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Self-Publishing Versus Traditional Publishing: Pros And Cons For Leaders To Consider

CEO at MindStir Media, an award-winning self-publishing company. Visit MindStir Media to self-publish a book.

Whether you’re a storyteller looking to share the next great work of fiction or a businessperson sharing advice in a book, publishing can unlock many doors.

But the tides are changing in the publishing industry—no longer do traditional publishers have a chokehold on publication. Leveraging my experience as a USA Today bestselling author, I'd like to weigh in on both avenues to publishing your book.

Traditional Publishing

Traditional publishing is when you work with a mainstream publisher to handle the creative process and distribution of your book. Traditional publishing typically pays an advance and royalties.

The pro to traditional publishing is that you will gain more connections and an enhanced distribution network. Traditional publishers are heavyweights in the publishing industry. If you land a traditional book deal, the publisher will use its connections to schedule interviews and events and help distribute your book to bookstores around the country.

That said, remember that traditional publishers have marketing budgets that allocate how many marketing dollars each release gets, so a traditional publishing deal does not guarantee you maximum marketing effort from the resource-confined publisher.

The main con to traditional publishing is you get very little say in the creative process. The traditional route can be frustrating if you’re an author with a vision. Traditional publishers are usually more concerned about telling the story they think will sell than telling your story. Because of this, you might be asked to make changes to a manuscript that you don’t entirely agree with or even accept a cover that you don’t particularly favor.

But another pro is you don’t need a big following to sell many copies. Thanks to the big distribution network of the traditional publisher, an undiscovered author can sell many copies of their book if the publisher is willing to get behind the project. For the select authors who reap this benefit, it can lead to a nice payday.

Overall, you usually need an agent to go this route. Because of this, not everybody can get published by the traditional route. You can have the best manuscript on the planet and most traditional publishers will not even read it unless it is submitted by a literary agent. In theory, these agents should have a nose for talent and want to represent your manuscript if it is, in fact, the best on the planet—but that doesn’t always happen.

There are stories of authors who make millions from self-publishing after being rejected countless times. That’s the biggest problem with literary agents as gatekeepers of traditional publishing: They don't always get it right.

Self-Publishing

Self-publishing means paying an up-front cost for the publication of your book. You have a smaller distribution network behind the book but keep full creative control. In a positive trend, many self-publishing houses are starting to match the offerings of traditional publishers.

The biggest pro is that you have more control over the process. If you want to tell your story, self-publishing is the safest way to ensure you get to do exactly that. When self-publishing, you get full control over the creative process, including cover design, layout and more. You can utilize many resources to aid you if you so choose—such as professional editing, promotional packages and more—but you ultimately have the final say on what your book looks like.

The main con is you pay most of the cost upfront. On paper, this one stings; a traditional publisher pays you while you pay a self-publisher. But before getting lost in that detail, consider this: Self-publishing is more of an investment. It’s a brand-building piece that can also be lucrative in the long run if you’re willing to pony up the initial investment. What makes it so lucrative?

There are significantly better royalties with self-publishing. The average royalty for a traditionally published book is about 10% while self-publishing royalties can reach as high as 75%. That means a traditionally published author is surrendering a good portion of his or her royalties to take advantage of the publisher's marketing and promotional resources. It’s a calculated risk.

This is an opportunity for the self-published author who is not afraid to hustle and generate some of his or her own sales. There are several ways to market your self-published book even if you aren’t a big name in the writing world, from booking speaking engagements to marketing on social media.

A major con is that it is harder to get bookstore visibility. But although getting bookstore visibility for a self-published author is more difficult, it's far from impossible. While bookstores favor books that are recommended by traditional publishers (particularly as part of nationwide campaigns), self-published authors can score bookstore shelf space by putting in the work to make connections, set up signings and promote their books. It’s a more grassroots approach with better royalties as the incentive.

What will you choose?

There’s no right or wrong answer in the debate of self-published versus traditionally published. Instead, it’s more about what makes the most sense for you.


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