Self-Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing: Pros, Cons, and Making the Right Choice for You

There was a time when getting published meant you had to kowtow to big publishing companies and their demands. This meant that few authors were able to gain an audience, and fewer still managed to do so while maintaining their own unique voice.

We now live in a bold new world where countless self-publishing platforms have revolutionized the landscape, making it easier than ever to establish a reader base. But is self-publishing really all it’s cracked up to be? Or does traditional publishing still hold its place as the gold standard for authors?

In this blog post, we'll tackle these questions and more, exploring the pros, cons, and key differences between self-publishing and traditional publishing. Read on to discover the ins and outs of book publishing in today’s dynamic literary world.

   

Understanding Self-Publishing

Definition and Process

If you’re writing a book but don’t want to go through the process of appeasing a traditional publishing company, you can choose to self-publish instead. Platforms like Kindle Direct Publishing allow you to sell directly to your reader base, which brings its own unique benefits to the table. You do have to handle certain aspects of the process like design and marketing, but it might be worth it when you consider the advantages.

Key Benefits

• Creative Control: No publishing company means no one can tell you what you can or can’t write. If you want to blur the lines between genres or write on important topics that might not be ideal for mainstream success, self-publishing might be the only path for you if you don’t want to compromise!
• Higher Royalty Rates: You can receive anywhere from 50% to 70%royalties depending on the publishing platform you choose.
• Faster Time to Market: Taking publishing into your own hands can get your book out there just a few weeksafter you’ve finished your draft.
• Better Growth: The self-publishing market is expected to grow by 17% a year, an order of magnitude higher than the 1% growth rate predicted for traditional publishing.

Potential Drawbacks

• Upfront Costs: Since you have to handle several aspects of the publishing process yourself, you’ll also need to bear the costs. These include professional editing, cover design, and marketing expenses.
• Distribution Limitations: If you decide to go completely solo, you won’t have access to the same network of distributors and book stores that traditional publishing houses provide. That’s why you should work with a self-publishing support company like CDP!

Understanding Traditional Publishing

Definition and Process

This is the standard publishing process that most successful authors have gone through. It involves submitting a draft to a literary agent, or perhaps a publishing house through an agent, all with the goal of getting an acquisition contract. Sounds simple, right? Well, it can be, but that’s only if you get a contract in the first place. Just 1% of aspiring authors actually get published, so odds are that you’ll languish at the bottom of a publisher’s submission pile. There are both benefits and drawbacks to traditional publishing, so let’s get into them.

Key Benefits

• Established Distribution Networks: Traditional publishing houses generally have a network of bookstores, retailers, and libraries that’ll stock your book. They can also grant you easy exposure to international markets, though that’s easy enough to do with self-publishing on Amazon as well.
• Professional Editing, Design, and Marketing: Your publisher will likely have in-house editors and cover designers, and can provide a dedicated marketing team to help you hit the ground running.

Potential Drawbacks

• Less Creative Control: A publishing house really only has one goal: making money. Anything that might get in the way of that needs to go, regardless of whether it aligns with your creative vision. In order to get the contract, you might have to agree to making considerable changes to your work.
• Lower Royalty Rates: Most publishing companies offer a standard royalty rate of 5% to 15%, and that’s after you’ve paid back the advance.

Longer Time to Publication: It can take as long as two years to get published in a traditional setting, largely due to all the red tape involved. First you have to find an agent (otherwise you’ll just end up in the slush pile), then you need to shop your book around in the hopes that someone picks it up, and after all of that, you’ll have to endure an arduous negotiation process before receiving the contract.

Determining the Right Choice for You

Goals and Priorities

It’s important to consider what you hope to achieve by publishing a book. If you want the prestige of working with a reputable publishing house, the traditional route would be the obvious choice. There’s also something to be said of how easy they make things, as long as you manage to score a contract of course.

But with that said, if your priority is reaching the market as quickly as possible, self-publishing might be your best bet. It’s also arguably a more fulfilling way to find an audience. You won’t have to deal with the constant threat of rejection, and you can maintain your authentic voice without a publishing company forcing you to fit into a more marketable box.

Budget and Resources

For all the downsides of traditional publishing, it does come with one very powerful advantage: resources. You don’t have to worry about paying for marketing, cover design, or anything of that sort. Instead, your publisher will set a budget for all of that and take care of it for you, and you won’t have to spend a dime.

Or will you?

The truth is, publishers do make you pay for all of these services in one way or another. That’s why their royalty rates are so low! In a way, self-publishing allows you to control just how much money is spent on making your book ready for an audience, so it might be worth investing in yourself and using the higher revenue share to cover your costs. After all, Amazon KDP gives you up to 70% royalties, which is far better than anything you’d get in the traditional route.

Simply put, you can earn much more as a self-published author, and the data shows this. Back in 2021, self-published author income increased by a whopping 53%, and it rose by 34% the following year. What’s more, 28% of surveyed authors were earning six figures annually!

Creative Control

There are no two ways about it. Self-publishing puts you in the driver’s seat, for better or for worse. The upside is that you get the final say in what your book will be about, but on the other hand, you’ll need to put considerably more effort into making these decisions. That might be an acceptable price to pay for full autonomy, though. It’s up to you, and remember that service providers like CDP can help you every step of the way.

Creative control also matters for post-publication edits, by the way. You might get feedback from readers that prompts you to make certain changes to your book, but that’s hard to do in a traditional setting. And as far as brand guidelines are concerned, it’s infinitely easier to adhere to them if you’re publishing a book on your own.

Let’s Make Your Publishing Dreams a Reality

Choosing between self-publishing and traditional publishing largely boils down to your budget, goals, and long-term vision. It’s a significant decision, but in case the extra time and resource commitment for self publishing has you concerned, Content Development Pros is here to help.

Our team of specialists can handle everything from marketing to cover design, and with our editors by your side, you won’t have any trouble adhering to Kindle Direct Publishing formatting guidelines. It also helps to have a fresh pair of eyes proofreading your book for spelling mistakes and thematic inconsistencies. This is yet another aspect of the process we can help with.

By working with us, you can get all of the ease and convenience of traditional publishing with the higher revenue and creative control that only self-publishing can provide.