Why Go Indie When You Could Go Trad?
If you’re an aspiring author, one of the biggest decisions you’ll have to make is how you want to go about publishing your book after it’s finished. Every single publishing journey is different, so what worked for me may not work at all for you. But if you’re curious as to why I decided to go the route I did, read on.
I have wanted to publish my own book since approximately fourth grade. It was always a “dream” scenario for me. Can you imagine?My book printed in paperback?Strangers reading a story I wrote? I would daydream about what it would be like, never really thinking it would happen because it felt like something mythical and unattainable.
You see, you have to finish writing a story before you can ever start thinking about publishing it.
And I had a terrible track record when it came to finishing projects I’d started.
But in 2018 I decided I was going to do it. I had been kicking around a story idea for a few years and I told myself this was the one. I committed. I started tracking my word count every day. I spent hours at the library, typing furiously. And I did it. I typed the words ‘THE END’. And the immense relief and joy and pride I felt at that was indescribable. I told myself I’d done the hard part. I printed my manuscript and “bound” it in a three-ring binder.
And then I thought…now what?
I started researching how to publish a book and was bombarded with thousands of blog posts and book recommendations and interviews with published authors…and all of them said different things. Get an agent. Don’t bother with an agent. Send your manuscript out cold. NEVER cold-query your manuscript! I was overwhelmed. But I knew that others had figured it out before me, so I got to work. I bought dozens of craft books on publishing and perused agent directories and sought out information on social media pitch events.
But the more I learned about the traditional publishing route, the more discouraged I became.
First, you had to find an agent — a process that many authors reported taking months or years. You had to send your story that you’d poured your heart and soul into out to strangers who would tell you that it wasn’t good enough or that they didn’t think they could market it or that it was close but not quite what they were looking for. If you finally did manage to score representation, that was just the start.
Then, your agent had to send your manuscript to publishers and you could end up stuck in another cycle of rejection that could last more months (or years). If a publisher thought your pitch and synopsis sounded intriguing, they might request the first thirty pages. If that didn’t hook them, they’d likey pass it up.
But, let’s say you managed to make it through all of those hoops and a publisher agreed to make your book a reality! It could still be months (or YEARS) until you were able to hold your book in your hands or see it on bookstore shelves. It would have to go through rounds of edits and revisions — and if you didn’t agree with the changes that were suggested, there was a chance the publisher could pull your contract. The publisher would determine what genre to market toward and how much effort went intothat marketing. If you’d written a book that was intended to be the first in a series (as I had), there was the possibility that a publisher might buy the first book but if it didn’t sell well enough, they could decide never to publish any more. And then there’s all the rules about advances and earning out and I started reading so many horror stories of authors who’d still not earned any royalties on their own books many months after publishing and having tremendous sales.
Traditional publishing started to feel more like a nightmare than a dream.
I was just about ready to give up on the idea of ever holding my own book in my hands when I started to hear more about independent publishing. There were hundreds of authors on social media who claimed they had published their own books on their own schedule. It sounded too good to be true, but I was intrigued.
So, I started researching self-publishing.
And that dream idea I had of publishing started to rebuild itself.
I had shelved that story from 2018, but I had a different one I was working on — a Greek myth retelling with a historical setting. I connected with some amazing authors in the writing community on Twitter and Instagram. I saw them post about their books — REAL books they held in their hands. I asked questions. I took notes. And I realized that self-publishing was the route I was always meant to take.
What are the benefits of self-publishing vs. traditional publishing?
As stated at the start, every writer is different and they’ll view the benefits and drawbacks in their own unique light. I can only share my experience and beliefs.
For reference, I use Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing service so I cannot comment on what the experience is like using any other self-publishing service.
Control of Timeline: One of the biggest benefits of self-publishing to me is the ability to do things on your schedule. If I decide that I want to publish a story I’ve written, I can upload my manuscript and cover file at any point in time and within 72 hours it will be live on Amazon’s website. Or — I can set up a book for pre-order and choose my own publication date. Or — I can decide to push a release back if necessary (which I had to do for my debut). Having full control of the timeline of your book’s release means you don’t have to wait around for months or years for your publisher to decide that it’s your book’s time to shine.
Control of Marketing: Another huge benefit of self-publishing is having control over ALL of my book’s marketing. I choose what tropes and teasers to share. I don’t have to worry about a publisher pushing my book to the wrong audience because I am the one who does all the pushing. This perk also means I can choose to work with whatever artists I would like for character art — I have met some really incredible artists through this and it has been amazing to support each other in our creative pursuits!
Full Creative Control: This was a huge selling point for me, personally, because my biggest fear in sending my story out to agents and publishers was having them tell me that something in it wasn’t working and needed to change. Is there anything more gut-wrenching than having someone tell you that your life’s work, the thing you ripped out of your own chest and committed to ink isn’t good enough?
What are the drawbacks to self-publishing vs. traditional publishing?
Without any personal experience in traditional publishing, I can only comment on what I have seen and researched.
All Responsibility Falls on YOU: This is a blessing and a curse. You have full control of all the things stated above, but that also means that YOU are the one responsible for doing everything for your book yourself. You write the story. You have to sell it. You don’t have the ability to fall back on a team of designers and marketers and assistants to help with anything. There are a lot of people out there now who offer production assistance to independent authors to take some of that burden away, but you have to weigh the benefit of that with the cost.
Everything Comes Out of Your Pocket: When you choose to self-publish, you have to foot the bill for everything. Writing/formatting software. Cover design. Marketing materials. Printing costs (for bookmarks, stickers, etc). Character art. Ads. It’s all dependent on YOUR budget.
You Have To Hustle: If you want to sell your book, you’re going to have to talk about it. A LOT. You’ll talk about your book so much it will almost make you sick. You’ll think you’re being insufferable. You’ll think you’re the most annoying person on the internet. You have to keep talking about it anyway. You’ll run out of ideas. The algorithm will become your arch nemesis. But you gotta push through and keep hustling. This was really hard for me to learn and it’s been hard to maintain consistency with it — but I’m starting to get better. And I will say, every time I think I have posted the same thing a MILLION times and everyone must be sick of hearing it, I get someone to comment or follow or reach out who says they’ve never heard of my book before and they’re excited to read it. So — it’s worth it. It’s just a pain.
Whatever you choose to do for your book has to come down to your hopes and dreams (and budget) and probably a million other factors. This is what has worked for me. I am so proud to be an indie author! I have met so many other amazing authors in this community! Someday, maybe things will change for me. But for now, I am happy. I made my dream come true, all on my own. And that is a feeling unlike any other.
