Indie vs. Trad Publishing
Whether you decide to independently publish or seek traditional publication, the only right path is the right path for you. But how do you decide?
In my opinion, if you have even the smallest inclination to seek traditional publishing, you should. Write a query, write a synopsis, check out QueryTracker, and start submitting. You can test how you feel about the process and how the gatekeepers feel about your book slowly, without making any permanent decisions. Once you get more of an idea of how you feel about what you’re hearing and what agents are saying (or not saying, because silence is a big part of the submission process) then you can decide if you have the stamina to keep going or if you want to explore other options.
*** One caveat: make sure you listen to what the gatekeepers are telling you. If you’re hearing nothing but silence or receiving nothing but form rejections based on your query, synopsis or first 50 pages that is not a sign to self publish immediately. That is a sign to step back and see if your work needs extra help. Because, even if you decide you can’t stand letting the publishing industry have any control over your book, it still needs to be as perfect as it can be for public consumption. It is worth making sure there isn’t feedback you can utilize from your submission experiment before you decide to let your book meet the world.
If you have absolutely no inclination to even try traditional publishing, then don’t! It is a magical time where writers have so many options. Just make sure you’re prepared to basically duplicate the traditional publishing process yourself and you have the time and / or money to do it. You’ll need an editor, a copy editor, a proofreader, a cover designer, help with formatting and to get it on all the platforms if you don’t have the skills to do it yourself, plus marketing and publicity help and more I’m not thinking about because my help usually stops at editing. So many people are having tremendous success putting their books out on their own and readers really don’t care how a book has been published. But they will care if it has typos and a bad cover could stop them from ever picking it up. Make sure you’re prepared to present your manuscript as professionally as possible.
Once upon a time, when I first started in book publishing, “self” publishing was a dirty word. We cringed when we received bound manuscripts that were basically vanity published. We’ve come a long way from those days. There’s absolutely no stigma now. I have clients that successfully publish independently and / or traditionally and I love having a backstage pass to it all. Authors have so much more power over their careers and I am here for it!
What are you thinking? What questions can I answer? And if you want to share how you chose your own path, please do!
Always go back to the why and pick the path that will fulfill that why. It may be “winning the process” of getting a deal. It could be having something in the library of congress. It could be a story that you want to share with the world. Just make the book worthy of your own legacy. That’s how I approached my decision and it has made my path enjoyable.
Great insights here. It is so good to know that there are options. You don't have to put yourself in a box. Thanks for sharing.