Should I seek a traditional publisher, or self publish?

Another way to ask the question is how long do you want to wait to see your book on the market? It takes much less time to self-publish than to go to the traditional route.

It wasn’t so very long ago that the term “self-publishing” didn’t exist. The term was “vanity publishing.” But that was back in the “good old days” when a decent book had a much greater chance of being published by a well- known publisher. Now, to land a contract with a traditional publisher you have to land an agent. And that means you have to be as good at writing a query letter, which in fewer than 300 words entices the agent to read the manuscript, as you are at writing the book in the first place.

Maybe you are that writer. I know from experience that I am not.

Even with the powerful, web-based Query Tracker, which helps us identify agents who represent books in the categories we write in, the job of finding, or failing to find, an agent takes a whole lot of time, energy and worry that we could spend on writing our next book.

My quick survey via Query Tracker reveals agents’ acceptances rates are less than 2%. Think about that. Two percent!

Well, then, you ask, why in the world try to land a traditional publisher?

The most compelling reason is that there is no more powerful affirmation of the value of our books , and of ourselves as writers, than a publisher’s judgement that a lot of people will want to read our books. Otherwise why would a publisher spend resources on getting them to market? Don’t we all ask ourselves, in the middle of sleepless nights, “How good am I really?” Traditional publishers, especially the big five and their various imprints, are the major leagues. Isn’t that where we all want to play?

Another powerful reason is that we have to spend our own money to self-publish our work. Copy editing is a must. So is professional book design of the cover and interior. There goes at least three thousand dollars. And what about professional developmental and line editing? I would not even dream about submitting a manuscript to an agent without first researching to find a highly competent professional editor to go over it with a fine tooth comb, and then using that edit to revise and polish. There goes at least another two thousand dollars. Writers who have enough faith in their own work alone will not use a professional editor, assuming that the agent and/or publisher will do that job for them. Not me. The chances of landing an agent are already small enough.

And there are other powerful reasons. Running a self-publishing business takes even more time and energy than finding an agent. We have to learn the whole business. What’s the most advantageous and accurate meta data for our book? Who should be the copy editor? The Book designer? How much can we afford to pay them? What will be the ROI? And, as self-publishers, we have to do all the marketing. Books are particularly difficult to market. How to keep our books from getting lost among the thousands of books that will be published today? It is impossible to sell anything that no one knows exists. There is no question that a traditional publisher will have more heft in the market than a self publisher.

Nevertheless, every publisher expects their writers to work hard at marketing their books.

On the other hand, there are important advantages to self-publishing. If we do all the work, we keep control over every element. Most important: the cover. The traditional publisher might, or might not, ask the author’s opinion, but will make the decision. What if the author doesn’t like it, or prefers another choice? How hard would it be emotionally to have the book you have have spent so much of yourself on have a look you dislike? Or feel that it suggests to the reader a different book that you’ve spent your talent on?

Remember, it is your talent that counts, not the publisher’s. Without writers there is no publishing. Talent is rare. Otherwise it isn’t talent. If you have it, respect it. Consider assuming the attitude that your book has a high value. If agents and publishers aren’t smart enough to recognize your talent, its their loss not yours.

Maybe your self published book will find a satisfyingly capacious audience – and another maybe – its good sales will entice an agent to represent it to publishers.

And how long are you willing to wait for the book to be available to readers? A well designed self-publishing program for a given book can be as brief as six months from the beginning of the process to launch day. The average time spent from when you start writing query letters to a publisher launching a book is 2 to 4 years! Add to that the time you spent writing the book – if not at least two years for a novel, it’s probably not worth reading. So, it could be six years. Are you that patient?

And, believe it or not, even after all the expenses, we just might make more money self-publishing our books. Traditional publishers pay royalties ranging from 10% to 15%. On Amazon, a self-published e book will earn a 70% royalty, and a paperback 60% after the cost of printing. Maybe you could sell fewer books, but make more money.

Just remember, it won’t be easy.

I have arrived, at last at my own “come to Jesus” moment. I have made a decision about which way to go. Proceed with both processes simultaneously. Decide not to decide until I know more.

Yes, I know, that sounds insanely indecisive, but but is actually more indecisive to proceed with one concrete option vs another that is entirely speculative.

So, I will figure out how long I am willing to wait until Sacred Places, a novel I have recently completed, is available to readers. That will be the launch day of a detailed, step by step self-publishing process designed by a trusted professional with whom I have already contracted. Simultaneously, I will use the research I have already done on query tracker, and the time already spent on developing the query letter, to continue to try find an agent. If I’m successful I will have more knowledge and understanding than I do now to decide whether to accept the agent’s offer or continue the self-publishing process to the finish line.

Like a lot writers, I don’t know what I know until I try to write it. What I have realized while writing this is that I don’t want anymore to be the writer who needs an agent, and can only hope. I want to be the writer the agent needs.

That’s healthier. I’m happier that way.