And no, spell check isn’t enough! The smallest errors can be a major turn-off for readers.
A book without good editing can ruin your reader’s experience. A bad cover or title can trick them into thinking it’s not what they’re looking for, and none of that “finding the right audience” business I mentioned will really work if you have a book with no legs to stand on!
Once you’ve published your book, don’t stop there! Seek out ways to spread the word by connecting with people and online communities who are interested in what you have to say.
That’s right! All it takes are three simple steps: to recap first, find topics that interest you or your audience; second, write consistently and passionately for the duration of time necessary to produce quality content; finally—and again, this is the most important part–publish regularly with an established publishing company so readers will have access. Now don’t think I’m telling you anything new here but just because we’ve been doing it since forever doesn’t make these pointers any less valuable as they’re still applicable today more than ever before!
2. What Do You Want From Book Publishing?
What are your goals for publishing a book? Do you want to become an author, or do you just hope the process will help grow and develop your company’s brand as well as provide new opportunities in marketing?
This question applies to any part of the process: self-publishing or traditional publishing. Think about the length of time it will take and how much work you’re willing to put into marketing your book. Book publishing is a business, so be sure to do your research first!
Book writing takes hours upon hours of dedication and then the self-publishing or traditional route can take even longer. Book Marketing Services like BestsellingBook.com specializes in helping authors like you, so you’ll be able to get the help you need during each stage of the book publishing process.
Those who don’t want anything from their publisher, they can choose self-publishing. Those looking for a traditionally published work should know that this is an option in addition to other types of publishers such as university presses and small local imprints. Regardless of what type of company or person publishes your novel, make sure you get some form of compensation before sending away any rights!
3. Pros and Cons of Traditional Publishing vs Self Publishing
You have two choices for publishing a book. You can work with established, traditional publishers who will offer you an advance and royalties (they make money when your book sells), or you can self-publish by paying fees to publish the book yourself. With traditional publishing, your promotion and visibility are promoted a great deal by the publisher and marketing team. With self-publishing, you are your own promoter and must push the book out to potential readers yourself.
Traditional publishing has its advantages: traditional publishers have extensive distribution and are able to get your book into traditional brick-and-mortar stores such as Barnes & Noble or Walmart; traditional publishers can afford to hire the best editors, designers, and marketers. There’s a lot of prestige that comes with traditional publication. For some authors, traditional publishing is the only option because traditional publishers won’t accept work that has previously been self-published.
On the other hand, traditional publications can delay publication for a long time (9 months to two years) and you have little control over content, covers, prices, and distribution. You’ll also receive an advance payment when your book is accepted, but then you earn royalties on your sales. It can be difficult to get traditional publishers to accept previously self-published works because they don’t want it to look like you took the traditional path after failing in the self-published world.
Now, Self-publishing also has its advantages: you set your own terms, schedule, and prices; you maintain copyright ownership of your work; you decide when to publish and can get it out quickly.
However, you will have a lot of responsibility for managing the book: traditional publishers are responsible for the distribution, marketing, paying sales taxes, reporting income, and paying royalties. You’ll also need a book design, which can get expensive. There’s no traditional distribution, so it’ll be up to you to find your audience and reach them.
Again, there are many benefits to traditional publishing: book marketing, distribution channels, and brand recognition. However, there are also some downsides too- often authors have less control over their book’s content which can be negative if they want more creative input in what is published. Self Publishing has its own set of advantages such as being able to promote your work yourself without relying on external parties but it does come with drawbacks like not having access to these important resources that a publisher would offer you.
For every author deciding whether or not to self-publish vs going through traditional publishers, there will always be pros and cons each way so it really just depends on personal preference!
4. What to consider when deciding which route to take
There are a lot of questions and debates over traditional publishing vs self-publishing. For many, traditional publishing seems to be the goal but there are those who would choose self-publishing. Whichever path you may want to pursue, keep in mind that traditional publishers do not accept manuscripts that are formatted poorly. You can prepare it professionally or hire someone to professionally format it.
Do you live in a traditional publishing house or self-publishing?
How long does traditional publishing take to get published? A traditional publisher can recognize your talent and may offer you an advance for your book but it may take years before that book becomes a reality on the market. It takes time to edit and publish a book. You may be asked to do revisions which may also make it take longer.
You could go to traditional publishers with the idea of self-publishing and traditional publishing will accept your book. An example is if a traditional publisher offers you an advance for your first book, but you already have the books available for sale online or at local bookshops as traditional publishers will not publish something that is already available for sale somewhere else.
If traditional publishers are given your book to read, they will consider it as a traditional publisher’s project and you may find yourself having to look into self-publishing just because traditional publishers do not follow up on their word of accepting books. This can take years before a traditional publisher makes the book available in the market.
Self-publishing usually takes less time to publish a book than traditional publishers would take. But traditional publishers have more credibility for your future books and you may find it harder to sell self-published books if traditional publishers reject your work. There is the chance that traditional publishers will not accept or even read through your manuscript, but if traditional publishers do accept your manuscript it has a better chance for success.
Self-published books may have credibility issues, traditional publishing is more reliable in the fact that traditional publishers will follow up on their words and you can work with traditional publishers to publish multiple books instead of just one book.
Traditional publishers may take time to publish your book, but traditional publishers will give you a chance to work with them for multiple books. What traditional publishers offer is more opportunities and once published traditional publishing does not require the author to keep looking for another publisher after that. In fact, traditional publishers expect authors who have worked with traditional publishing for years to look for traditional publishing for their next book.
For traditional publishers, self-publishing can be looked at as a traditional publisher’s project and traditional publishers expect the author to look for traditional publishing instead of the traditional publisher pursuing you. This is because traditional publishers are used to working with authors who have been published by other traditional publishing houses before they are accepted.
The choice to go with traditional publishing or self-publishing is an important decision for any author. It can be difficult determining which route will work best and what success rates are like, but each type of publication has its own advantages and disadvantages that should be considered before making a final decision on the matter.
5. The Benefits of Self-publishing vs Traditional publishing
Some might consider the publishing world a one-sided affair, but you’ll find that there are two very different avenues to explore when it comes time for your work to be produced. These days self-publishing is the buzzword among writers. With blogs, social networking sites, and online media taking the forefront today with regards to marketing, one writer or publisher can easily promote their work using these tools by themselves.
Publishing houses on the other hand would have to do a lot more traditional marketing before their book would sell. Traditional publishing does however take care of approvals and other such legal issues so self-publishing is not for everyone.
Self-publishing has become easier today than it ever was in the past due to the internet. The benefits of self-publishing benefits of traditional publishing today are many. The benefits can be listed as follows:
1. Control
One enjoys complete control over one’s own work with self-publishing and has a lot more freedom in what you want to write or sell, coupled with the benefits of self-publishing. One of the benefits of traditional publishing is that it is not restricted to the publisher’s format and designs.
2. Costs and Profit
The costs involved in self-publishing are a lot less than what one pays a publisher, with self-publishing even initial setup costs can be done by oneself.
When it comes to self-publishing, the biggest benefit will be that you get to keep all the royalties on your work while with a publisher you have to go by the royalty contract that you sign when you are published.
3. Speed
Another important benefit of self-publishing is the speed with which your book will be published, unlike when you go for a publisher, where you have to wait months or even years for your manuscript to be published. When you self-publish, you can have a book ready within days or weeks.
Meanwhile, the benefits of traditional publishing can be listed as follows:
- Recognition
If you are looking for recognition, traditional publishing will be the right choice for you. Traditional publishers have a greater presence than most self-published authors. Also with a publisher, you have more access to the benefits of traditional publishing to market your book like a traditional publisher and covers all aspects benefits of self-publishing, including the marketing aspect and promoting your book for you.
- Understanding
The benefits of traditional publishing are that you have an editor and a publisher to guide you in the best possible way as they also know how the readers will react to your work and can help you in making changes here and there.
And so, in the end…
It really is up to the author whether they want to choose the self-publishing method or the traditional publishing method for their book. Only you have the power to publish your own book. You can do it on your own or hire out a company like BestsellingBook.com who will help with all of the heavy lifting for you, from editing and publishing to marketing and distribution. It’s up to you as an author whether you want to take this route or go down the traditional path that requires more time but is potentially less expensive and risky in today’s changing world of books. Whatever choice you make, we hope these tips help get your brain thinking about how writing content translates into sales success online!
