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The Pros And Cons Of Traditional Publishing vs. Self-Publishing

The Creative Penn

Thu. Mar. 08, 2018 1:00pm

Get your Free Author 2.0 Blueprint at:
http://www.TheCreativePenn.com/blueprint

Full notes on this at:
http://www.thecreativepenn.com/self-publishing-vs-traditional/
and also in my free ebook, Successful Self-Publishing (also in print):
http://www.thecreativepenn.com/successfulselfpublishing/

I go through:
- What is traditional publishing
- Pros of trad pub including kudos, validation, prestige; easier print distribution, established team to work with, no upfront costs and (hopefully) a decent advance, some marketing help, potential for critical acclaim and literary prizes
- Cons of trad pub include: slow process, loss of creative control, potentially prohibitive contract clauses, less marketing help than expected, lower royalty rates

I recommend Kristine Kathryn Rusch's book on contracts: Closing the Deal on your Terms - http://amzn.to/2CRwsff

- Self-publishing vs being an independent author
- Pros of self-publishing: creative control, speed to market, higher royalty rates, empowerment, global sales in any format and any market, niche books can reach a market, can use it to get attention of trad pub if you have success
- Cons of self-publishing: you need to learn new skills and find a professional team to work with, you need an upfront budget for a quality product, validation has to come from readers and income, not the industry, harder to get into physical bookstores and literary prizes.

Remember, you can be a hybrid author and choose which publishing route per project and per market e.g. keep World English rights for ebook, but license paperback, audiobook or foreign rights.