There’s a big difference between choosing to publish traditionally than there is to self-publish. I have listed a few pros and cons that should help you choose.

Traditional:

Pros:

• You have a chance of seeing your work in a lot of stores, especially the big name bookstores.
• It isn’t as costly to publish, but it does come out of your sales.

 

Cons:

• You have to market yourself. The publishing company is putting their faith in you when it comes to marketing your work. They’re making money off of this, too!
• You have to sign a contract. If your work isn’t selling, your contract will be forfeit. Your publisher will drop you.
• Publishers pay you 15-30% royalties.
• Agents charge you at least 15-20%.
• Not all publishers give you an advance. If they do, you don’t get paid till your books earn every penny the publisher gave you in your advance.
• If you publish one book with a publisher in one genre, then write another book in a different genre, you may have to find a different publisher for that second book as your publisher may only publish a certain genre.
• It takes a year, up to three years to get your work published.
• If you queried an agent, it make take weeks or months for them to respond. Then it takes longer to read and edit your work. Then it takes even longer for them to find the right publisher for you and to get said publisher to accept your work.
• You may have to change your story, plot, characters.
• You don’t get the say in the formatting, cover design, pricing.
• You may not get to publish your book the way you want such as paperback, hardback, audio, and ebook. Sometimes, you are only able to publish one or two of those styles.

 

Self-Publishing:

Pros:

• You are your own boss. No contracts.
• You set your own prices. You can also decide when to put everything on sale.
• Sort of a pro and a con… If you want to see your books in a bookstore, you have to pay (a small fee) to use a certain service. If you want to see your books in the big name bookstores, you will have to write up a press release, requesting your work be placed on their shelves.
• You can publish whatever genre you want, using whatever self-publishing service you want. Granted, there is a limit to publishing EVERYTHING.
• It takes 3-12 days to have your work published, depending on the length of your manuscript, formatting, etc.
• You get to choose your cover design – hire a professional, unless you are the professional.
• You are paid 35-80% in royalties (Amazon will pay you 35% if your book is priced below $2.99, but will pay you 70% if it’s $2.99 or above.)
• If you choose not to be an author anymore, you don’t have to wait on a contract to end, you can cancel your books at any time.
• You can publish your book the way you like; ebook, paperback, audio, hardback. Plus, you can choose the size of the book.

Cons:

• You market everything yourself, as if you weren’t already. You don’t make money if you don’t market your work.
• Self-Publishing has a bit of a bad name to it, some people think that your work will be rubbish and not bother giving you a chance. You have to show them that they’re wrong.
• You have to spend a little bit more out of pocket for services, such as editing, cover design, formatting, but you can budget yourself on this. Pro: I’ve learned to format my own work to save me money. It isn’t that hard. You can do your own cover design if you are very familiar with Photoshop and your cover designs look really good.

 

Hopefully I have answered some of your questions. If I missed something, message me. You can find me on Facebook. I am working on making some Youtube videos to share my writing/publishing journey with everyone.

If you haven’t already, check out my webpage: www.twistedcrowpress.com

Cheers,

JA