The Three Major Publishing Paths
- Sterling MZ
- May 21
- 8 min read
Pros, Cons, and Considerations to Put Your Book on the Right Track
Recently I’ve been writing blogs about the technical side of writing, publishing, and editing than the creative. With my book being in beta reading, I’ve focused more on my freelance editing and getting a good amount of reading in than creative writing (also this blog). I should be getting beta reading notes at the top of June (and I’m so excited!), so I’ll be going back into more of a creative writing/author mode soon.
This week has been a doozy. I finished working a week-long catering with my in-laws, my feet are dead tired, and I’ve got quite a bit of freelance. So with my sore feet up on my ottoman and two days to write a new blog for my weekly posting day (Wednesdays), I’m transforming an email I sent to a prospective client into a blog post.
Every author deserves guidance, because every book deserves its best shot at being read. With the rise of Amazon, KDP, and businesses being able to work remotely, there are so many more paths to publishing than before. Which publishing model gives you your best shot might not be the same for another author.
When it comes to publishing, we have decisions to make beyond what we put into our books. How you want to put your book out into the world depends on what type of publishing experience you want, your overall goal, and how much you care about notability. So today, I’m breaking down the three major publishing paths, and the pros, cons, and considerations to put your book on the right track from the get-go.
Traditional Publishing
The most notable traditional publishers are the Big 5, many household names among us readers and writers: Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan, Hachette, and HarperCollins. There are also very strong independent publishers. This is what most people think of when they think of publishing: a large company with history, expertise, and resources to make them a success.
Business Model
An author (represented by an agent) is paid an advance of money by the publisher for the publisher to gain the rights to publish their work for a profit. The publishing house takes on the financial risk, not only paying the author in advance of the work plus royalties when each copy sells but also providing editing, design, marketing, PR, and distribution.
Pros
No up-front cost; you get an advance on future royalties!
Traditional publishers are more credible, therefore their authors are too
Higher chances of notoriety
Helps with book-industry-related PR, like book reviews from Kirkus and Publishers Weekly as well as endorsements from other authors
Built-in team of people that know the publishing landscape and know how to make a good book
Likely to be placed in bookstores
Cons
Long wait times—submitting to an agent, then submitting to a publisher, can take months. If the book is accepted, it can be in production for a year and a half to two years
Extremely selective
You sell your rights to your work
Unless you are one of the biggest names in the industry, the common shift has been for authors to do their own marketing
Don’t get a say in cover design (if this is important to you)
Smaller royalties, especially if you haven’t earned out your advance
Consider that . . .
The competition is fierce in traditional publishing because of all the pros. There are many hurdles when it comes to getting an agent and a publishing deal, and good books may be rejected by agents and publishers every day. Publishing is a business, and your art may not have the commercial factor they are looking for. This doesn’t mean it’s bad at all, but it can be confidence-shattering to be turned down. If you have the time, dedication, and belief in your story to go on submission, then this is definitely an avenue worth trying. After all, sending an email never hurt anyone!
If you do get a deal, congratulations! It is truly amazing to have a publisher backing your book. However, do remember that not every book that comes out of a traditional publisher will be instant successes and blow up to the reputation of some of your favorite authors. You may also be ranked lower than other authors for the publisher to invest time and money into. Even though the people working on your book are excellent at their job, they may not have the hours to give to you versus the others they know that are going to make money.
There are also smaller independent traditional publishers. They may not give an advance and not have been around as long, but they won’t ask you to invest any of your own money into the book’s production either. You can get a slightly higher royalty with them, since there’s no advance (15 to 20 percent of each sale).
Hybrid Publishing
There are many companies that offer hybrid publishing, some with great success, and others with wishy-washy results. Previously, hybrid companies were known as “vanity presses” since many companies would take any author without seriously editing, designing, or revising the book. The line between vanity presses and hybrid is still a bit thin; vanity would be absolutely no editing, minimal design, and no distribution happen, where hybrid would have rigorous editing, design, and offer a distribution avenue.
Business Model
Author pays money to the publishing company—staffed with a team of publishing professionals—to edit, design, and distribute their book. With your investment, you'll own your book, but you are more responsible than the publisher in making back the money you invested, as most often, the publisher makes money off of producing the book, not the sales. You will also pay for the marketing, which can be expensive.
Pros
Many don’t require an agent, so you get to work directly with your publisher
Less selective than traditional
More control of your book’s content and design
A built-in team of professionals to edit and design your book, ensuring quality
Production typically moves faster
You own your rights
Higher royalties (between 30 percent to 100 percent) depending on where the book is sold
Has a publisher’s name attached to their book, giving more credibility
Cons
Authors can invest a lot of money, between 5k to 30k, to have their book produced
Stigma of vanity press, that the publisher will take anyone
Publishing model is easy to use to scam authors (if company is not legitimate)
Marketing is on the author, or can come as an extra fee offered by the publisher
No guarantee of money coming back to you
Less likely to make it into bookstores due to royalty structures
Consider that . . .
The biggest hurdle with hybrid publishing is the amount of money it can take. This is true, too, for self-publishing, but there are ways to make self-publishing cheaper. This can be a good model for authors that already have a built-in audience, like celebrities, or those that own businesses as they view a book as a way to market their services and they don’t care about going into bookstores—they know most of their sales will come from clients, speaking events, or selling it as a resource for work. Still, there is finical risk, no matter how notable you are.
Authors need to be willing to either pay more money to market their book or invest the time to market it themselves. With investing their money, they do get more control, but this can also build a higher sense of entitlement and make them less receptive to feedback from the publishing team.
If you go this route, I cannot stress enough to do your research on the company’s previous history. There are good hybrid publishers out there, but there are also many vanity publishers that won’t edit your book, distribute it, or care if you make money after or not. A good hybrid publisher will care and help you distribute your books. However, just because you have a publisher doesn’t automatically mean you will still be found in bookstores or become an instant bestseller, or make it any better or worse quality than a book that’s from a traditional publisher or self-publishing.
Self-Publishing
KDP, IngramSpark, BookBaby, and publishers similar to these are the major self-publishing platforms. Self-published books have a wide array of content, success, and professionalism since the onus for everything is on the author. It’s the author’s responsibility to find an editor (or not), a designer (or not), a marketer (or not). Self-publishing is what the author makes it.
Business Model
Once an author completes their book, they are able to upload it to a self-publishing platform and have their book up for sale instantly. They can sell e-books and physical books via print-on-demand (POD) services. The author gets paid a royalty for each book sold, generally 50 to 60 percent, less the cost of printing if it’s a POD book. The platform takes the other 40 to 50 percent for hosting the book.
Pros
Creative independence
No wait time; you publish when you’re ready to publish
Full control of cover design
You own your rights
Open to anyone
Higher royalty rates
If successful, self-publishing can lead to a traditional publishing contract or representation by an agent
Cons
No guarantee of money coming back to you
Less reputable, since it’s open to anyone
Author is responsible for finances
Need to find editors and designers for your book, which can come with varying degrees of professionalism
All marketing and social media is on the author (unless they hire someone)
Less likely to get into bookstores (POD books are not always accepted into stores, since bookstores need to make at least 50 percent of the book’s list price to stock it in their store)
Consider that . . .
Self-publishing is truly the model that the author makes it out to be. There are less hurdles on the front end, because its risk lies in the back end—getting people to know you and your book, and selling it. You will also have to battle with the stigma that "you didn’t publish a book" because you decided it was good enough, not an editor or agent or publisher. Being able to stand behind your book is key in all the paths, and especially so in self-publishing.
This model can work, though, as we have seen with the current uptick in self-published books getting picked up by traditional houses and, in some cases, by studios that want to adapt them. Still, there are huge varying degrees of success with self-publishing, even if you don’t get a traditional contract from your success. With the higher royalty rates and having multiple books, some authors make a modest amount of income. Other authors may only sell a few copies, mostly to friend and family.
Marketing is key here, as in order for your book to sell, people need to discover it. Promoting oneself on social media has been key to many self-published books' successes. If you are not comfortable with marketing, you can hire a freelance marketer, or you may want to look at the other two paths before considering self-publishing, since they can help guide you.
A great book can come from anywhere, and success, no matter the path, is not guaranteed. Success is measured by you and how much you love your book, and how much your ideal readers love your book. Art is art. Your book does not need to make you thousands in order for you to feel accomplished. Because trust me, just writing the book and loving it, well, that will make you feel like a millionaire.
Write on,
Sterling M.Z.
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