Anyone who regularly reviews book proposals can easily see the influence of self-publishing on authors’ thinking, especially in the following areas.
Calendar
“I’d like this book out for Christmas.” To which I reply, “What year?” This is the most stark reminder of the differences in the models. The length of time to market for a book is measured in weeks or months for the author-controlled process and in years for the traditional publishing model.
I often see proposals where the author is ready to start promoting, scheduled to speak at conferences in six months, and has their platform aimed for the big launch. I’ll reply with a suggestion to self-publish, since any traditional publisher wouldn’t be able to have it on the market for another 15-18 months at best. There’s no point in even trying to make this work through an agent or traditional publisher.
Marketing
What an author sees as a slow process, traditional publishers define as intentionality. The goal for them is to bring all the sales and marketing pieces together in a cohesive, effective plan. Even for author-controlled publishing, where a platform might be small or nonexistent, some sort of marketing effort is essential. I wrote about this issue earlier this year.
An author might publish one or two books in a year or in their lifetime. A traditional publisher might publish from one to five books per week. The sheer complexity of wrangling all those books is quite a different process than the author thinks.
I doubt many self-published authors pay much attention to the competition releasing on the day they are publishing their book. Traditional publishers consider not only their own books, but also those of other publishers when determining the best release dates. Sometimes they compete with themselves, having multiple books launching on the same day.
Editorial
Length, quality, and structure are issues that have different definitions, depending on how a book is published.
There are acceptable word counts for traditional publishers for each category of book, making it commercially viable. Author-published works rarely have that in mind, especially if a book is published digital-only.
Even if an author pays a professional editor to edit their work before self-publishing, that work often pales in comparison to the extensive editing process that a traditional publisher undertakes for any book displaying their logo. A traditional publisher might invest $15,000 or more in editorial time into a single book.
Some authors follow the editorial “rules” commonly used by the industry, but a traditional publisher is passionate about following a style guide for everything from punctuation to footnotes.
Legal Issues
The professional self-publisher will pay attention to issues of plagiarism, libel, fair use, and attributing quotes. The casual self-published author is generally not as concerned with these.
For traditional publishers, these issues are of great concern and rarely, if ever, ignored.
Printing
Most self-published books are printed on demand when sold. Traditional publishers print large quantities and warehouse them, either themselves or at a distributor working with hundreds of publishers.
Making a financial commitment to print thousands of books before they have been sold is a significant issue that self-published authors rarely confront.
Several other key differences distinguish author-paid and publisher-paid models of publishing. Any author switching from one model to another requires a complete change of vocabulary and perspective.
I thought my book would be enough,
that my skill was sure to bring
accolades and other stuff
that in the end amount to bling,
and I chose to pay no heed
to platform and marketing plan;
for email lists I saw no need,
and further, didn’t understand
the interweaving causal flow
of factors leading to success,
and that really goes to show
how my ‘career’ became a mess
that no longer can be saved
because of all the truths I waived.
I would like to read a copy of your book(s). How might I do that?
Gordon, if you care to look me up on Amazon (Andrew Budek-Schmeisser) you’ll find what I’ve written.
I do appreciate your interest!
Dear Dan,
It’s my life goal to be published by a traditional publishing house, with the guidance of an agent who knows the ins and outs of the business.
I self published a Christian Children’s book a few years ago, was lucky enough to be placed on some book shelves of Barnes and Noble, but quickly fizzled from trying to promote the sell of the book all by myself. It’s hard. Author’s need an agent’s help.
Thanks for the reminder… good things come to those who wait. Not many things happen over night.
Amber
I trust the traditional publisher. If I’m going to put a book out into the world, I want it to be the best it can be. I don’t trust myself with self-publishing.
The Pros of self-publishing outweigh the Cons. Trad publishers refuse to bend. They see themselves as SWAMPED and thus require rigid adherence to their forms and formalities. Ainsi soit-il.
It definitely requires the correct mindset to self-publish well, or to traditionally publish well, for that matter. I’ve been vocal with friends in the past about how, while God is leading me to traditional publishing with my current works, I fully respect both publishing paths when people come at them with the correct attitude and education. I’m glad to have writer friends who self-publish well and are finding success with it. I’ve also encountered the opposite, with people who don’t know how to do it well, but never seem to learn to do it better and end up frustrated and bitter. I’m grateful to God that He led me to discover my love for writing when I was old enough to be discerning and resist peer pressure, because there have been encounters with people who can’t respect the choices of others and strongly pressured me to self-publish (to the point of spreading misinformation and misquoting articles to convince me what a bad choice I was making), even after I told them that wasn’t where the Lord was leading me. They were fellow Christians, but it was like they couldn’t comprehend that He might lead me on a different path than them. The encounters got super weird at times, to the point that I distanced myself from certain groups because of it. I’ve even had people pressure me to self-publish a 170,000 word manuscript (the first I ever completed) that I knew needed major editing, but they didn’t think I should touch it for some reason, despite them never reading it to know what it needed. It’s been a wild ride, but the weird encounters have only led me to a deeper appreciation of the friends I’ve found who are respectful of everyone’s choices, not just their own.
Self-publishing editors are usually just as scrupulous and careful as trad editors. The agency can be as diligent as trad publishers. They’re not in the rush some claim they are–unless they’re the ones we all do well to avoid.
I’m in the process of publication. The delay? Ensuring that I receive proper copyright licensing for one poetry quote (a search worthy of Sherlock Holmes).
What stands out to me is how kind and respectful the self-publishing agency people are. They are fully professional. They have upfront models and caveats. We easily get on the same page. Yes, there are several advantages to trad publishing. Of course writers are at an advantage if they are represented by them. But how many get that opportunity? Trad publishers have stated that many great book never see the light of day for different reasons–often things “right idea, competition already from a big-name person”, “right idea, not what we’re looking for”, etcetera. I know that’s true. I do. But I know that great books should get the chance to show they’re great.
Marketing-smarketing, why are writers so dependent on marketing? It’s a reality that drives me nuts. I’m in my 70’s so it’s ok to say these things. I’ve read books by the…Hey, it’s a Steve Green hymn on the radio! TTYL
Being self-published is disappointing. I want to take all my books off of Amazon, rework my website, and start over.
I desire to write book five in my series and look for an opening toward traditional publication.
“What an author sees as a slow process, traditional publishers define as intentionality.”
THIS. This is what authors miss. I’ve been attending writers’ conferences every year since 1997. There’s so much more to learn besides the craft of writing.
Then there’s the American thought process, which wants almost instant gratification. We really are microwave people. We’ve forgotten there’s beauty in waiting.