Traditional vs. self publishing. Which would you choose? – Graeme Ing, Author

Traditional vs. self publishing. Which would you choose?

Background

This is not a “my way is better than yours” post, so please indulge me while I explain how I got to where I am now. Back in January, I completed the final draft of OCEAN OF DUST, my YA fantasy, and spent ages preparing my query letter. I carefully selected agents and sent out a bunch of queries, all of them rejections. OK, typical story so far.

Seeing the plethora of authors self-publishing on ebook, I agonized for two months about whether to take this route. I spoke to authors, and read how-to books, formatting books and just about everything there was to read about ebook publishing. I finally convinced myself to take this option. My book cover was underway, and I was developing a marketing campaign, ready to publish in July.

Then, in May, I received feedback from two unrelated people in the industry that I trust, that both said they believed my book was fresh and unique enough to get a traditional publishing contract. Now I am right back on the fence.

Dilemma

I’m not the first, and will definitely not be the last author to have this dilemma. I have no axes to grind either way. I believe the industry is large enough for both forms of publishing. I honestly don’t know which way to go. Perhaps I’m reading too much into the whole thing, and should just pick a path. My downfall is that I always try to find the perfect decision, where often there isn’t one.

During this time, dozens of friends (writers and not) questioned me endlessly about the pros and cons of both methods. Why was the decision so hard, they wanted to know? Hence this post, to which I can refer future interrogators. I confess that I also hope that someone may offer advice or clarity.

Mission

I don’t write to get rich, or for fame. My mission is an audience, to know that tens (maybe hundreds) of thousands of readers get enjoyment from my writing.

 

Pros and Cons

Traditional Self publishing
Marketing These days, all authors have to promote their own books. Publisher may assist with simple merchandising, introduction to conferences/signings and getting my book in catalogs and the hands of reviewers. The promotion is all me. Daunting.
Format Paperback in physical stores (dwindling as they are). Likely no ebook, or an overpriced one. Ebook at a very affordable price for readers. Paperback option only available.
Time to Market 2+ years from when I start querying. This is a long time to wait for any sales at all. Immediate. I can be selling books all the time that I am waiting for a slot in the publisher’s calendar.
Print Run 3000-15,000? Varies enormously, and probably shrinking with new authors. Infinite.
Availability If the book isn’t a best seller, once it is pulled from the shelf it’s probably out of print and no new readers are enjoying it. Always available, never out of print.
Rights Might take years for the rights to revert to me, during which time, no new readers are enjoying it. Always owned by me.
Sales Amount of the first print run, perhaps a little more. Say 3,000 – 15,000 copies. This is important. It might take me years to sell as many copies as tradpub can sell in 3 months. I’ve heard averages of 50-100 copies a month. The advantage is that once I hit that number, I can continue to gain more readers than tradpub.
Time to next book Most publishers want a book a year. Tough schedule with a day job. No deadline, but it might be necessary to retain the same pace so that my audience doesn’t forget about me.

Please comment to correct me if my data is inaccurate.

As someone with a keen eye on the tech scene, I am cognizant that if my 2-year tradpub clock started ticking right now, by the time my book hits the shelves there will be fewer bookstores and a higher penetration of ebook readers. The big question with tradpub is will the publishers embrace ebooks with more competitive pricing.

It may look from the table above as if the odds are stacked predominantly in the favour of self-publishing, but every study that I’ve read shows that the average number of ebooks sold is much lower than people expect – that we tend to focus on the outliers like John Locke and Amanda Hocking. To me it’s all about the audience share, not money.

What would you do? Which path would you choose?

 

Leave a Comment:

9 comments
Traditional vs. self publishing. Which would you choose? | Chazz Writes says June 3, 2012

[…] See on http://www.graemeing.com […]

Reply
    Graeme says June 3, 2012

    Thanks for the link and kind comments, Chazz.

    Reply
Deborah Hughes says June 4, 2012

I decided to go the Indie route and though my sales are nothing to be bragging about, I do feel like I am starting to build an increasing presence on the internet and thus, more visibility…which is really what Indie authors need more than anything (aside from a great book, of course!).

My thinking is this: If I can prove myself as a writer, then maybe I’ll get the attention of the “Big Six”. Maybe this strategy will work, and maybe it won’t…but in the mean time, I’m selling books, making connections, gaining a following.

I think the belief is that if you go Indie, you are giving up a chance for a publishing contract with the big boys. But this has proven not to be the case. I say go for it. Put your book out there and show “them” you have what it takes to become a well-loved author! Good luck to you, however you decide.

Reply
    Graeme says June 4, 2012

    You make a very important point Deborah, thank you. Neither path locks you in; you can always change your mind or in some cases do both, especially if you have a publisher that doesn’t want to carry your backlist, and you selfpub them.

    I see an increasing number of writers achieving exactly what you describe – attracting a publisher through sweat equity as an Indie.

    Reply
C. says June 4, 2012

Each has its own benefits. I suppose you have to choose, (if you feel like an exclusive choice is necessary for the moment) which is more important to you: creative control, or the potential to reach more people faster. Also, which you have time for. The most popular indie authors often put out more like 4 books a year, which isn’t a requirement to success or a guarantee, but it is telling. The internet is fast-paced, and it takes effort to not get buried.

My two cents. Probably not helpful, sorry.
-C.

Reply
    Graeme says June 4, 2012

    A valuable comment, thank you. I’ll worry about publishing 4 books a year when I can publish one, lol. 🙂

    Reply
Danielle Mathieson Pederson says June 4, 2012

I’ve been going back on forth on this topic too. I posed pretty much this exact question to a writers group I belong to on facebook. A friend there shared this link: http://www.themillions.com/2011/11/reasons-not-to-self-publish-in-2011-2012-a-list.html
The same author of the above post, even though she will not self publish herself, interviewed four successful self-published authors. They’re worth checking out.
I’ve made the decision to try and get a traditional publishing contract for one year from the time I sent out my first query letter. I’m also going to one conference to try and make some contacts and I’m also querying publishers as well as literary agents within that year.
If however I don’t get the deal, then I’m willing to self-publish. My characters are waiting to be read and I have so many people who have already read bits and pieces that I feel I’d be cheating them if I didn’t tell this story.
Maybe this might work for you? Regardless good luck to you!

Reply
    Graeme says June 4, 2012

    Thank you for comment, Danielle. The articles from that link are a really interesting read. I think the path you have chosen makes a lot of sense from the myriad of tweets, comments and advice people have been kind enough to give me in the last couple of days. It is very likely I will follow your lead. Good luck to you also, and come back at the end of the year and we’ll compare notes? 🙂

    It helps just to know I’m not alone with this dilemma.

    Reply
Pamela Hegarty says June 5, 2012

I went through the same thought process, which I shared in a blog post at http://pamelahegarty.com/2012/03/15/top-seven-reasons-to-self-publish-and-three-reasons-not-to-self-publish/. As an update, my thriller has been on three Amazon top 100 best seller lists for eight weeks. What ultimately made my decision to self publish was that I didn’t want to wait for traditional publishing and I wanted control of format and price. But what I’ve found very rewarding is connecting with other indie publishers. It’s a great community.

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