Traditional vs. self-publishing – which should you choose?

Once you’ve written your book, and you’ve gone through the necessary rounds of editing and beta reading, you’ll inevitably find yourself standing at a crossroads. A sign pointing down one road reads ‘traditional publishing,’ and the other says ‘self publishing’. Which path do you take?

As you might expect, there’s no single right answer. To decide which type of publication is right for you, the most important thing to reflect upon is your own personality and how you operate. Are you the type of person who loves to work with a team, or do you prefer to have creative freedom and control over all aspects of your project? Are you someone who wants to deal with all the nitty-gritty, or would you rather have someone else handle it and let you focus on writing that sequel?

The traditional publishing route

Perhaps the biggest advantage of traditional publishing is that you won’t be alone on the journey. It doesn’t mean you can just put your feet up and never check your email again — it’s just that you’ll be working alongside others, and your book will become part of a much larger machine. A publisher will handle the printing and distribution, and they may have existing pipelines that can streamline the process of getting your book into both digital or physical marketplaces. They’ll have both the industry knowledge and the connections that will save you from having to learn everything on the fly.

Having a specific publisher’s label can also provide your title with some prestige: fans of certain genres or series often look within that same publishing house in hopes of finding their next favourite read. Traditional publishing means that you can expect fresh eyes to come across your book — whether in store or online — completely separate from your own marketing efforts.

However, all this creates a different challenge altogether: you have to get your foot in the door first! You’ll have to think about your own brand and what you’re looking for in a publisher. Many publishers will have a specific philosophy and closely curate their catalogue, so make sure you take the time to research the publishers out there before you start blasting off emails in every direction. Even a small independent publisher can often receive thousands of submissions a year, let alone one of the big names! Most of the larger publishers also won’t take submissions directly, which means you’ll have to secure representation from a literary agent first.

Once you manage to get your foot in the door, your publisher will set writing deadlines, edit your story, commission your cover, and expect you to participate in marketing activities of their choosing. After all your hard work, the publication timeline will be up to your publisher, and it could get pushed back for reasons beyond your control. Inevitably, going with traditional publishing means relinquishing some control in exchange for the benefits.

The self-publishing route

Of course, if you’re the type of person who likes riding solo, everything above might just sound like your worst nightmare! In that case, self-publishing will offer you far more control over your book’s publication process. You’ll get to set your own standards and make all the key decisions yourself. Even if you don’t want to do all the work alone, you still get to hand pick who you work with. For example, if you know a brilliant artist with a distinctive art style, you might wish to commission them to help you create a book cover that sets your novel apart from the others on the shelf.

This is the biggest benefit of self publishing: you get to have full, creative autonomy over your own project. Maybe your novel’s plot revolves around a Christmas conspiracy — you might want to launch it in the holiday season in order to capitalise on everyone’s festive holiday spirit. A creative approach to marketing your book — one that sets it apart from the thousands of novels coming from known publishers — could be what piques a reader’s curiosity and introduces them to your unique sense of style and storytelling.

On the other hand, having this level of control over the whole process means exactly that: you have to spearhead the entire process yourself! Instead of just handing over the printing, distributing, and advertising to your publisher (and also having them foot the bill for it all), you’ll have to be the one to do so. If you don’t have much time or money to invest, you might find it challenging to print and sell copies of your book through this path. Also, if you’re not careful, the cost (both monetary and time) of self publishing can quickly add up.

Of course, if your books sell well, there is a financial benefit of self-publishing, too. Instead of watching your publisher take the lionshare of the money from each sale (this is often, but not always, the case), and then having to share some of your earnings with your literary agent, you’ll get to keep all the profit yourself. For more financial risk at the outset, there is a higher potential reward.

The key takeaway

So before you embark down either path, take a moment and think about your own wants and needs. Do you want industry professionals to handle your distribution and marketing, or do you have a clear creative vision of how you want to sell your book? Do you have the budget and risk appetite to finance your book yourself and reap the potential rewards, or are you happy to share the profit in exchange for the security of working with a publisher?

Your answer to these questions should guide you towards one of these two paths. While this is definitely a big decision, it’s also important to realise that both routes will have their challenges. Like all things in life, there will likely be unexpected disruptions and roadblocks that occur along the way. When those pesky annoyances inevitably come up, it’s important to slow down, take a deep breath, and remember that you’re still headed in the right direction.