So, you’ve decided to write a book. Maybe you’ve finished the first draft, and you’re considering your publishing options.
Book publishing can sometimes feel a little overwhelming. There’s so much to do, and you might be unsure what approach to take.
Many authors choose to self-publish for flexibility and creative ownership. Others choose to persist in the pursuit of landing a publisher.
If you’re unsure about whether to self-publish or work with a traditional publisher, keep reading—I hope this helps give you some insight into what path you might want to take.
TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING
Let’s start with the tricky parts first. In order to land a publishing deal, you’ve first got to get a foot in the door. The first thing to note here is that many traditional publishers do not accept unsolicited manuscripts—meaning they don’t accept manuscripts they haven’t asked for (aka new authors)—and some publishers only accept manuscripts through literary agents.
So if they haven’t requested your manuscript and you don’t have a literary agent, the chances of them seeing your manuscript are slim; however, some publishers might allow you to send them your manuscript if you a. know someone who works for them, b. have an author contact through them, or c. have met them personally.
Overall, it can be tricky getting your foot in the door this way.
So, next, there are publishers who do accept unsolicited manuscripts. However, it’s important to note what submissions they’re taking and when, as some publishers do not accept certain genres, and others have particular times of the year when they accept submissions. Other publishers might favour your submission if you have a large following or an online presence that gets a lot of traffic.
Again, it can be tricky if you don’t meet these requirements, but not impossible. For authors who don’t want to get a literary agent or don’t have any connections (most of us), your best bet is to find publishers that accept unsolicited manuscripts. It is a process that requires persistence and patience (hearing feedback about your manuscript submission can take months, or you may never get a reply at all).
When you work with a traditional publisher, many people will likely be involved in your book journey. For example, your book might go through various stages of editing from different editors—structural editing, copyediting, and proofreading. There might be a design team that works on your cover and typesetting and a marketing team that works on a launch campaign. The benefit here is your team’s experience and expertise. However, it might mean that you have less of a say in every decision, and therefore, less creative input.
A benefit about working with a traditional publisher is that they carry the cost. While you might not get full royalties on your book sales, you won’t have any upfront publishing costs.
There are always pros and cons to everything; it’s important to weigh up what you value and the position you’re in. Perhaps you don’t mind how the creative direction for your book goes—you might want input from a team of experienced people who can help point you in the right direction. You might also not have the funds to publish your book yourself. So, traditional publishing may be the path you want to pursue.
SELF-PUBLISHING
Authors who wish to self-publish have a lot of benefits on their side. For starters, you’re working to your own deadline. (But this can be both a pro and a con, depending on where you sit on the procrastination scales.) If you have a particular time of the year that you want your book published, this can be a great benefit because you get to work backwards from that date and set up everything to align with that goal.
Self-publishing also means you have full creativity liberty in your project: you choose the team you work with, your designer, your editor and your printer. You also choose how you want to market your book. You get a full say over the creativity, and your team works for you. You essentially hire them to help turn your dreams into reality. The downside is that you need to pay for all these things yourself—the editing and typesetting costs, the cover design, the printing and marketing costs. While you will likely receive full profits from your book sales, the upfront costs are from your pocket, not a publisher’s.
While it is a benefit working to your own timeline, choosing your team and having full creative liberties, this can also be a disadvantage because you’re the one carrying the project and having to do most of the work yourself—this means that you need time on your side. You are essentially the project manager coordinating many moving parts. It takes time researching, emailing quotes, going back and forth between your team and coordinating admin. However, with the right people and structures to get you there, self-publishing may be the way to get your book out there.
Another benefit to self-publishing is that you’re guaranteed the opportunity to publish. You don’t need to wait for someone to accept your manuscript; you get the go-ahead by choosing to self-publish. But there’s always wisdom in seeking feedback from others, so my advice would be to find a good editor to have by your side who can help bring about your best work.
CONCLUSION
There’s no right or wrong way to publish, and regardless of how you choose to publish, remember it’s a process, and it takes time. Remember why you are writing and that many great writers suffered rejection, setbacks and discouragement before their words were published.
Don’t give up on your dream, and keep people by your side who can cheer you on and lift your spirits when you’re feeling low. Keep your vision close by to encourage you along the way.
The Editing Eagle 