I wrote a post on Saturday that covered the different things I’d learned in the process of preparing a book for e-publishing.
But although I mentioned the fact that many of my friends and family have been surprised (or confused or even concerned) that I was going to put a book out myself, I didn’t really talk about the reasons behind my choice to self-publish a book.
So consequently, I’ve gotten some emails asking me why I am. And if I thought that’s what all writers needed to do.
I don’t. I think writers should pursue traditional publishing. This is, I think, a fairly controversial opinion! I’ve seen other authors expressing different opinions.
Positives of Traditional Publishing:
You learn a ton with a professional editor.
Your books will be distributed to stores and can find readers who don’t own e-readers.
You learn the particular kinds of errors you’re prone to.
You learn how to correct your errors.
You learn how to be part of a team.
The mechanics of book production are handled by the publisher.
If you’re agented, you might receive new writing opportunities from your agent (it happened to me.)
You gain confidence as a writer.
You’re likely fulfilling a lifelong dream.
That being said—being traditionally published isn’t up to the writer. It’s up to professionals in the industry.
These days, getting rejected doesn’t mean that you can’t share your book with the world anymore.
My reasons for self-publishing:
I’m self-publishing two books (one now, one as soon as I get it whipped into shape.) Both are part of a discontinued series. I received the rights to the character back and I’ve got readers still emailing me asking for the next story. I decided it didn’t make sense for me to sit on books that I could be making some sort of profit on. Plus, I love the characters in the series and wanted to share more of their stores.
But I’m continuing traditional publishing, too. I’ve got a new series debuting with Penguin next year.
Positives of Self-Publishing
Traditionally published authors who have a backlist that they own the rights to can resurrect series that are no longer in stores.
Writers who don’t write commercially viable or easily-defined books can find readers.
Writers have more control over their books and content.
Writers receive a higher profit margin.
Writers who are overwhelmed by the process of querying agents and publishers can avoid it.
The important thing to remember:
We all need to write books that are worthy of readers. Have we edited until we’re sick of it? If the book isn’t any good, it won’t be accepted by publishers…and it won’t find readers, even self-published.
I think the best thing we can do as writers is to write as much as we can. If we’re traditionally published and keeping up with deadlines, that might mean writing a short story collection or a series written especially for e-publishing.
If we’re new writers, that might mean trying to pursue traditional publishing, but continuing to write new books or short stories during the query process (stories which can then either be queried or e-published.)
We should keep writing, keep improving, keep enjoying the process. I really do think this is a very good time to be a writer.
Have you considered self-publishing? Are you still planning a traditionally published career? Have I missed any pros or cons of either choice?
While I’ve decided to go all self-publishing on my books, I do love traditional publishing.
However I don’t see anything luring me back any time soon. The industry is too much in flux. I don’t think this is a good time to sign any new contracts.
For the traditional side of my career, I’m going back to short fiction for now.
I’m still planning for a traditionally published career, but I like your reason for deciding to self-publish. That makes a lot of good sense. Good luck with everything and have fun with it!
Elizabeth – You’ve outlined so clearly the arguments for and against traditional publishing. What I like best about your choices is that the two can co-exist. An author can do both.
That said, I think one of the most important points you make is that whatever choice the author makes, the first priority has to be writing quality. If the writer does not focus on improving, on writing as much as possible, and on becoming the best writer s/he can, it’s not going to matter much whether the author would rather self-publish or go with traditional publishing. Her or his work won’t find an audience.
Traditional publishing used to be the only path I was interested in taking. I figured if my work wasn’t good enough to make it down that road, I wasn’t gonna stroke my ego and delude myself by publishing it any other way.
But I’m slowly changing my mind. For one thing, I’m no spring chicken, so I don’t know that I want to wait years and years for an agent to take a chance on me. (I’d like to think I have time to lay a few golden eggs before I hit that deep fat fryer in the sky, but ya never know …)
What has really given me food for thought, though, is the realization that getting a book traditionally published is no guarantee of success. I know several people whose books were released, but those books are next to impossible to find in an actual book store. I get all psyched up about a book before it comes out (thanks to “knowing” the writers through blogs) but when it does come out, I can’t find it. The bookstores aren’t carrying it. I end up having to either make a special order through a bookstore or get it from Amazon.
So, if the most reliable way to find a book is through Amazon, e-publishing becomes a much more enticing option than I ever would have thought possible.
Excellent. I totally agree this is a great time for writers. So different from just two years ago.
I love this, Elizabeth, because it’s like utilizing both East and Western medicine. Both have their benefits and it’s not an either or situation. Good luck!
Karen
I think you’ve hit some great points for both options that aren’t often discussed. I love seeing people give well-thought reasons for choosing one over the other for a particular book, and I agree that a writer can pursue both options if they wish.
Having more information about the two processes from people who have experienced them is so important. People need to make informed decisions, rather than choosing one based on a knee-jerk reaction and assuming it’s a gold-lined path to success.
Love this post – I agree wholeheartedly with this line:
“The important thing to remember: We all need to write books that are worthy of readers” – that’s the key!!
I agree Elizabeth, in these times it’s so important to remember those readers! Sloppy work can haunt us for a long, long time.
I am pursuing traditional publishing but considering self publishing for the future. I see the pros and cons with both. What concerns me is the short shelf life books have – unless they are bestsellers. If a book even makes it into bookstores. I think you are doing it for the right reason. Good luck!
I think the point about finding readers who don’t read electronically is a good one. I’ve found myself ordering printed copies of my ebooks for friends and it’s nice to be able to hand them over, sign them etc – but I will never make any money from this side of things! So from that point of view I would be better off finding a publisher who could print with economies of scale etc. Good luck with your new venture!
The Daring Novelist–I think it’s great that you’re doing both!
Laura–I think it’s best to shoot for traditional publishing right now. If that doesn’t work out, we can always have a plan B!
Paul–Good point…I think it’s important to note that gold-lined so rarely happens for writers! I’ll admit to having very modest expectations of the ebook that I’m soon launching. I read about Joe Konrath’s success, Amanda Hockings’ success…I just don’t think it’s realistic to think that’s going to happen. I believe that it will take months for me to recoup the $450 that I’ve put into this ebook, then it will be a very slow profit after that.
Laura–Distribution is the most important part of traditional publishing. So…it’s better to target the largest publishers to get into more stores. Then–you’re right–the shelf life is relatively short. Although my publishers put my books out both digital and print editions of my books.
Sheila–Have you looked into small/mid-sized presses? Many are happy to work with the author directly (without an agent involved) and frequently they have a wider range of titles.
Margot–It’s nice that we have choices. And you’re right–the most important thing is the quality of our writing, and putting time into practicing our writing.
Susan–I agree with you. In fact, I know a writer who worked for many years to get traditionally published. Unfortunately, this writer’s book wasn’t particularly well-received and she was dropped. It upset her so much that she has effectively stopped writing…which I just hate to see. No matter what, we should keep writing.
Authors who hire professionals to design and edit their books can be successful in self-publishing. But you’re right, they must still have a good book and know their target audience – and how to reach them.
The fact that there are fewer and fewer bookstores these days (and that only bookstores return books) makes that less of a plus for traditional publishing than in the past.
I faced this decision recently. I decided to go with traditional publishing (with the option of self publishing in the future.) I had two main reasons: 1. It is a childhood dream to be traditionally published. 2. I want some feedback from professionals to see if I am really good enough to hack it as a writer.
I’m currently going both routes. I love the editor I have that is teaching me a great deal and I love the connections my publishers have. However, with one of my books, I want more control, I want to be able to design my own cover and write it the way I want. So I’m going both routes.
Straight A for a wonderfully balanced post about the pros and cons!
And I *am* looking forward to those e-books ;)
I think you’re really smart to make your older books available as eBooks!
Carol–I was feeling really worried in 2008-2009, but thank goodness ereaders are catching on…
Karen–Thanks! Yes, there’s not just one right way to approach publishing these days. :)
Jemi–Then we get repeat readers!
Diane–And the lack of bookstores makes me sad! I’m trying to move on, though.
Elspeth–And then it’s out there, being awful, for ages! Better to edit the dickens out of it before sticking it up on the internet.
Krista–Those were my reasons for pursuing traditional publishing, too. :)
Clarissa–I think that’s the *best* thing to do. I know not everyone can do that, but I really think it’s the best path right now. Things are changing, of course, but that’s really a good tactic for now.
Alex–For some reason, it took me a long time to reach that decision, though! So maybe I could have been smarter. :)
I think the way you’re using it to supplement traditional publishing is brilliant. I definitely have traditional in mind for most of my career, but have some ‘genre wafflers’ I am contemplating… I am waiting at the moment… I want agent feedback on them, but not until I am solidly grounded with both my mystery and YA stuff.
Crude – I erased my message before I had a chance to post.
So here goes again – putting my 2 cents in. I am both traditional (although my publisher uses LSI which uses the same technology) and self-published. I use createspace for my books since I need to get 50 books out over the course of 10 years (they are short and so far I’m behind on my goal due to life but it will start shaping up and falling back into place like it should be). With my publisher (yes, I still have two books with her until my contracts run out) I was getting one or two books out a year and for my series I really need to get more books out a year.
With createspace, the only fee I’m paying is $39 for the first year – this is basically to get my books distributed – bookstores (yes, they still get their discount but there is a no-return policy), libraries and educational facilities and through createspace’s distribution. Yes, it is print on demand which works for me best since my books aren’t really that expensive (my cost per book is about 1/3 of what it costs me to get books from my publisher at author cost) and I do a lot of events where I do direct sales. I also have a “store” for each of my books and amazon has them listed.
I use an editor to make sure my books are up to quality before printing them. Thank you for posting this, Elizabeth. It’s nice to see the sides compared like this. E :)
Ma America, The Travelin’ Maven (Elysabeth Eldering)
Author of the JGDS, 50-state, mystery, trivia series
Where will the aventure take you next?
http://jgdsseries.blogspot.com
http://jgdsseries.weebly.com
Author of Finally Home, a YA paranormal mystery (coming soon)
http://elysabethsstories.blogspot.com
http://eeldering.weebly.com
I’m self-publishing books I feel won’t be appealing to traditional publishers: a collection of paranormal short stories, a Christmas novella, a short (50k) soft sci-fi about cyborgs.
However, I am ‘saving’ my YA high fantasy for a traditional publisher. I want the best of both worlds, I guess.
Great post, Elizabeth! I’m going to digitally self-publish a book that almost sold a few years ago. It’s just sitting there, and I LOVE the idea of doing all the work myself simply because I used to own my own business and I love all the crazy-making details. :)
I’m also querying agents with a newer book. If things go well in that direction, great! If not, I’ll have already been creating a list in digital publishing. In any case, I’m happy and excited with my choices. And isn’t that what everyone wants in their career? :)