Publishing, which is a slow-moving industry and didn’t change significantly for most of the twentieth century, is now evolving faster. Having more options for publishing path, though, hasn’t made the process any less murky. In the video and blog below, Amanda and I try to disentangle some of the options, clarify some misconceptions, and outline the main questions you need to ask yourself to choose your own adventure.
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The Three Publishing Paths
Generally speaking, there are three main paths you can take as you bring your book to market. Both the perception and practice of these publishing paths has changed significantly in the last couple of decades. People come to publishing with a lot of charged feelings and assumptions about the process. It is very hard to switch your mindset from creative to business and profit driven. This can be especially true for memoirists whose stories are so close to their hearts. To have clear eyes on our options, though, it’s important to put that a bit to the side and start thinking about your book as a business, and these choices as finding the right balance between investment and profit.
Traditional
Traditional publishers include the Big 5, university presses, and smaller independent presses. Whatever the size, what defines traditional publishers is that the financial investment comes from the publisher, not the author. When a traditional publisher selects a book to publish, we refer to is as “acquiring” and the editor who makes the deal as an “acquisitions editor” because they are purchasing the right to publish your book. That also means that the author receives the least amount of profit-per-sale when that book goes to market. The publisher is putting the up-front costs, so they retain the lion’s share of the profits. The publisher pays the author an advance, pays for the design, editing, printing and distribution of the book. The rate of sales that goes to the author is around 7.5% off the net profits. If sales are such that this amount exceeds the advance, then the author can receive royalties. However, this doesn’t happen often! For most authors, the advance is the only check they receive from the publisher.
Self-publishing
Self-publishing is the inverse of traditional publishing in that the author invests all the money to make that book happen up front. All the things that traditional presses pay for—cover design, interior layout, editing, marketing, distribution, etc.—will be covered under the cost that you will incur as a self-publishing author. The double-sided coin of self-publishing is that 1) you as the author and primary investor will reap the majority of profit per book, 2) the quality of the book will be directly proportionate to how much you are able to invest.
Hybrid
Hybrid publishing is relatively new in the publishing industry. With it’s newness comes a bit of skepticism from some, especially those who equate Hybrid publishing with a “vanity press,” but there are key differences. The difference between a vanity press and a hybrid press is that hybrids, as defined by the Independent Book Publishers Association, are designed to be selective in the books that they acquire.
With a hybrid press, like a traditional press, they will be screening your book to make sure it’s high enough quality to publish, to make sure it fits with their existing list, and to make sure that they have staff and support on hand to make that book excellent. That is not the same as a vanity press. A vanity press is not going to be selective or do the legwork to ensure every book they print is a good one.
Like self-publishing, a hybrid publisher will ask for an investment from the author. They will use this investment to create designs, ensure a quality document, assist with editing, and often provide marketing guidance. There is a massive price range in how much you might be asked to invest, depending on the press and what you’re going to get as part of that package. The hybrid press will also take significantly smaller cut than a traditional publisher, so the author will retain most of the profits from each book sale.
Three Essential Questions
So which is the best publishing path? That depends on you, your project and what you are hoping to achieve through publishing. To best chose the right path for you, there are three major things you need to consider and weigh in your decision.
How long are you willing to wait?
Traditional publishing is slow. However slow you think it probably is, half that speed and you’re probably closer. When you start along the traditional publishing path, you start by querying agents, then collaborating with the agent to prepare to go into submissions, and then the agent submits to editors. Each one of these steps can take 6-8 months just on their own. When a manuscript is acquired by a publisher, the publication date is often set a year or more out from signing that contract. Publishers often have backlogs and require long on-ramps to debut dates. Multiple years from starting to query to having your book in stores is not unusual, it’s standard.
The opposite of that is the self-publishing path. With KDP and other services, you could potentially have your book on the market within 48 hours. Of course, books that look slapped together generally don’t sell well. Readers are reluctant to invest their dollars and hours of their time if it doesn’t look like the author paid close attention to detail and design. So the investment you give in self-publishing is again often directly proportional to sales, both in the money you invest and the time you spend making sure it’s right.
Hybrid publishers fall in between but frequently can move much faster than a traditional publisher. Also, if you have a deadline in mind—for instance coinciding with a business move or talking tour—a hybrid publisher is more likely to be able to work with you to meet that deadline rather than you having to work around the publisher’s schedule alone.
How much are you willing to invest?
As mentioned, there is a huge range of in how much you might plan to spend in bringing your book to market yourself or with the help of a hybrid but you should expect a minimum of a few thousand in order to produce a quality book. You do not want to skimp on cover design, editing, interior design, and final proofs, as these are permanent fixtures of your book and can make or break sales.
On the other hand, I do want to point out that traditional publishing is likely not without expense. It’s possible to invest only time in this process, but many successful authors invest in the process, whether it is in education to learn how to make the best book possible or writing a compelling proposal or in getting feedback on their books or pitches. Even after publication, authors will likely pay their way in some of the marketing efforts, from travel to social media efforts.
How much control do you want?
When a traditional publisher acquires your book, your input after that point is extremely limited. that the publisher’s contract will almost always have a clause that says, “In the case of artistic disagreement, the press will make the final call.” That is simply because the press has invested in your book and they want to make that money back. The final decision on cover design, smaller-level editorial choices, and even the title will come down to the publisher, not the author. When self-publishing, as the sole investor, final decisions are entirely yours. This comes with its own caveat, because authors are not necessarily experts in what makes books sell.
In the middle is a hybrid press. Hybrid presses vary in their contract, so some will have a “Press makes the final call,” clause, some will not have that. That is just really depending on your preference, how comfortable you are asserting what you want, what you want your book to be. A hybrid press is going to give you that support and expertise and guidance, but at the same time you’ll have much more control because there’s a much more equal investment share between you and the press.
Addressing Misconceptions
Prestige might matter—but not as much as you might think
Authors are often highly concerned about the public perception of self or hybrid publishing. Traditional publishing carries with it a bit more prestige. However, “prestige” doesn’t necessarily equate to higher profits for the author or book sales generally. Secondly, many audiences are less likely to consider—or even notice—how a book was brought to audience than you might expect. General and trade audiences usually do not pay attention to the imprint, but simply the appearance and quality of the book. Books produced by self-publishing and hybrid publishing can be of indistinguishable quality as far as a reader is concerned.
For some audiences, however, prestige might carry a bit more weight. If you are publishing an academic book, especially in hopes of advancing a career in the academy, then the prestige of a traditional press does matter, as Universities do weigh method of publication in hiring and advancement decisions. So as you weigh your decision, put aside how much prestige or perception means to you—how much does it mean to your audience?
No path takes let the author off the hook for marketing
Many authors who have their hearts set on the traditional publishing path envision a future where the publisher takes over marketing and promotion of the book indefinitely. We have bad news for you non-fiction authors. It does not matter how you publish—traditional, hybrid, or self—you are the one that must promote your book. Non-fiction authors are usually promoted based on their expertise, experience, or identity to give their book authority. That means you do have to be the face of that book, regardless of publishing path. You may end up investing in a publicist or assistance in making marketing successful, even if you traditionally publish, so weigh those decisions with clear and open eyes.
At the end of the day, the best publishing path is the one that serves you the best to bring your book to market. There are amazing books being published every which way every day.
Happy Writing!
