[00:00:00] Welcome to Beyond the Book presented by Juxtabook. I'm Zach Kristensen. It's our weekly, Q&A episode. Answering your questions about writing publishing and launching your book. Let's begin.
[00:00:13] What are the pros and cons for self publishing versus working through a publishing agency?
[00:00:23] Understanding the world of publishing and all the different options can feel like you're navigating an ocean without a compass. So I'm going to go through the three main categories that you need to consider when you want to pursue self-publishing or traditional publishing. These categories are control, costs, and timeline.
[00:00:45] First, starting with control. This is a big one. Because when you choose traditional publishing, you are essentially selling the rights of your book to a publishing house.
[00:00:56] They now have the rights to take your intellectual [00:01:00] property and publish it as a book. And they handle everything from the design layout, and printing to the distribution, which is a good value.
[00:01:10] In exchange, they either pay you in advance and ongoing royalties. So it's like selling your home cooked recipe to a restaurant. They'll cook it, serve it, and you'll get the share of the profits. Now the one difference is as you will still have to market it.
[00:01:29] On the other hand with self publishing you control the entire process and you still own all the intellectual property. And by retaining the full rights to your manuscript, you decide how it's prepped, how it's designed, how the cover's designed, how it's laid out and how it's printed and distributed and you're typically going to be a lot more nimble and can pivot quickly on changes.
[00:01:55] Next up is cost. Traditional publishers typically cover all of the expenses [00:02:00] associated with getting your book ready to be put out into the marketplace. This includes the editing, design, layout, and printing. It's part of the deal when they buy your books, intellectual property. Self publishing. However means you are footing the bill for these services. There are a lot more upfront costs, but you will also earn more from the royalties.
[00:02:23] The last category is timeline. If you have a finished manuscript ready to go today and you find a publisher who will distribute your book. You're looking to wait at least six to seven months, or maybe up to a year before your book actually hits the shelves.
[00:02:42] Now with self publishing, the timeline is a lot faster. You can have your book printed and distributed within a month, depending on the platform that you choose and the speed at which you can get your work out there is just going to be significantly faster and you'll have [00:03:00] more control
[00:03:00] over what happens when.
[00:03:03] To reiterate the three categories are control cost and timeline.
[00:03:09] As you're deciding which path to go down, you need to consider the facts of the industry.
[00:03:15] It's estimated that only one to 3% of books are traditionally published each year. And that's based on reports suggesting that publishers released around 300,000 to 500,000 new books annually.
[00:03:32] So that means the pond can get filled up fairly quickly and that most authors will end up self publishing. But if you want to traditionally publish and you're willing to put in the time and wait and be patient and find the right publisher, then I say, stick with that. If that's what your heart is set on, go with traditional publishing until you can find the right publisher for you.
[00:03:57] So what appeals more to you as an author? Do you [00:04:00] want to have the control and speed? Are you seeking a partnership with a publisher who understands your book and its marketing potential?
[00:04:08] There's no one size fits all approach It's really about weighing the trade-offs and deciding which path aligns with your goals as the author and what you want the book to do. Remember that both paths can lead to success, disappointment, frustration it's not a straight line to that success, there's going to be bumps in the road.
[00:04:30] And there are many factors outside of the publishing process that you can influence for the outcome
[00:04:36] So take the time today and start thinking about which publishing path could be best for me.
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[00:04:49] If you have any questions about a recent episode, I'd love to hear from you. Visit juxtabook.com/beyondthebook and click the appropriate button [00:05:00] to leave your question and we will include it in our weekly Q&A episode.
[00:05:05] Your book is just one chapter in your author journey. Think beyond the book as you craft your path. Thank you for your questions and thank you for listening.
