Should You Go the Traditional or Self-Publishing Route?
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There’s no one right way to publish. Self-publishing (a.k.a. indie or independent) is just as legitimate as traditional publishing, and it’s been going on a lot longer than you might think. Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol was self-published, just as an example. So was Andy Weir’s The Martian. But just because you can, does that mean you should? And there are some interesting grey areas too. For instance, hybrid publishing. Hybrid basically means you do both, and lots of writers have done this. I’m personally a big fan of this route and hope to pursue it next year. In the end, though, every writer needs to make the SIP (should I publish) and HTP (how to publish) decisions for themselves. Below are my thoughts on factors to consider. But first, some real talk.
I Don’t Want to Do That Much Work ~ Yes, people have said this to me in real life. Let’s get this out of the way right now, if you don’t want to work hard, then don’t bother. Don’t bother with publishing, marketing, or even writing because, guess what? It’s all hard. Really, really hard. I “amen” the words of Stephen King like a little, old church lady when he says in his book, On Writing:
“I’ll be as encouraging as possible, because it’s my nature and because I love this job. I want you to love it, too. But if you don’t want to work your ass off, you have no business trying to write well—settle back into competency and be grateful you have even that much to fall back on.”
Again, this isn’t meant to be discouraging, but anyone looking to get into the business of writing needs to know it takes a heck of a lot of work. If it’s easy, I don’t know what you’re doing, but you’re doing it wrong.
I Don’t Want to Wait ~ This is a similar issue to not wanting to work very hard, except it’s an exercise in patience. Your book needs time and care. Time to marinate, time for editing (very possibly multiple rounds), time for cover design rounds, the list goes on. And rushing will steal the care your book needs. The fact is, we’re too close to our own work to be objective about it. I know I’ve told this story before, but it bears repeating. During the developmental editing round for Across the Ice, my editor strongly suggested I rewrite the POV for an entire chapter. She felt so strongly about this that she didn’t even offer any feedback on that chapter until I’d made a decision. And she was totally right; the emotional weight of the chapter depended on that change. And it took time. I had to rewrite the chapter, send it back, wait for edits, then do more edits on it. Writing a good book takes a lot of time, so don’t rush it.
A Note on Reasons for Publishing ~ Okay, now that we’ve gotten that out of the way, let’s discuss the whys of the matter. You wrote a book. That’s friggin’ awesome!!! Writing a book is a huge accomplishment, and you deserve a high five 🙌. So why do you want to publish? If you’re looking for validation in publishing, I would encourage you to look elsewhere. One, because you’re already amazing for having finished writing that book in the first place. No one can take that away from you; it is enough that you wrote a book. Two, being a published author comes with its own share of validation-shredding troubles—negative reviews, lack of sales (even when running ads), even suggestions from editors (and, yes, you definitely need an editor). I firmly believe human beings need to find worth in themselves and not have it tethered to what they do. Because what if they suddenly, one day, find themselves unable to do that thing anymore?
Anyway, thirdly—this one might be especially hard to hear—not everything written needs to be published. So let’s get back to why you want to publish. There are lots of reasons to do it and lots of reasons not to. Maybe one day I’ll do a blog entry on that, but let me end this section by saying I caution you against publishing “just to do it” or as a hobbyist. It’s a heck of a lot of work and money to do it well, but, again, in the end the SIP decision is up to you.
I Want to be Rich/Famous/Both ~ Again, yes, people have said this to me before when asking advice on which path to take. Firstly, I think you’re in the wrong business. Yeah, it would be amazing to be set up for life like J.K. Rowling and Stephen King, but let’s face facts. Even if you’re an incredible writer and you pour years’ worth of blood, sweat, and tears into your work, the chance of you becoming a writing megastar is about on par with the chance of you getting hit in the face by a giant meteor. Don’t get me wrong, I fully believe you get out of this business what you put into it (see my paragraph above on working hard), but some people just get lucky too. Right place, right time is a thing that happens, and unfortunately, it’s a thing we can’t control. All that being said, if you want to be famous…
Go traditional.
From a strategic standpoint—that is, just working with the stuff you can control (and even that is specious, in this example)—if you want to be “famous” (I have feelings about that word), then you want to get signed on with one of The Big 5 book publishers: Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House and Simon & Schuster^. And to do that, you’ll need a literary agent. In which case, when querying, look for agents who have sold to those publishing houses before. Specifically, they sold books that did very well^^. But, again, there’s a lot of luck and timing involved, so getting “famous” is basically a losing bet and, honestly, I don’t think getting “famous” is a good reason to be writing in the first place.
^All of these have a bunch of imprints that specialize in specific types of books. I’m speaking generally because the industry is way more complex than I want to (or have time to) get into here today.
^^For more on this process, I direct you to this video by Lindsay Ellis. Yes, it’s long, so I’ve included a breakdown below (all timestamps are approximate).
0:00-8:30 = beginning to getting a literary agent ~ 8:30-11:15 = selling the book ~ 11:15-15:00 = a little bit of rewinding, some misconceptions, her process, how the business works, some history, etc. ~ 15:00-18:25 = the timeline of conception to agent queries to submissions (so much rejection!) ~ 18:25-20:00 = the trunk novel and why she didn’t self-publish (we’re back to putting in the work) ~ 20:00-24:00 = starting over, more revisions, finding inspiration again, and more frustrations ~ 24:00-27:30 = Lindsay gets lucky and more on what will and won’t sell and why ~ 27:30-end = what did we learn?
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I Want a Lot of Help With/Someone to Guide me Through the Process ~ There are so, so many resources out there for indie writers. Podcasts, blogs (like this one), YouTube channels, books, etc. all aimed at helping you self-publish and run that business (yes, to be a self-published author is to own and run your own business). Unfortunately, if you self-publish, that does mean it’s still just you in the end. The hubs is my business partner, yes. We discuss choices I make with my business (a lot). Part of that is because verbal barfing is how I process things, but part of it is also because I trust his judgement. At the end of the day, though, the decisions and labor still rests solely on my shoulders. So in this case, I recommend…
Go traditional (with caveats)
Even traditionally published authors have to juggle a lot of extra responsibilities. Many still have to manage their own social media, market themselves, manage their time, etc. But when you’re traditionally published, you don’t have to go out and find your own editor, cover designer, and book formatter. You don’t have to make choices about where your marketing dollars are being spent or manage your books on different distribution platforms. With traditional publishing, there are people who do all the behind the scenes admin work, copywriters for marketing, advertising managers for ads, PR people for booking appearances. The list goes on. Now, as an indie author, you can hire an author assistant and a PR firm, but you’re the one sourcing, interviewing, hiring, and footing the bill.
I Want to Run My Own Business ~ Are you an aspiring entrepreneur who wants to run a complex, multifaceted business? Then you’re a good candidate to…
Go indie!
I know I’m repeating myself, but I don’t think enough people realize just how much work goes into self-publishing—I know I didn’t when I first started. If you think all it takes is to throw your book up on Amazon and walk away, then I have some disappointing news for you (she said, shaking her finger at her younger self). Over a million books were published on Amazon last year.
Over. A. Million. That’s over 2,700 new books being published per day.
Self-publishing has boomed in the last decade, which has had some great effects. But it also means there’s more competition than ever. Again, not trying to be a downer. Just trying to be honest. So if you like the idea of running the show all yourself (meaning taxes, marketing, booking, planning, budgeting, hiring, etc.), then indie is the way to go. And speaking of running the show yourself…
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I Want More Creative Control ~ This is one of the other huge trade-offs with indie vs. traditional. Traditional has the advantage of taking on a lot of the aforementioned tasks for you. Hooray! But they also make most of the creative decisions. A lot traditionally published of authors don’t have control over how their books are marketed, the cover design, etc. If those are deal breakers for you…
Go indie (but read my notes below).
Just remember, you being in control doesn’t mean you’re always right or that you know all the things. A good cover designer, for instance, will know what goes into an effective sci-fi cover. And not just that, a good sci-fi space opera cover vs. military sci-fi. Cover design is a language all on its own. Generally speaking, a reader should be able to look at your cover and tell what kind of book it is^^^. Romance covers are one of the best examples of this because they all follow a pretty standard format. But maybe you want to do something different. Maybe you think that’ll make you stand out. Eeeeeeeh. Maybe don’t. That really only works when you have name recognition behind you. Diana Gabaldon’s Outlander series is a good example of this. Her covers nowadays don’t follow the typical romance cover formula, but that’s because she’s well known enough now that she doesn’t need as much help in the recognition department. You know what the original cover for Outlander looked like? Like this.
Pretty stinkin’ romance-y. There’s even a heart right on the cover! And cover design trends change, but we’ll discuss that in the next blog entry. For now, just understand that while, yes, as an indie, you have creative control, you need to listen to the well-trained, knowledgeable people you hire. Yes, yes, I know. This is art, art is subjective. Are you going to take every suggestion from your editor? No. But should you give serious consideration to every single one of their change suggestions? Yes. You’re paying people good money for professional expertise, so be sure to listen to what your hired experts have to say.
Also, just so everyone’s clear, creative control doesn’t mean total control. Lolz, total control (that is, control over every single, individual piece) doesn’t exist. Don’t kid yourself.
^^^I said above “generally speaking,” a cover should tell a reader what kind of book it is. There are some exceptions to this… sort of. Certain genres are a little more loosey-goosey. Steampunk happens to be one of those. Oh yes, there are pieces that act as shorthand for readers—the word “steam” being somewhere in the title, gears, clocks, keys, etc.—but beyond that, the covers within my preferred genre are pretty different, and the same might be true of yours. It’s important that you too be educated about cover design trends, especially as they change, since you are the one responsible for making sure your cover design is current. An easy way to do this is to look at the covers for the bestselling books in your genre as of today, and the covers for books coming out in about a year by the bestselling authors in your genre.
This is all just the tip of the iceberg, but it’s a good starting point. Just remember not to rush into any decision you make. Take time to think over all the options, weigh the pros and cons, and talk to as many people in the business as you can. Writing conferences are a great place to ask questions; authors and other industry professionals are usually happy to help. Just be sure to be considerate of their time. Or you can always try to reach out on their website. Granted, that one is a little tougher, but you won’t know unless you try. As always, if you have any questions or comments for me, feel free to leave them below in the comments👇.
Thanks for reading!
Next Time’s Entry: Where to Skimp and Where to Invest in Self-Publishing.
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