Traditional Publishing or Self-Publishing?

Note: This is a guest post provided by Paul Taylor. The traditional vs self-publishing debate is one constantly coming up in conversation in the writing world these days. Although I am interested in joining the discussion, the opinions shared in this post are not my own. For more on this topic, I recommend you check out Sheri Andrunyk’s post over at IC Publishing. 

For years, the only way a writer could get published was through traditional publishing methods. However, as writing has evolved so has the publishing industry. Now writers are bypassing more traditional methods and taking publishing into their own hands by self-publishing their works. But is this switch in publishing methods one that you want to make?

Traditional Publishing

In traditional publishing an author will write a manuscript and then begin pitching it to different publishing companies in hopes that one will like the storyline and pick it up to be published. From there it will have to be proofed and edited, usually several times, before going on to publication. The whole process can take several years before the book comes to life.

Pros

1. The quality of your book is usually much higher than those that are self-published because it sees more than one set of eyes. This makes it easier to pick up on mistakes.
2. You have the help of the publishing company when it comes to getting your book distributed to book stores.
3. It’s cheaper to get your book published because the publisher pays for manufacturing while the author is in charge of marketing the book.

Cons

1. It can be a very lengthy process, as most publishing companies have at least a six month backlog on the manuscripts they have that need to be read, and such a high volume of novels can make getting yours to stand out difficult.
2. The royalties made on book sales are not very high, and usually fall into the 10% range with the rest going to the publishing company.
3. Your book becomes the property of the publisher and is no longer owned by you.

Self-Publishing

If traditional publishing doesn’t seem like a good fit for you, then there is also the option to self-publish your book. In self-publishing it is up to you to write the book, proofread and edit it, come up with the book’s title, design the cover, copyright the material, get an ISBN number, and then find a printer to print up however many copies of the book you want. It’s a very time-consuming process that requires a large amount of drive and initiative to help the book come to fruition.

Pros

1. You control every aspect of the process instead of relinquishing all of your rights to a publishing company.
2. The process can move as quickly or as slowly as you want it to.
3. Anyone can self-publish a book, so you don’t have to worry about competing with other authors who are vying for publication from the same publishing company.

Cons

1. The process can be very expensive up front, and if you don’t have the funds it can be near impossible.
2. Because it doesn’t go through a publishing company the quality of the content varies greatly, and books that have poor content can still become published.
3. It can be hard to achieve high success rates on your own.

Each publishing method has a variety of pros and cons that accompany them, and it really depends on what you, as the author, want from your experience to determine which route you take.

Author Bio: Paul and his wife Julie both spend quite a bit of time coming up with ideas, blogging, and researching all things related to childcare. They take care of all the necessary information related to “sitters”. He  personally think his blog will help finding information on all things related to a babysitter.