How to get published: Self-publishing or traditional publishing?

Hello everyone. I am a children’s book author, blogger and have a Youtube channel for kids. I am also learning illustrations and if I am successful then I might be using my illustrations in my future books. But my journey so far has not been easy. Getting my books published was a big challenge. The biggest dilemma all aspiring authors face is how to get the book published.  “Should I go for traditional publishing or self-publishing?”

Coming from a healthcare field, I jumped into this writing field without much guidance. The internet and various articles by authors were my only guiding light. Now, I am blessed to have 2 books published. So I believe it is time I put forward my experiences and opinions to help aspiring authors. Hopefully, it will help aspiring writers in their publication process.

In my opinion, writing a book is just one-third of the work done.

The second part is the publishing process. 

Third and final part is the post-publishing process.

Each of these phases has its share of struggles and difficulties.

Let’s talk in detail about the pros and cons of the various types of publishing- traditional, self, independent, KDP.

Traditional Publishing

This is probably the oldest publishing style and so goes the name. In this, the manuscript is submitted to a publishing house and the book is published at the publishers expense (if the manuscript gets accepted). The author is paid a certain sum in advance as royalty. And as per the contract, after the advance is adjusted from the book sales, they will be paid a certain percentage of the book price per sale. 

Pros of traditional publishing 

1. No costs involved: The publisher takes care of all the expenses. Writing a book is just a quarter of the work done. After writing, the book goes through several phases such as editing, proofreading, formatting, and clearing legal formalities such as ISBN and copyright. Then comes the printing phase. And last is the marketing and promotions phase. The author doesn’t need to spend on any of this.
2. Availability: Traditional publishers are reputed names and have good presence overall which helps in book sales. Books are listed on almost all online portals and bookstores worldwide. So chances of the book being a bestseller is more here.
3. Extensive promotion: Traditional publishers have budgets for the book launch and various marketing strategies. This extensive promotion gives a good chance for books to have good sales.
4.  Low book price: Traditional publishers print the book in bulk which reduces the cost of the book. This is another big advantage and helps in book sales.
5. Literary awards: Renowned literary awards prefer the books published by traditional publishers. 

Cons of traditional publishing 

1. Decision making: The publisher is investing in the book, so all the decisions are mostly made by them. The author is involved and has a say in decisions. But the publisher has an upper hand after all it is their money at stake. For few authors,  it is an unpleasant experience as the storyline or characters are modified by editors and publishers. So at times, things go out of control for an author. 
2. Long acceptance process: Getting a contract with a traditional publisher is a very hectic and time taking process. A short synopsis is asked for submission.  And most big names require 3-6 months to respond. They also ask the author not to submit their book synopsis to any other publisher during that duration.  As these publishers get numerous manuscripts, they take time to respond. It is also possible that they won’t reply at all. Once that 3-6 months period is over, the author needs to send it to another publisher. And this can continue for months or years. So authors need to be patient with traditional publishers. 
3. Literary agent: For securing a contract with traditional publishers,  an agent is required who would help in the process. This agent should like the author’s work first and then he/she can try getting a contract with traditional publishers. So whenever a deal is secured, a certain percentage goes to the agent for his/ her hard work.
4. Long publishing process: After securing a deal, the whole process till book release may take up to another 1-2 years. Traditional publishers take care of every minute detail and as so much money is at stake, this process takes time.
5. Royalty: Authors are paid a royalty of around 10-20%. New ones are paid somewhere around 10%. While the bestsellers are around 15-20% depending on their negotiation skills and other factors. 
6. Book rights: The publishing company owns the book rights which are not favourable for an author. 

Self-publishing publishers

They are sometimes called vanity publishers or hybrid publishers. In this, the author approaches the publishing company and signs a contract. These publishers take care of all the steps but they need to be paid for everything. There are several packages available from which the author can choose. Packages can be customised as per the author’s needs. 

Pros of self-publishing 

1. Decision making: The author has a say in all the matters related to book publishing as it is his/her money involved. Publishing staff will be there for guidance to aid in decision-making. 
2. Short publishing time: In this, books are published in less time compared to traditional publishing.  Within 2-4 months of signing the contract,  the book is released. 
3. Customised services: The author can decide which services he/she wants. Publishers offer editing, illustrations, proofreading, ISBN, copyright, cover designing, sample copy, author website, promotion, etc. Also, they can hire freelancers if they wish. It’s all as per the author’s wish.
4. No agent: The author doesn’t need to hire an agent for publishing the book. The author directly deals with the publishing company. So all the earnings go undivided to the author’s account. 
5. Book rights: The book rights are with the author which is a big advantage. 

Cons of self-publishing 

1. Limited reach: Most self-publishing companies have limited reach, so the books are released on limited platforms. Online platforms are readily available for release but very few books make it to the bookstores. Some big publishers in this category do manage to get their books listed in bookstores. This is a big disadvantage as the reach of books is limited. 
2. Expensive process: The author needs to pay separately for promotion and gets coverage as per his/her expenditures.  For example,  there are several options to choose from Fb/ Instagram marketing,  video trailers,  YouTube promotion, newspaper advertising, author interviews, etc. 
3. High book price: The biggest disadvantage according to me is the book price. Traditional publishers print the book in bulk quantity which results in lower production costs and thus lower price of the book. Whereas self-publishers don’t want to risk so they print on demand or in small quantities so the printing cost is high. This results in the books becoming a bit expensive. 
4. Literary awards: The most coveted literary awards are mostly for traditionally published books. So even if the book is great, there are fewer chances to get recognition from renowned book awards.

Royalty payments

One point I would like to highlight here which I have never read anywhere.

Self-publishers will flaunt 100% royalty to attract newbies. 

Let’s look at the details. 

Suppose a book price is Rs 200 and the production cost is Rs 120.

If a traditional publisher pays 10% royalty (10% of 200), the author earns Rs 20 per book sale.

If the self-publisher says 100% royalty, will he/she earn Rs 200?????

NO

Book profit is 200-120= Rs 80.

So the author earns Rs 80 per book sale.

Rs 80 is far more than Rs 20 earning. But let’s not forget the author has shelled out far more as an investment. 

In traditional publishing, the author starts earning profit from the very first book sales.

Whereas in self-publishing, the author earns a profit after selling a few hundred or even thousands of copies. 

But for the same book, traditional publishers will have production costs at around Rs 80 and the book price might be around Rs 150. Lower prices will attract more readers.

So even good content might get sidelined due to pricing. 

Independent publishing 

I don’t know what to call this type exactly. But in this, the author completes the manuscript and searches for freelance editors,  proofreaders, and cover designers. After all this, the author will approach a printing company to print and distribute the books. The legal work needs to be handled by the author either on his/ her own or by hiring a lawyer.

The advantage is it can reduce the price of books.

Be it a self-publisher or traditional publisher, they take the services of printing companies for their books. So the publishers take some share and it increases production costs. Going Independent,  there won’t be a publisher to take any share thus reducing production costs. 

The disadvantage is it can be a very big risk and headache for the author. Dealing with so many freelancers and getting the work done can be a big task. 

If the publisher takes money for all the work, it is worth it as co-ordination of so many tasks is a big task.

Also, they have an idea about these things so it would be good to have some guidance ( of course paid).

Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)

All of you must have heard of kindle. It is similar to independent publishing. It is a self publishing platform by Amazon where authors can publish their books. It is growing in popularity and numerous authors are choosing this. But this too has its pros and cons. Let’s check them out.

Pros of KDP

1. No literary agent: There is no need for any literary or marketing agent in this.
2. No expenses : Author doesn’t need to shell out any money in this. There are options to design the book cover, format the book etc. But, if the author hires freelancers then they need to pay.
3. Higher royalties: KDP pays higher royalty compared to traditional publishing. For e-books, royalty ranges from 35-70%. For paperbacks, royalty is around 60%.
4. Book rights: Author has the book rights just like self- publishing.
5. Publishing time: Just like self publishing platforms, KDP also has quick publishing times.

Cons of KDP

1. Reviews: Reviews are a big weapon or achievement for any author. KDP allows reviews only by customers who bought it from their platform. So any person who got it through any promotional offers or anywhere else won’t be able to post reviews. Although this is done to ensure there are no spam reviews, this is a big setback for authors.
2. Availability: In KDP, authors can’t publish their e-books elsewhere.
3. Lack of help: Author has to design, format, do legal works on his own. Or they can hire freelancers and pay them up. At times, authors feel overwhelmed with all this.
4. Return policy: I can’t vouch for the certainty of this fact but I came to know about this in one of the author groups. It seems that Amazon has some weird rule for e book returns which is costing the authors badly. Suppose a customer buys an e book and finishes reading it and asks for refund, Amazon completes the refund process. So, the customer reads the book for free. Several authors complain about this. Hopefully the company can resolve this issue soon.
5. Paperback issues : While I was researching about publishing options, I came to know that the price of paperbacks is very high and not available in all countries. This high price deters customers from buying paperbacks. If you are a children’s book author like me, you would need paperbacks mostly and this KDP option might not seem that feasible.

So what should we choose?

It is a difficult decision as both have some reasonable points to consider. 

If you are ready to wait 2-10 years to see your dream come true i.e. getting your book published, then try the traditional route. But getting a contract from traditional publishers is a very big achievement in itself.

Many authors went with self-publishing and after becoming bestsellers,  they signed deals with traditional publishers. 

Self-publishing can give you a chance to stand in the line at least if you are willing to spend money and time.

If you are thinking of getting a book published,  do thorough research and make a choice. There are many more things I would love to talk about but in another blog.

Do leave a comment if this article helped you or any other queries that you have.

All the best for your publishing process. 

Feel free to scroll through my other articles such as Trip to Lepakshi temple, India.

Also check out other parenting blogs such as How to tackle fussy eating in kids?

If you have a young bookworm at home, then please check out my books.

Story time with proverbs: Available on Amazon,  Flipkart, Google books. 

Story time with proverbs part 2: Available globally on Amazon. Paperback as well as Kindle edition.