Tags
#AtoZChallenge, #AuthorToolboxBlogHop, A to Z Challenge 2018, A-Z Blogging Challenge, guest post, Iola Goulton, Publishing, Publishing Industry, publishing tips, self-publishing
P is for Publishing.
*This post has moved to a new home: http://www.ronelthemythmaker.com/the-pros-and-cons-of-traditional-and-self-publishing/
Ronel the Mythmaker 
Great summary of the pros and cons.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for stopping by, Iain 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Iain. Let me know if you have any questions 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great post 🙂
I want to self publish, because when I worked in traditional publishing for a couple of weeks last year it was disheartening from an author perspective. I hated the idea of not designing my own cover, or that I may have to cut diverse characters to fit a market. They also made it very clear how little authors earn from them: Royalties at Penguin were about 8-12% of RRP and the agent takes commission on royalties too.
With the large variety of ways to self publish and market books it just makes sense to do it myself 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
Absolutely. It took a while for me to get to that point too. Now I’m a happy indie author 🙂
Oh, my audiobook for my Afrikaans anthology got published yesterday! It feels great to look at Goodreads and see the different editions of one book. Now to do the same with the English version 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Congratulations, that’s awesome 😀 Did you record the audio yourself, or outsource it?
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks. I used Audioshelf — a company here in South Africa. I’m very happy with what they did. I don’t have the patience to record stuff — tried it in my teens when I had strange aspirations 😉
LikeLiked by 1 person
Diversity is a rising trend with readers, and a rising issue with publishers. Going indie may be the best way to serve those markets (because “diverse” is lots of markets, most of them non-traditional).
LikeLiked by 2 people
Thank you for the breakdown, Iola. I had no idea what all was involved when I began my journey. Have a lovely rest of your day ladies 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for stopping by, Erika 🙂
LikeLike
Yes, there is a lot involved!
I read one quote not long after I started on this journey. I can’t remember the exact wording, but this is the gist of it:
“To be a successful author, you need to write, publish, and market. Of these, the publishing is the easiest.”
So those of us who aren’t rich or famous enough to have a ghostwriter and our own PR team need to do the hard yards of writing and marketing. If I’m doing the hard work, a publisher needs to be able to offer something I truly can’t do on my own. Otherwise, what’s the point?
LikeLiked by 2 people
Very well put 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Very interesting, thanks Ronel & Iola.
A-Zing this year at:
FictionCanBeFun
Normally found at:
DebsDespatches
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for stopping by, Debs 🙂
LikeLike
This is the first year I’ve come across the A-Z challenge. I love the concept, and I’ve enjoyed many of the posts. Maybe I’ll do it myself next year!
LikeLiked by 2 people
Looking forward to it 🙂
LikeLike
So much to think about here. Thanks for putting it all together.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for stopping by, Kristina 🙂
LikeLike
You’re welcome, Kristina!
LikeLiked by 2 people
This is a great summary of the pro’s and con’s. I learned from your post. I have chosen self-publishing for the freedom and control aspects, but I must admit, it would be good someday to have the marketing resources of a publisher supporting my work.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I hear you about the marketing support. I’ve learned a lot from BadRedHead Media’s 30 Day Book Marketing Challenge — Rachel did a post earlier this month covering the bases. I hope it helps.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I love Rachel Thompson’s Book Marketing Challenge! I’m working my way through it for the second time. I don’t have a book published, so not all the tasks are relevant, but it’s a good way to make sure I’ve got my online presence sorted.
The marketing would definitely be a reason to consider traditional publishing – especially the distribution – i.e. actually getting the book in store, rather than just listing it on Amazon.
LikeLiked by 2 people
I’m both traditionally published and I self-published two books to see how the experience was. I find I like the traditional publishing better for many of the pros you listed above–it’s just less work for me and often those publishers have a much wider reach publicity-wise than I could accomplish on my own.
However, one thing I learned from self-publishing–there’s a lot of little details that traditional publishers will try to tell you that are simply not true. Any person who has done both will be able to spot these fibs right away. Once authors know how publishing works from the inside, it’s hard to pull the wool over their eyes.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for sharing your insight, Megan 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks for that perspective, Megan. I think publishing traditionally could be a great way to build a platform and an audience. I suspect hybrid authors like you have the best of both worlds.
I’d love to read a blog post on the fibs traditional publishers have told you!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Great thorough summary. It seems in talking to writers that even with an offer of traditional publishing, self-pub might be a better choice. For all the reasons you’ve mentioned.
LikeLiked by 1 person
I agree.
Randy Ingermanson posted about this a couple of days ago. He basically said you’ll have to sell five times more books through a traditional publisher to make the same amount you’d make as an indie.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Looks that way. Thanks for stopping by, Jacqui 🙂
LikeLike
I learned so much working with publishers that I’d never trade it for anything. To each their own…
Anna from elements of emaginette
LikeLiked by 1 person
I guess one of the eternal problems of learning is that we don’t know what we don’t know. Working with a traditional publisher would cover a lot of the gaps we don’t even know we have. I’m glad you’ve had such good experiences with traditional publishing.
LikeLiked by 2 people
Indeed. Thanks for stopping by, Anna 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Excellent, Ronel.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Jennie 🙂
LikeLiked by 2 people
You’re welcome! 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Jennie 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
“You control the marketing.” That’s the part that scares me. That and the formatting and cover. I wouldn’t mind self-publishing. But there is much for me to learn–and I’m terrified. Thanks for the insight.
http://victoriamarielees.blogspot.com
LikeLiked by 1 person
I think that’s the bit that scares most authors!
LikeLiked by 1 person
if you join a group on Facebook for indie authors they will help point you in the right direction. Like anything – you need to do your research. Like ask around for ‘who do you recommend as a cover designer/editor…’? Then check out the covers designed by the person or ask the editor to do a 5 page sample … it is like getting married. You don’t want to make a mistake!
LikeLiked by 1 person
He-he. Love the analogy 🙂 Thanks for stopping by.
LikeLike
It is absolutely terrifying. I jumped in this year and I’m learning new stuff every day. Thanks for stopping by 🙂
LikeLike
For me, I always wanted the help of traditional publishers. Also, I couldn’t afford to do everything myself. i still can’t. Great, in-depth info. I love that you pointed out that even seemingly perfect books still have errors. Editors are human, too.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for stopping by, Chrys 🙂
LikeLike
What a great list of the pros and cons! Thanks for sharing 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
You’re welcome. Thanks for stopping by, Hoda 🙂
LikeLike
You’re welcome!
LikeLiked by 1 person
Congratulations on your audiobook publishing, Ronel. And thank you both for this great post. There is a lot of information here. Iola, you did an amazing job going through the pros and cons. I am still unsure which route I am pursuing, but at least I will be well informed on my path.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks, Erika 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks, Erika! I think the only bad decision is vanity publishing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for the time you put into this. Gives a lot of info, and a lot to think about.
Stu
Tale Spinning
https://stuartnager.wordpress.com/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for stopping by 🙂
LikeLike
You’re welcome, Stu. I hope it helps in your thinking process!
LikeLiked by 2 people
My traditional publisher went belly up, but even by that time, I’d seen the writing (pun) on the wall and decided to go the self-publishing route. A traditional publisher does a lot for you, but the royalty is laughable, and you’re only visible the month the book comes out.
50% of my time is now marketing, but I have control, I set my own schedule, I know what I’m doing, and I’ve met amazing people on line.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for sharing your experience, Cheryl 🙂
LikeLike
Unfortunately a lot of traditional publishers have disappeared in recent years, and many have left authors out of pocket. I hope you still learned plenty from the experience that you’re able to use as you self-publish.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Chrys, I think it’s a decision each author has to make for themselves, based on their own skills, and perhaps their genre. The only bad decision is vanity publishing.
LikeLiked by 1 person
The question of which route to go in regards to publishing is definitely an interesting one, and a very personal one.
I’ve known some who’ve advocated that “if your story is really potent, and has great potential, that’s the one that stands the best chance of making it through the various ‘guardians’ (literary agent, publishing house readers/editors, etc.),” while others think “the story that has the greatest appeal has the greatest potential for profit, so that is the one you want to self-publish.”
LikeLiked by 1 person
In many ways I think the choice has more to do with the author than the story itself. I think some authors are more suited to the greater level of multi-tasking required when self-publishing, while others really long for that greater network of formalized support and guidance which comes with traditional publication.
I definitely think most jump in without knowing all the facts.
For example, I recently attended a talk where one established author told us “If you choose self-publishing, that’s fine, but understand that if you self-publish, and the story does not perform well, that will hinder any future efforts submitting to traditional literary agents and publication houses. Most audiences won’t know about the story, but the professionals will, and they will see that as evidence that “you”, the author, are a poor investment.”
As they say, we only get one first impression, and it’s important to make sure we use it wisely.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Thanks for stopping by, Adam.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Iola, you got me there. I read your name eye-ola. 🙂 Great article! Thank you so much. Despite the cons of traditional publishing, I think many of us still want to be published by the likes of Penguin Random House because of the (real or perceived) prestige. I am self-publishing now because of the pros of independent publishing (and fortunately, with the means to finance the dream). Having Ronel in my life is such a blessing. She is God-sent! Or, I should be paying her a retainer for the regular help she extends to me. 🙂
LikeLiked by 1 person
He-he. I enjoy helping you, Anne 🙂 Check out Louise’s posts on working at Penguin Random House — it was a real eye-opener. https://dragonspireuk.wordpress.com/2017/07/18/what-i-learned-from-work-experience-in-publishing-meta-data-and-keywords-for-book-marketing-authortoolboxbloghop/
LikeLiked by 1 person
Aw, thanks so much, Ronel. I really appreciate you. I will read the posts. 😊🤗
LikeLiked by 1 person
Pingback: Expectations and Realisations #AtoZReflections 2018 | Ronel the Mythmaker
Pingback: A Collection of Helpful Posts #AuthorToolboxBlogHop | Ronel the Mythmaker
Pingback: Running Your Author Empire #AuthorToolboxBlogHop | Ronel the Mythmaker