No matter how you do it, getting your book to publication is hard! But there are different things that can be hard about each way of getting there, and you want to play to your strengths. Last month, we covered the advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing. So today we’re here to talk about these same questions for going the more traditional route.
Pros of Working with a Publisher
When building an authorial career, there’s nothing quite like working with a big-five publisher. They have a lot to offer! Well, okay. They have a few things to offer because ultimately they’re a business, but those things are very important:
Lower Initial Costs
We’re not here to hide it: self-publishing costs money. Every aspect that you want a professional point of view on is going to cost you. With traditional publishing, there are significantly fewer steps before the publisher takes on the risk with their own in-house professional teams for cover design, editorial, marketing and more. In fact, you’re likely to take on a little money yourself before the book has even made it to market. So if you don’t have any spare cash to get your authorial career started, traditional publishing may be the right choice for you.
The Prestige
There’s a certain amount of cache that comes with being able to say that you have written a book that’s being published by one of the big five. With it comes respect and opportunities that are rarely afforded by self-publishing authors like selling the film options for your work, appearing on bestseller lists, having a built-in audience for your novel. It’s almost like a fairytale. And, damnit, you deserve to feel like royalty for having written a novel. It’s true! That is really hard.
Simplicity in Distribution
When working with a publisher, there are a lot of choices you simply won’t have to make. Like where to sell your book or how large of a first printing to order or if you should choose an exclusive platform to boost return on investment. For some authors, this may be emblematic of the lack of control in the details of their novel, but for others it’s a small slice of freedom.
Fewer Barriers to Continued Success
The barrier to initial success when seeking an agent and publisher is insanely high. Even if you get signed, there’s still a chance your book will never see the light of day. It’s one of the biggest differences between self and traditional publishing. But from the moment you sign a contract with your publisher, the barrier to success decreases dramatically on your first work and every piece you write for the rest of your life. By proving you have made it through the gates once, you’re likely to be picked up that much more quickly even if you change agents or publishers down the line.
Cons of Working with a Publisher
Working with a traditional publisher is a real opportunity for you as an author. But as a single entity, they just can’t provide you with the resources for every stop of your journey. That’s what fills in our disadvantages:
Less Support Starting Out
Once you’re in the system working with a publisher, you’re golden. You have an entire team of experts in every aspect of bringing a book to life. But until then, you’re out in the cold writing on your own with little feedback from reliable sources. When self-publishing, knowing you’re going to have to build that network of support from the beginning can give you a leg-up by being able to start early and having continuity throughout your book writing process.
The Power Dynamic
The submission process is brutal. In order to make it as an author in a traditional publishing atmosphere, you have to be ready to face rejection after rejection with very little (if any) insight into why or how to improve. And this is an intentional business strategy publishers use to retain power in their relationships with authors. By the time you receive a yes, you’re likely to be so beaten into submission by the process that you go along with whatever they offer even if it’s less than you’re worth. As a self-publishing author, you’re the one in control from the beginning by interviewing who you would like on your team and making the final call what from content to marketing to publication.
You May Have Expenses Anyway
Between the lack of support early in your book publishing journey and the intentional lack of feedback during the submission process, there’s a good chance you’ll need to hire an indie editor to help you get an agent. It’s really a shame that the publishing industry has moved from a model of investment in growth of creativity to one hinged on efficiency, but the good news is that an editor worth their salt will have strategies to help you cut costs on your book’s editorial process.
You’re Still Going to Have to Market Your Books
This is the conversation I have with authors that comes with the most surprises time after time. At a publishing house, you’re going to have a marketing team that helps set you up for a strong book launch and will give you access to a lot of assets for marketing your book. But once your first 90 days dry up, you’ll be on your own again, and that timeframe just isn’t enough to build a full authorial career you can support yourself on. So, hopefully you learn some tricks along the way, but you should probably start taking notice of what your self-publishing friends are doing now to help you down the line.
Long Turnaround
When self-publishing your work, the primary limiting factor on timeline will always be yourself. If you want to put out a book quarterly, you can! If you’re wanting more time to sit with the material, you can do that too. And each of these decisions can be made on a case-by-case basis. But publishing companies want predictable schedules and therefore have long lead times. Once you’re acquired, you’ve probably got a year ahead of you before publication. And that isn’t including the time it takes you to write, edit, review, and find an agent.
Fewer Options
Though your first publication will lower your barriers to success in continuing to publish in your current genre, you’ll be limiting your possibilities for future endeavors. It’s likely that your agent and editor will be highly specialized in their focus, which means that you will need to build a whole new team if you choose to write something different or branch off into other mediums. Meanwhile, that team will want to keep publishing more of the same and pressure your time to work on their projects. It’s a good problem to have, but understanding the limitations once you’re on the conveyor belt is important to make sure you’re building the authorial career you want.
Choosing to publish traditionally is an automatic response for many authors. And while there some very deep advantages to being part of that experience, it’s good to understand the disadvantages as well. The most important is for you to have a team to help you when you’re feeling stuck and make sure you get there to the point where you can see your novel in the hands of readers.
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