You’ve written a beautiful book. Now how do you publish it? What are your options? Here we’ll break down the pros and cons of the 4 main publishing routes: traditional, indie, self-published, and hybrid. This is just a starting point, so make sure to do your own research as well as you decide on your best fit.

The Pros and Cons of Traditional Publishing

What is traditional publishing?

A publishing house buys the rights to your book, completes all editing, design, and distribution work, and pays you royalties after they’ve made back their investment. 

Pros:

• Prestige
• A large, consistent, trusting reader base
• You are paid an advance averaging $1K-15K
• A higher likelihood of appearing in bookstores
• You will have an agent – your agent will go to bat for you, ensuring your proposals are professional and catch attention, and negotiating the best possible legal agreements

Cons:

• You no longer own the rights to your work
• The publisher has the final say on design and edits
• *Big publishers won’t select your book unless they think they can sell many 1000s of copies
• You don’t receive any royalties until you earn back your advance
• Royalties are small
  • 5-8% for paperbacks
  • 10-15% for hardbacks
  • 20-25% on ebooks and audiobooks
• Books are often sold at bulk discounts to retailers, so you receive royalties at lower than the retail price
• Big publishers won’t invest much money into marketing new authors – you have to prove your worth to them first
• You must submit through an agent – finding an agent is time-consuming, difficult, and costly (they receive 15% commission out of your advance & royalties)

*Here is an invaluable chart of the Big 5 Publishing companies and their imprints.

Traditional publishing could be a good fit if:

• You’ve written a book with mass appeal
• You want others to almost entirely handle the business side of book

The Pros and Cons of Publishing with an Indie/Small Press

What is a small or indie press?

A small or independent press is not affiliated with the Big 5 publishers, publishes less than 10 books in a year, and makes less than $25M annually. They may use a traditional publishing model, with slight variations. 

Pros:

• They employ a professional, experienced team
• Potentially higher royalties with room for negotiation
  • Some offer the same rates as traditional publishers: 5-25%
  • Others offer 40-60% in royalties
• They publish way fewer books and so spend more time and effort marketing each one
• May or may not expect agented submissions
• They take risks on more “unusual” books rather than following formulas on what will sell
• Growing respect, with many dedicated awards and competitions

Cons:

• You no longer own the rights to your book
• If they’re able to offer an advance, it’ll be small – usually you do not receive an advance
• They have a smaller budget and team and so more limited options for distribution and marketing strategy
• A smaller fanbase so less potential reach for your book

Here’s one searchable database of indie/small presses. Note that it is curated and their criteria for what makes a “good” press may differ from yours.

Indie publishing could be a good fit if:

• You want a team of experts supporting you and advising you on the industry
• But you want a greater level of creative freedom and negotiating power

The Pros and Cons of Self-publishing

How does self-publishing work?

An author arranges and pays for the publication of their work, rather than going through a publication. Note that authors have printed and distributed their own work for centuries, but online distribution platforms have made this approach more accessible than ever before.

Pros:

• You retain all rights, creative control, and decision-making powers
• You set your earnings with royalties ranging from 35-80% depending on the distribution platform
• Complete flexibility on distribution and pricing strategies

Cons:

• You must pay out of pocket for everything
• You must build your own team for editing, distribution, design, marketing & publicity
• You must complete extensive research about the publishing industry and wear many hats besides “author”
• Many awards and reviewers still exclude self-published books, though more and more accept them each year

Amazon Kindle Direct, IngramSpark and Kobo are commonly used self-publishing platforms, but there are many other options.

Self-publishing could be a good fit if:

• You’re highly motivated to learn about branding and marketing
• You’re willing to approach your books as a business
• You can afford to hire professionals to refine your book to industry standards

The Pros and Cons of Hybrid Publishing

What is a hybrid publisher?

A newer term, many people use the term “hybrid” interchangeably with “indie” or “vanity” publishing, leading to confusion. Hybrid publishing offers a middle ground between traditional and self-publishing. The author pays a team of professionals to edit, design, and market their book, but retains all rights to their work and so will receive 100% of profits.

Pros:

• A professional team of publishers will create a custom plan to refine and publish your manuscript – you can choose as many or as few services as you want
• You retain all creative power and have the last say – they are working for you
• Unlike vanity presses, hybrid publishers actually follow through on their promises – they want to make their customers happy so they keep getting business
• Hybrid publishers are often run by people who have, or still do work for traditional publishers – they know the industry inside and out
• Time – you won’t have to spend time on queries or proposals, and your team will walk you through every step of the publishing process, making this potentially the greatest time-saving publishing route

Cons:

• Cost – publishing services are expensive, and will cost more than hiring freelancers individually (as many self-published authors do)
• You must research carefully to make sure you’ve chosen a reputable business rather than a vanity press
• You may not make back the money you invested into your book
• Your book will still be considered self-published and so excluded from many competitions and bestseller lists

Reputable hybrid publishers should always meet the following guidelines set forth by the Independent Book Publishers Association.

Hybrid publishing could be a good fit if:

• Your time is worth more than your money
• You already have an established brand or audience who will buy your book and make back your investment (e.x. influencers, businessmen).

The “right” choice is unique to YOU

There is no one right choice! Depending on your goals as an author, there is a right fit for you which may differ from what works best for your other author friends.

Unfortunately, there’s also no perfect choice. Pick your top 3 deal breakers – the 3 things which are most important for you as an author. For example: time, money, and creative freedom. Pick the publishing route which does 2 out of those 3 things the best.

Above all, trust your instinct and demand respect. No one should make you feel like a beggar, no matter their prestige.

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