Traditional vs. Indie Publishing (And Other Publishing Methods)

Now that you’ve polished your book to the best it can be, it’s time to decide (if you haven’t already) what publishing method you want to pursue. This post is all about the four different publishing methods (including vanity press, because a lot of new authors fall prey to them), with comparisons, and listed pros and cons to best help you decide what works best for you and your goals.

For those curious as to the order, it follows as

• Traditional Publishing
• Hybrid Publishing
• Vanity Publishing
• Self-publishing

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Traditional Publishing

Traditional publishing is, well, the traditional way of getting published. Basically, it involves querying potential agents to represent you and your manuscript to a major publisher, who, if they accept, will publish your book for you. Typically, you are paid an advance for the rights to your book, and the publisher is financially responsible for everything involved with publishing it. Once your book makes back what the publisher puts into it, then you receive royalties from it.

This is the model used by the Big 5 (Penguin/Random House, Hachette Book Group, HarperCollins, Simon and Schuster, and Macmillan), and also with a number of smaller-sized publishers as well. Some presses may accept unsolicited manuscripts (as in, you query them directly versus via an agent) and use the same method as well.

Pros of traditional publishing:

• No upfront financial cost to the author
• Work with a team of experienced professionals
• Higher chance of getting your book in a brick-and-mortar bookstore
• Higher chance of qualifying for lists and awards
• Higher chance of your book being in libraries
• More options for book event opportunities
• Your work is considered more credible, therefore, a higher chance of sales
• More opportunities for your book to be translated, or even made into a film or TV series

Cons of traditional publishing:

• Extremely difficult to get an agent (varies from genre and book)
• Takes years to get published, even if agented
• Small royalty rate (typically 7-12% of sales)
• The publisher owns the licensing rights to your work (your agent should work with you to determine what that looks like prior to signing a contract)
• The publisher controls release dates, pricing, and sales, as well as has the final say on design (cover and interior formatting)
• Marketing is not always provided, depending on the publisher (you may end up marketing your book mostly yourself)
• Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines
• Confusing contracts (your agent should be able to help you, but depends on the agent)
• Extremely competitive sphere

Conclusion:

If your goal is to have your book in stores and in libraries, make bestseller lists, qualify for awards, and potentially be considered for film, traditional publishing is probably your best route. Bear in mind, though, that the percentage of queried books to books that actually get agented is around 10-12% of accepted books, and even fewer of those get published. Querying (and then publishing) is a very long, grueling process, and will require patience and years of trying before you see any results—if you ever do.

That said, it is possible to achieve most of these things via self-publishing, but it is much more challenging. Self-publishing has its own set of hardships, and should not be viewed as an “easier” alternative to traditional publishing.

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Hybrid Publishing

Hybrid publishing is, as you may have guessed, a hybrid cross between traditional and self/indie publishing. Hybrid is also often lumped under the “indie” publishing title. The hybrid publishing method differs from press to press, and it is highly recommended that you do your research prior to signing any contracts.

Pros of hybrid publishing:

• You don’t have to go through an agent
• You can query presses directly
• Higher acceptance rate
• You often retain the rights to your creative work
• You often get to have more say in the quality and presentation of your work
• The press may handle much of your marketing and see that your book is put in bookstores and libraries
• Once published, you may keep all the royalties, or at least a large percentage of them (depending on the press)

Cons of hybrid publishing:

• You usually have to either run a preorder campaign or pay the press some of the costs for editing, cover design, and formatting of your book
• You may not be working with qualified editors or designers
• You may not achieve the publishing goals you initially have
• Many hybrid presses are really just vanity presses

Conclusion:

Hybrid publishing is a lot easier to get into than traditional, and some hybrid presses are legitimate and do deliver for their authors. If you want someone to help you publish your book and not be responsible for finding editors/designers yourself, and don’t mind paying out of pocket (unless you run a campaign), hybrid presses may be your best fit. But most of them are vanity presses, and it can be difficult to know what you’re getting into. Be sure to research the press, check out the books they’ve published and what the reviews are, and what their authors have to say about working with them (not just via testimonials either, contact them directly and privately). Most hybrid presses are transparent about their publishing process on their website or socials. You can also always contact them regarding their process if you’re unsure before signing a contract.

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Vanity Publishing

Vanity publishing (also known as subsidy publishing) is essentially where anyone can pay to have their book published. The term “vanity” refers to authors calling themselves published, even though they didn’t take the time to seek publishing elsewhere or put much work into it themselves (such as traditional, hybrid, or self-publishing).

Pros of vanity publishing:

• Much easier to get accepted (most vanity presses take every submission, unlike hybrid or traditional)

Cons of vanity publishing:

• The author has to pay the press to publish them, often far more than would be spent publishing the book yourself

Or

• Requires the author to purchase numerous copies of their own work
• Does not provide quality work or benefits in return
• Press owns the right to your work
• Poor communication between the author and the press
• Confusing contracts and very difficult to leave once signed
• Masquerades as traditional publishing

How to avoid them:

~ Research: Always Google presses before signing anything with them. Sites like Writer Beware will often have articles about vanity presses with people talking about their experiences with them. If you know someone published by a press, check with them and ask what their experience has been.

~ Read: If a press is requiring you to pay them anything upfront that’s not clearly stated on their website, etc. (hybrid presses often tell you on their website/socials what their process looks like, or will give you that information if asked for it), or asking you to purchase copies of your own book (whether in advance or later, especially to cover publishing costs), it’s a vanity press. Better be safe and unpublished than sorry and no longer have the rights to your own book, as well as deficient of any sum of money.

~ Remember: Your creative work is more important than your desire to be published. Don’t rush into a publishing contract just to be able to say you’re a published author, especially if your writing career is at stake.

Conclusion:

Vanity publishing exists for a reason. People frequently fall for scams, and that’s how these companies stay in business. However, they are sometimes a preferred method of publishing for some authors who want to pay for everything without putting in the work to research etc., especially if the author doesn’t want to make publishing a career. However, if your goal is to make any sort of career as a published author, beware of vanity presses.

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Self-publishing

Self-publishing is a publishing route that has grown more and more popular over the past few years, despite having a bad name among many in the traditional publishing sphere. As the difficulty to get noticed by agents grows year by year, and more and more self-published authors turn out books on equal footing with any traditionally published work, the self-publishing (or as the authors often prefer to term themselves, the “indie”) method is gaining more and more popularity. Self-publishing is also not “new”, as many famous classic authors self-published many of their manuscripts, such as Charles Dickens, Jane Austen, and Mark Twain. For a full list, check here.

Pros of self-publishing:

• You can get published any time you want
• You can write and publish whatever you like
• You own all the creative rights
• You get to have the final say in your book’s production, from editing to cover design to formatting, etc.
• A higher percentage of royalties (usually 60-70% [royalties after wholesale discounts for bookstores buying your book are much lower])
• You set the schedule in terms of deadlines and release dates
• You can drop prices, run sales, make the first book in a series free, etc. any time you want
• Highly supportive community
• If you do well enough, you could get a traditional book deal in future

Cons of self-publishing:

• You are responsible for everything
• Competitive markets make it difficult to get noticed
• Much harder to get your book in a brick-and-mortar store and/or in libraries
• You have to pay for everything (unless you run a successful preorder campaign)
• Stigma because “anyone can do it”
• Very challenging (if not impossible) to qualify for literary awards or get noticed by professional organizations
• If you don’t market, you don’t sell copies
• High reader expectation often results in grueling production schedules to keep up with the demand for more books
• Unrealistic to make it a main source of income

Conclusion:

Self-publishing appeals to many because it allows a lot of creative freedom. For authors who have very specific visions of their book(s) or who write in niche genres/for niche audiences, self-publishing is perhaps the best method to follow, especially as it is flexible to your needs. It is possible to successfully self-publish, provided you do the research and have the means to hire people to do the job professionally in terms of editing, etc. It is also possible to have your book in libraries and sold in bookstores, though you do have to contact them yourself and/or have people request it. However, it does require a lot of work, even post publishing (marketing, for example), and it is difficult to make back what you put into it. It should not be seen as an alternative to traditional publishing, nor as an easy way to make money.

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Closing Thoughts

I hope that this information has been helpful! Deciding on what publishing route to take can feel very daunting at first, but I hope that this breakdown makes it easier for you to make a decision.

I have experience with all four of these (thankfully did not sign anything with that vanity press!), and have self-published more than once. While I intend on querying for traditional publishing with other books in the future, I believe that the method you take should honestly be based on your goals as a writer and future published author. And should you decide you want to go a different route, it’s never too late to try something else!

If you are unsure which method might work better for you, I offer publishing consultation calls! Check Publishing Services page for more information!

The next few posts will be focused on how to prepare for traditional publishing via querying, including tips on how to find agents, polishing your query letter and synopsis, and more! Stay tuned!

Let me know your thoughts and any questions you might have in the comments below.