Assuming you have a completed manuscript in your hands…

Edit. Edit the living hell out of that manuscript. And I don’t mean you, I mean hire someone to edit it for you. This usually takes a few rounds before the manuscript is ready to be called a book.

Give the manuscript out to select people to read as proofreaders. They’ll catch the mistakes that you and your editor missed. Stare at something long enough, it fades from your vision. You and your editor will miss stuff the longer you edit the manuscript. Fix the errors your proofreaders found and send it out to a new group of proofreaders to see if they catch any mistakes. There are some people who do proofreading professionally. They are more likely to find errors that most people would miss.

Hire an artist to create a REAL cover for your book! Like editing the manuscript, the cover illustration will go through a few iterations before you finalize it. The cover is the primary advertisement for your book. Don’t skimp on it. If you fancy yourself having an artistic bent and figure you can assemble something on your own with [INSERT GRAPHICS PROGRAM HERE]……don’t. There have been many self-published books that were excellently written but were absolutely destroyed by their covers. You are a writer. Not an illustrator. Go hire a real artist to create a real cover illustration for you.

Good editing? Passed proofreading? Got a nice cover? That manuscript is ready to be published as a book.

Storytelling is an art. Writing is just a technical facet of storytelling, it is what you have to do to create a permanent record of the story you are telling. But trying to sell a book to other people is business. Don’t ever forget that.

You can’t just slither back into your writing hole and start writing the next book. You have to go out and promote the book you just pushed out into the wild. That’s called “Sales-Marketing.” Because the vast majority of writers are introverts, this is the hardest thing for a writer to do: get up in front of other people and say, “Step right up folks and buy my book!” (Seriously, buy my book! I had to replace my car and the next payment is coming up!)

And, oh, it gets uglier! All these things are going to cost you money. That’s business. And by business, I mean business. You should create a business! A small corporation; a LLC S-corp (US). Hire an accountant to help you set up the best option to help you save money on taxes and manage your expenses according to the regulations of the locality where you live. This will cost you a couple hundred of dollars, but should result in you making more money than that if you had done otherwise.

This is why hiring an agent or publisher costs an author so much. Rough 80%–90% of your income. There is so much to be done in the process of making a book that can be sold publicly, it can cost a lot of money. Self-publishing can push many people into cognitive overload, where they just can’t figure out what to do next and freeze up.

(edit 2020–07–13: the above paragraph is rather misleading. It should be compared to publishing yourself as opposed to having an agent and publisher get your book out there. The publisher takes on all the risk, production costs, marketing, etc., so they take a lion’s share of the sales proceeds. The resulting royalty from all that is split between the author and the author’s agent. Self-publishing means all the money from the sales proceeds goes into your pocket, so you will earn more per copy sold than you would via traditional publishing. You still have to take on all the financial costs of prepping your book for publishing. But a trade publisher is more likely to sell more copies of your books; greater exposure means greater sales in the future and more income.)

The answers here so far are making a false and misleading comparison.

They’re presenting the self-publishing scenario as quick and trade publishing as slow because they’re not comparing the two processes equally.

The point at which you self-publish on Amazon, for example, is not the same as the point at which you start the trade-publishing process. Thus, “a day” versus “years” is completely wrong.

First off, when a trade publisher signs a deal with you, you typically have just a couple sample chapters and an outline (for nonfiction). The book still has to be written and edited! When you sign with a publisher for fiction, you usually have a completed manuscript — but it’s not been edited!

On top of this, the book’s design, layout, typography, and proofreading still have to be done.

So, the answers here are comparing a finished ready-to-publish book on the self-publishing side with a book that is far from complete on the trade publishing side. This isn’t even apples and oranges… it’s apples and bicycles.

What’s the truth?

If you do a proper comparison — the point at which a fully edited, produced, and proofread book is ready for publication — the time difference is far less and potentially even equal. It depends on the publisher. If they go with a print-on-demand/Kindle approach, it’s no different. They can have it on Amazon as quickly as you can by self-publishing. But if they go the traditional route (print run, inventory, distribution), then it can take weeks. Most publishers go this latter route because it’s more profitable in the long run due to the lower per-copy print cost. If they don’t think they can sell 1,000+ of your book within a year (to justify the print run), they simply won’t sign a deal with you.

In the end…

Yes, self-publishing is still typically faster. You don’t need the time to find an agent or publisher; you just start. Your book isn’t just one of many the publisher is working on, so you can go as quickly as possible. And when the book is finally ready to publish, you can jump right on Amazon KDP and have it available within a day. (Other platforms, not so quickly.)

But to self-publish a book of equal quality to what a trade publisher will produce, don’t kid yourself that it’ll be quick. You’ll need to find, hire, and work with an editor, a designer, and a proofreader at minimum. (Or you find, hire, and work with a book coach to manage this.) And if your book is nonfiction, it may require more involved services (and time) like fact-checking, complex design, and indexing.

Making a true comparison between self-publishing and trade publishing for a typical book comes to this answer:

3–9 months versus 12–18 months

But that’s starting on the traditional side with a deal. Getting a book deal is the unknown factor in timing that no one can possibly answer. Mine have taken anywhere from a few months to a couple years.

Last point in fairness to trade publishing

One more thing that often adds to the time on the traditional side is that many publishers, especially the bigger they are, follow “book seasons.” These revolve to some degree around the major book festivals, such as the Frankfurter Buchmesse (Frankfurt Book Fair), which is the biggest in the world. But you also have genre and subject-matter seasons. So, if your book is on “glamping” (high-end camping), for example, the publisher might know that spring is the best time to release such a book. If they’ve signed a deal with you in February, well, that’s too late for a current-year spring release — your book will come out the spring of next year.

This is because, in the book trade, the first several weeks of a release are the most critical. It’s when most sales occur in a book’s lifecycle, and it’s the do-or-die time for physical retailers. They have limited shelf space, so if it a book doesn't sell fast enough soon enough, they’re going to drop it for something else. This is why publishers work their releases really hard.

Meanwhile, the vast majority of self-publishers release their books when they’re finished, with little regard to overall timing. Such, maybe with thought toward the holidays or another obvious seasonal angle, but not much otherwise. (And to be clear, I’m only talking about the typical self-publisher; savvy self-publishers approach timing and their release promotions just as a trade publisher would.)

So, all in all, when you hear about trade publishing taking so long, it’s sometimes because the publisher is actually attempting to position your book’s release for the best timing — not bumbling bureaucracy or indifference.

I hope this helps!

[Answered: How long does it take to self-publish a book? How does this compare to the traditional route?]

While the quality of writing is a crucial factor in getting a book published, there are indeed other factors that can affect traditional publication. Some of these factors include:

1. Market demand: Publishers consider whether the book fits into a specific genre or category that is currently in demand or has a target audience. They often analyze market trends and sales potential before making a decision.

2. Commercial viability: Publishers consider whether the book has the potential to sell well and generate a profit. They assess factors such as the authors platform, marketability, and the books unique selling points.

3. Publishing house policies: Each publishing house has its own set of guidelines and preferences. Some may focus on specific genres or themes, while others may prioritize debut authors or established names. The book needs to align with the publishing houses goals and interests.

4. Competition: The publishing industry is highly competitive, with a limited number of slots available for publication. Publishers receive numerous submissions and can only choose a select few. Even if a book is well-written, it may be rejected due to high competition.

5. Editorial decisions: Publishers have a team of editors who assess the potential of a book. They consider factors like the narrative structure, character development, pacing, and overall market appeal. If they believe significant revisions are necessary, they may reject the book unless the author is willing to make those changes.

6. Author platform: For non-fiction books or certain genres like memoirs, publishers often consider the authors platform and credibility. A strong platform, which includes a significant following or expertise in the books subject matter, can increase the chances of traditional publication.

Its important to note that these factors may vary depending on the publishing house, the specific book, and the current market conditions. While a well-written book is essential, these additional factors can influence the decision to publish traditionally.

Thanks for the A2A, Cristopher Cervantes!

Having been both traditionally and self-published (well, I run a small publishing company, and my company publishes my books — I’ll count that as self-publishing), there are good reasons for going both routes.

Traditional Publishing

With regards to traditional publishing, the big pros are that

• The money all flows in one direction, and you don’t have to worry about any of the nuts and bolts of creating a book out of your manuscript.
• You’ll get an advance — probably not huge, but hey! Cash!
• No hiring designers or editors or (if you’re lucky) narrators or translators.
• No having to think through printing and storage.
• No distribution plan.
• No dealing with shipping or returns.
• You’ll hopefully have a good set of editors to work with to help you polish your book to a high sheen.
• You’ll even get a certain amount of help on the marketing front — they’ll mail copies of the book and a press release out to your college alumni magazine, to your local papers, and to any appropriate journals.

The cons with traditional publishing are… well, they’re relative.

• You will make less for each copy of your book sold (though at first you’ll likely sell more copies working with a traditional publisher than on your own). A traditional publisher generally pays 10% of the cover price for print and 25% of the sales price for ebooks.
• Don’t expect to earn more than your advance unless the book is selling well — I’ve had a couple of books go out of print just as they were about to earn out. (After all, your royalty payment will drop their profit per copy sold by something like 22%, so if it isn’t selling like gangbusters, it may not be worth it to order a new printing.)
• Don’t expect a coast-to-coast junket and radio and television interviews — those are saved for big-name authors, and seldom seen even then.
• Of course, they have total control over the final product — cover, promo copy, trim size, paper quality, typefaces and layout inside and out, pricing, etc. They decide your 150-page magnum opus should be released as a paperback with a plain-colored cover with just the title and (maybe) your name, with the interior in 9pt Times, .25″ margins, and priced at $40 a copy? You get to put up with it. (This is not a theoretical example, by the way.)
• If they don’t declare it out of print, it can be hard to get them to revert rights, even if the agreement spells out all of the terms of termination and reversion very clearly.

Self-Publishing

The pros with regards to self-publishing are also pretty clear:

• You take on the risk, so you get the reward, and you have the control. You get to make sure that the book represents you, your words, and your ideas in the best way possible. This is not easy and not necessarily cheap — but it is enormously satisfying.
• You make more for every copy sold. I make something like $4 per paperback copy of my novel Risuko that’s sold — that’s more than three times what I’d earn if I’d published through a traditional house. I make 60%–70% per ebook sold, and in all honesty, indie ebooks do just as well in the market as traditionally published ebooks do — and perhaps better, since traditional publishers tend to price their ebooks much higher than indies do. (There are a lot of reasons for that, but that’s a topic for a different discussion.)
• I have the same access to “shelf space” on Amazon, Apple, B&N.com, and other ebook stores that Random House and the other biggies do. Once there, books sink or swim on their own merits, not the cost of the carpets in the corporate headquarters.

The downsides are not inconsiderable, and they flow directly out of the upsides:

• In order to take my baby from manuscript to book, I need to spend an enormous amount of time, energy, or money — or more likely all three — to create a professional, beautiful book that will in fact swim on its merits and not sink.
• I need to make sure it’s carefully and thoroughly edited — and not by me, though I’m a professional editor.
• I need to make sure it’s got an eye-catching cover that promises what my book delivers, and if I can’t design that myself, I need to hire someone who can.
• I happen to be an ebook and print designer, so I have laid out my own print editions and developed my ebook editions using professional tools and standards. Most folks can’t do that, and so either hire someone, or use tools that will do at least a passable job of faking it.
• I need to come up with a plan to print, store, and distribute my books (I usually use print-on-demand services, but that decreases my profit per copy sold considerably. Still — $4 a copy is a lot better than $1.20!) That said…
• There’s no guarantee that anyone’s going to buy any book — mine or Simon & Schuster’s. They publish enough titles a year that a dud now and then doesn’t hurt so much. Me? Having an audiobook, for example, that I spent 80+ hours recording, editing, and mastering sell FOURTEEN COPIES in eight years? That hurts. (That wasn’t a self-published title, by the way. That was an audiobook I produced through ACX for a well-reputed small publisher on a royalty-share agreement. Never again.) When you’re the boss, the buck literally stops with you.

Now, I have to advertise and market my own books as well — but in my experience, that’s going to happen even if I go back to being traditionally published — even large publishing houses are operating on a tight enough margin that they only expend real money to advertise or market a book if they’ve already taken a big risk, usually because they’ve paid a large advance to a celebrity. So that’s a wash. :-)

Self-publishing is a lot of work, and it can be a considerable investment of (as I said) time, energy, and money. However, I get the satisfaction of knowing that I’m happy with my books, and that when they sell, the pocket the money flows into is mine.

By the way: if a “publishing company” offers to publish your book, but wants money up front? Run, don’t walk. That’s a scam. Publishers pay you. Self-publishing services provide design, editorial, and other support, so you pay them — but you keep the royalties.

It depends on what you mean.

Writing, editing and proofreading a book can take as long as it takes.

The same with designing a book cover.

However, uploading a book to Amazon takes around an hour the first time and probably around 15–20 for each subsequent book. Amazon states that all being well your book will be live on Amazon in 72 hours, but with covid, I’ve had books take up to 2 weeks to go live. If Amazon finds a problem with your book, then they’ll keep sending it back to you until it’s fixed.

I’ve never gone the publisher route for print books, but I’m a massive follower of Marie Forleo, and I remember when she emailed her list telling them about her book. The book was available to pre-order and would be published in September. She spent approximately 2 years writing, editing and proofreading her book (with her publisher), then 6 months engaging and marketing to her followers in the run-up to the publication date. It was an instant bestseller. That said, Marie had spent around 10 years building her business and her following to get to that point.

I can write and publish a book in 5 days, but it doesn’t mean it will sell. You need to put as much effort into building your author platform and marketing your book as you do writing it. No one will buy a book unless they know it exists and they want it. To paraphrase Field of Dreams, if you write it, they won’t come.

There is no should or shouldn’t. I take it we are talking about a first novel. There are basically three options.

1. You hawk it round agents or conventional publishers that accept direct submissions. Do your research, find the websites, follow the instructions. The chances of getting taken on are very low; even those who have best sellers often tried many agents before they got taken on. But if you succeed, at least others will do the non-author hard graft, and you might strike lucky with sales.
2. You self publish. Much easier than in the past, with Amazon/KDP. you may have to cough up a bit of cash for extras (like a good cover). The business of marketing etc is down to you. I am told that earninggs from this range from $0 to $500, with most closer to $0. The big plus is that your book will be published.
3. You use a pay-to-publish publisher (otherwise known as a Vanity Publisher). Virtually all advice is to avoid these like the plague. They will actually publish it, and will have formatted it, got an ISBN number etc, but they will do little to market it. You would spend more money than on self publishing. It pays to look closely at the contract.

OK, so I had a first novel. Went down route 1, with the entirely expected result of no luck in 16 agents. No doubt I could have gone on and found more. I am old and lazy, Self-publishing seemed a chore. I chose route 3, despite everybody yelling scam. However, I did know the score; I was paying to have some boring things done by someone else. Now, the book is not yet out; it has been copy-edited. There are other things to complete. Will I get value for money? Wait and see.

That isn't the choice.

Here is the actual choice:

Should you self-publish or attempt to get an agent so you can pursue traditional publication.

You can't just decide to traditionally publish. You can only decide to pursue traditional publication.

For information about agents and traditional publication, Google “Janet Reid agent” and read through some of her archives. That site is now static because Janet Reid passed away earlier this year, but her archives are still there. Also Google “query shark” and take a look at how queries are written.

If you query fifty agents and don't get any requests for a full manuscript, your query probably needs work. If you get requests for a full, but no offers, your manuscript probably needs work.

If you decide to self-publish, take the time to look at appropriate covers, good description, and read some posts about keywords and other metadata.

You should understand that if your book is not well presented, no one will buy it.

If your book is not pretty good, then readers will look at the sample and not buy it.

If readers are suckered into buying a bad book, reviews will be negative because readers do not like buying books that are bad.

AND

Your first book is most likely pretty bad in some important ways, even if it is pretty good in other ways. If you haven't had an agent give it a thumbs up, how can you tell?

You can tell by having beta readers or critique partners, or a professional freelance editor, read it and give you a critique. It is not sensible to pay an editor without first being pretty sure it is basically a good book. That is why you should get a critique partner first.

AND

If your “book” is 30 pages long or you generated it with AI, then you don't have a book. Don't waste anybody's time. Self publish it if you want. That is pointless, but it doesn't waste anyone's time but your own.

AND

If your book is great, you should realize no one will ever notice it unless you do some kind of marketing. Either plan for that or resign yourself to a tiny, tiny trickle of sales.

Neither is intrinsically better. There are pros and cons to each. It's up to you to decide what's important to you.

Traditional publishing gives you validation plus money up front plus editorial feedback plus they do the cover and everything, plus distribution. You lose control of your book for a long time.

Self-publishing gives you nothing at all except total control. What you get out of it depends on what you put into it.

If you pay the publisher, that is not traditional publishing. That is hybrid publishing at best, vanity publishing more likely, or a scammer at worst.

Don't pay a “publishing company” without doing substantial research and thinking hard.

It depends. Are you talking about traditional publishing or self-publishing?

With traditional publishing, it can be anywhere from 1 year at very minimum to 3 years at maximum, though that’s only in my experience. Most books on average took 18 months to 2 years in production.

That’s not counting the 3 months or so that the author had spent pitching the manuscript, trying to secure an agent, waiting to hear if the agent hooked any deals, and going through contract negotiation with the publisher.

With self-publishing, it can be anywhere from 1 month at minimum to 40 years maximum, again based on my experience. Some authors who are working solo can get their book out there in a month (I’ve seen it happen), while others can take decades to release their book into the world.

On average, I’d say it takes most authors anywhere from 3 to 12 months depending on the length of the book and how much work needs doing, with the average being around 6 to 9 months.

Self-publishing — first, the freedom to write your books your way, any genre, and not to what's 'selling’ or 'popular’. ( Like the rash of books after Twilight or 50 Shades, etc. ) Or having your book shoehorned into a style you didn't choose so you can fit their style. Second, you choose the an editor who works for you, not the publisher, and the same for cover art, so the action is emphasized, not the romance subplot. Third, it's more immediate, rather than waiting months for the agent to submit to a publisher and wait for acceptance, request for a partial, or revise and resubmit.

Traditional publishing — the days of advances are mostly gone. They will promote your book on their website, but you'll still be expected to do most of the promotion yourself. They do have more immediate and easier access to stores. In the age of Covid-19, though, that's a little less than it was.

Publishing a book with a major publisher and self-publishing both have their own unique difficulties.

Publishing with a major publisher can be difficult because:

1. Competition: Major publishers receive thousands of submissions every year, and only a small percentage of those are accepted for publication. The competition is fierce, and you may need to submit multiple times before you are successful.
2. Editing and revisions: Even if your book is accepted for publication, you may need to make significant revisions to meet the publisher's standards and expectations. This can be a time-consuming and challenging process.
3. Time: The traditional publishing process can take a long time, with many months or even years passing between the submission of your manuscript and its publication.

Self-publishing can be difficult because:

1. Quality control: When you self-publish, there is no editorial review process to ensure the quality of your book. This means you need to have a high level of writing and editing skills, or hire professionals to help you produce a high-quality book.
2. Marketing and promotion: When you self-publish, you are responsible for all aspects of marketing and promoting your book. This can be a challenging and time-consuming process, especially if you don't have experience or resources.
3. Cost: Self-publishing can be expensive, as you will need to cover the costs of editing, cover design, formatting, and marketing.

Ultimately, both paths have their own unique difficulties, and the best approach will depend on your specific goals and circumstances. If you have a high-quality manuscript and are willing to invest time and effort into marketing and promotion, self-publishing can be a viable option. If you are looking for a more hands-off approach, or if you value the prestige and resources that come with a major publisher, the traditional publishing route may be the better choice.

Getting started with self-publishing can be a bit difficult but doesn’t have to be.

After publishing 200+ books on Amazon and running 120 million Amazon ads, I discovered the secret to getting books self-published easily and selling.

The key is to break down the steps into easy-to-follow bite-sized chunks as I lay out in my free self-publishing secrets checklist.

Before publishing a book, whether through traditional publishing or self-publishing, there are several key processes that authors typically follow. Here's an overview:

1. Writing and Editing:

· Write the manuscript: Start by writing your book, ensuring that it meets your vision and adheres to any genre conventions or guidelines.

· Revise and edit: Edit your manuscript for clarity, coherence, grammar, and style. Consider seeking feedback from beta readers or hiring a professional editor for a thorough review.

2. Design and Formatting:

· Cover design: Create or commission a captivating cover design that effectively represents your book's content and appeals to your target audience.

· Interior formatting: Format the interior layout of your book, including font selection, spacing, margins, and chapter headings, to ensure readability and aesthetic appeal.

3. Publishing Options:

Choose a publishing path: Decide whether to pursue traditional publishing through literary agents and publishing houses or to self-publish through platforms like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), IngramSpark, or others.

· Research publishing options: Explore the pros and cons of each publishing route, considering factors such as creative control, royalties, marketing support, and distribution channels.

4. ISBN and Copyright:

Obtain an ISBN: If self-publishing or publishing outside your country, acquire an International Standard Book Number (ISBN) for your book, which is essential for distribution and sales tracking.

· Copyright registration: Consider registering your copyright to protect your intellectual property rights and establish legal ownership of your book.

5. Distribution and Marketing:

· Distribution channels: Determine how you'll distribute your book, whether through online retailers, brick-and-mortar bookstores, or direct sales channels.

· Marketing strategy: Develop a marketing plan to promote your book, including strategies for building an author platform, engaging with readers through social media, securing reviews, and organizing book launches or promotional events.

6. Printing and Production (if applicable):

· Print-on-demand (POD): If self-publishing, consider utilizing POD services to produce physical copies of your book as orders are received, eliminating the need for upfront printing costs and inventory management.

· Offset printing: For larger print runs, explore offset printing options to produce higher-quality printed books at a lower cost per unit.

7. Launch and Distribution:

· Launch plan: Execute your book launch plan, including announcing the release date, generating buzz through promotional activities, and leveraging pre-orders to boost initial sales.

· Distribution: Make your book available for purchase through your chosen distribution channels, both online and offline, ensuring that it reaches potential readers effectively.

8. Post-Publication Promotion and Engagement:

· Continued marketing efforts: Maintain momentum for your book through ongoing marketing efforts, such as author interviews, blog tours, book signings, and advertising campaigns.

· Reader engagement: Cultivate relationships with your readers through author newsletters, social media interactions, and participation in literary communities, fostering a loyal fan base and encouraging word-of-mouth recommendations.

By following these processes diligently, authors can effectively prepare their books for publication and maximize their chances of reaching and resonating with their intended audience

Some sell.

There are basically three kinds of books.

• Non-fiction books.
• Genre fiction books.
• Unique fiction books.

With non-fiction books, if you can solve someone’s problem with a book, and there are enough people who have that problem, and fairly few books on the market, then you will sell a lot, and you will probably make a lot. There may also be spin-off benefits, such as getting paid to speak at conferences or do training sessions, and you may even land a better job.

Genre fiction is essentially writing within a genre where there are avid readers who keep wanting new material. If you’re writing in such a genre, and there’s a relative shortage of books, then people will buy them, recommend them, and you will probably make some money. However, the profit on genre fiction is much less than on non-fiction.

Unique fiction books — not just literary fiction, but also unusual books like the Harry Potter series — are much harder to sell, both for self-publishing and with traditional publishing. Many new authors picked up by a publisher write just one book, and actual sales, once you remove all of the accounting tricks used by publishers, can be trivial. If you have a wide social media following, and can strike a nerve with your book description, then you may do better than through traditional publishing. However, if a traditional publisher picks you up, though, and your sales get some traction, they are liable to push you harder the next time.

There are lots of people telling you that as long as it’s well-edited, has a good cover, and so on, then it’s going to sell.

However, traditional publishers always edit books properly, have professional designers do the covers, and have professionals do the marketing campaign. And yet many traditionally published books still don’t sell.

If you have a great novel in your mind, write it. If a traditional publisher will pick it up, great. If not, get it finished and polished, and publish it via Amazon KDP or something similar. Amazon organises distribution, puts you on a good marketing platform, and doesn’t charge you. If your book suddenly becomes popular, you don’t have to manage things. If it doesn’t, you can still give copies to friends for Christmas.

A personal story. I have a few books self-published. Three of them, taken together, over three years, made enough that I could have lived on it for a year. The others sell one or two, or no, copies a month, and they don’t make much profit when they do sell. People occasionally write to me to tell me that they love them. That’s all I really ask for.

Now, all this is on the back of essentially no marketing.

You are probably immediately going to say ‘you should find out about marketing—you would sell so many more books!’

But that’s the problem. I actually do know a lot about marketing.

When I was doing marketing and related things for other people full time, it was bringing in far more than the books could possibly have brought in, even if every single person in the target market bought a copy.

Writing a book is something you can do in your spare time, or (in my case) while waiting for a client who always delays everything. Marketing actually requires working during office hours.

So, the question you have to ask yourself is: am I going to make enough on my self-published books to quit my job? Even authors who have been picked up by traditional publishers are advised not to give up their day job until sales are really established.

Write because you love it.

Traditional is you have a publisher that designs the layout; book covers; edits out any typo and grammar mistakes; and has the marketing edge of promoting your book and sending out advance copies to reviewers. Might take several months but you have a professional staff doing this work for you.

Self Publishing is totally in your control.

My two authors I work for “hired” me to do book text layout and cover design. Mostly the books are softcover (trade paperback or regular paper back). They used Lightning Source originally and they have resources to put your book in front of bookstores. Our last finished book through LS was about the Lucayan Taîno natives that met Columbus in 1492 and printed 100 hardcovers that featured artwork of Bahamian artist Alton Lowe that were very expensive to produce through LS but were also beautifully bound and printed.

After the initial hardback run, the author decided to go through Amazon for a softcover version and the color and quality of Amazon’s printing surprised me as the colors pretty much were a perfect match to the glossy pages of the hardcover.

Problem is full color is expensive either way. The author wasn’t in it for the money so a few thousand for the hard cover’s single self distributed print run and on demand for Amazon—though AmZ prints up and stocks several copies to be sold. The Amazon soft cover printing cost of the full color Lucayan Book is pretty much what it’s being sold for—still around $30–35 dollars with pretty much minimal profit to authors.

Now since this was all done as professional layouts, I used QuarkXPress or Adobe InDesign to put the books together. Text and illustrations layout locked in place and if acceptable to the publisher/printer, book files exported as a PDF file.

Now I know an authour who is using a direct from word processing software to get their book printed and that publisher is using an intake system I’m not familiar with and the author doesn’t know why that system can’t accept their file. Problem with this route is also the layout may not match what you have in mind as in the typeface used and the font point size.

Hope that helps.

In self-publishing, you are the boss. You get to choose the cover, the style, the layout, the message, even the format (eBook or Print Book). Since you are the one enthused about it, you will be able to capitalize and can promote far better than many publishers because unless you are a favored celebrity or famous author, publishers put little time or money into your book's promotion.

The truth is, it will certainly cost you less than you imagine, under $400 for a print & eBook version - and Self-publishing will bring you all the profits. It will put you in charge to make suitable and favorable writing, publishing, and promotion decisions.

So, ask yourself, who do you think can sell your book the best? You, the passionate author in love with his or her book, or the rookie publisher's employee in charge of publicizing your book?

Here are some of the Benefits of Self-Publishing

• You will own 100% of the profit, and can make ongoing, passive profits for life.

FACT: In traditional publishing for print books, you must get a distributor, and a wholesaler to get brick and mortar bookstores to carry your book. The bookstore gets a percentage too. Maybe these costs will add up to 85%! What's left for the author, the one who wants to make a difference in people's lives? The one who put his/her blood, sweat, and tears into the book?

• Retain total control, share your unique, important message brand your business and build your client base and credibility
• Reach your target audience easily and distribute yourself, spend less money and have more cash flow.
• You can update your book when need be.
• Become the savvy expert in your field, gain trust, credibility and friends.
• You don't have printing or inventory costs
• When you distribute and sell online from email or a website, you'll have no packaging and no mailing as these publishing platform cover everything related to logistics in terms of prints.

Are there disadvantages to self-publishing?

• If you print it, you must pay for the printing yourself, but remember that could be as low as $300 for 50 – 100 plus books. Print on Demand short runs from one to 500. Depending on how many that could run from $4-$7 and you can sell a book for $14 up.·
• No support system: One of the biggest differences between traditional publishing vs. self-publishing services is that traditional publishers come with an arsenal of staff and resources who can help support your book. This means access to proofreaders, publicists, professional editing services. They can help turn your manuscripts to audiobooks or provide a detailed marketing strategy. There’s a whole team at your disposal, depending on your needs. With self-publishing, this is all work that falls to the author—or the freelancers they hire to handle things like book design and copyediting.

Although, many people feel it's a drawback to have to market and promote their books. Yet, you can learn skills such as the sixty second "tell and sell," the promotional article or power press release, and the sales letter for your website from an already successful author-coach - what this means is that online promotion is reasonable, fast, and easy and you can definitely handle it yourself.

Promotion is always at least as important, if not more important, than your book. Without marketing, your book will not sell. You won't be known as the "go to" person in your niche. Drawbacks are starting to look like profits and a low-cost investment for you. And it is important you need to learn how to talk about your book in a few sentences, a few paragraphs, and a longer sales letter.

So, at the end of the day, You the author need to decide what publishing path is best for you. Be sure to make it the most profitable!

Are you currently working on a project? I will be glad to work with you and be available to help you through the entire process of your self-publishing journey.

For more information you can send me a direct message

Cheers.

The timeline from final manuscript to publication varies widely. Traditional publishing can take 1 to 2 years, involving editing, cover design, and marketing. Self-publishing is quicker, often within a few months, but timelines depend on personal efficiency and chosen services. Hybrid publishing falls in between. Factors like genre, publisher processes, and market trends also influence the duration. While there's no fixed timeline, staying engaged with the publishing process and promptly addressing revisions contribute to a smoother and potentially faster journey from manuscript to publication.

Getting started with self-publishing can be a bit difficult but doesn’t have to be.

After publishing 200+ books on Amazon and running 120 million Amazon ads, I discovered the secret to getting books self-published easily and selling.

The key is to break down the steps into easy-to-follow bite-sized chunks as I lay out in my free self-publishing secrets checklist.

Yes, as I've done this seven times. You may need some assistance with artwork, the rest you can learn.

I start with a synopsis that sets the purpose / thesis of the book and why certi aiin readers you lea n ISBN and account setupwill want to race to get it!

You need to understand a bit about marketing, so you can promote it. Or if you do regular public 🗣️ ng on related topics, that would help sell directly. Directly is far more in your hands.

You need an editor and to choose a way to design it. I used Adobe InDesign but if not in the design field, use Reedsy Editor or Word with a template to help.

For larger publishes (the big six}, around a year is standard. The bigger the machine, the more the pcesses (manuscript preparation, editing, more editing, fact checking if necessary, writer's proofs, corrections, legal, marketing, reviews, design, layout, printing and distribution, advertising, shelf placement), the more time it takes.

For mid-size publishers, a year and a half, usually because they don't have the manpower or money to overlap their processes like larger publishes. Though, I've seen some mid-size publishers do a year, and large publishers take a year and a half, based on the type of book and prioritizing. If your book is not predicted to make a lot of money, I have seen publishers delay it by deprioritizing it.

So, expect a year to a year and a half in the majority of cases.If a publisher says they take longer than that, it's a red flag and sign that you should not contract with that publisher.

Small press publishers usually take six months or less. However, these books only rarely make it to book shelves beyond local stores, and there are less things to manage. Like distribution and marketing mostly. But small presses also tend to be light on reviews and advertising, as well. Because they are on very limited budgets, even if you are paying for book production through partnership, because of lower expectations of profit.

This all excludes independent publishers or book packagers, also called fly-by-night publishers who do just the basics, and may take as little as two to four months.

Having self-published my first book and landed my first trade publishing deal in 1987, I have a long history in both.

When I was giving publishing seminars and classes on a regular basis, my general advice was to self-publish first — if you can do it right. You can always seek out a trade publishing deal later. However, if you have a trade deal first, your publisher may not be so willing to relinquish the rights back to you to self-publish, especially if your book sells well. (And a lot depends on how your contract is worded, but most, being provided by the publisher, are slanted in favor of the publisher’s interests.)

You may say, “If my book is selling well, why would I want to self-publish it anyway?” Well, you may not. But you may wonder why you’re getting, for example, a dollar per book in royalties (only paid once a quarter at most) when self-publishing the same book on Amazon could get you five times as much or more. If your publisher is simply selling on Amazon and not doing much more, you may start to wonder why you need them. (Keep in mind, most publishers don’t have the resources to provide more than minimal promotional support, so most of this will be on you regardless.)

Now, conversely, if your lifelong goal has been to get your book onto the shelves of bookstores… then you’d be better off trying to land a trade publishing deal, and more so with a major publisher. Bookstore shelf space has only gotten less and less available in the past decade as Borders closed and Barnes & Noble downsized. Pushing your book through the old-school distribution system and into retail is what the major publishers have always been best at. But keep in mind, even then, it’s not a guarantee. Around 6,000 new titles, just in the genre of “business and finance,” come out every month in the U.S. Getting your book onto the shelves at bookstores is a lottery no matter which way you look at it.

So, essentially it comes down to these factors:

Do you want to make more money from each sale of your book? Then, you’ll want to self-publish. As I said, it can easily be a difference of 5x and more. But keep in mind that you’ll need to learn a lot about the business of self-publishing (yes, it’s a business), and you’ll need to invest the money the publisher would’ve invested to get your book properly edited and designed.

Do you want someone else to do most of the work? Then, a trade publishing deal is better. It’s not less work than self-publishing, however, because it typically takes a lot of sustained effort to land a trade deal (often 12–18 months). It’s just different work.

Do you want 100% control? A publisher has the right (barring anything to the contrary in the contract) to put your book out however they see best for the market. Fair enough, too, because they’re investing the significant cost (usually $10,000+) to publish your book. However, this means you could very well end up with a title, cover, design, and other factors you don’t like. Most publishers, of course, do want to make you happy and work with you — but in the end, it’s their dime and their call. Some have been known to “kill a book,” meaning put it on backlist and give it zero help, leaving you trapped with a book that’s not selling and you can’t self-publish.

Do you plan to sell most of your books in alternate ways? If you envision book selling in a toy store or at the back of the room in your speaking engagements, you’ll probably want to consider self-publishing. Trade publishers, as I said, are best for the book business. They don’t typically sell well into other channels, like toy stores and non-book retail. And when it comes to author sales (like your buying books to re-sell at your speaking gigs), the discounts per book usually aren’t that good. A common author discount is 50% off the cover price. If you see yourself selling hundreds or thousands of books at your own events, then you’d be far better off self-publishing.

Are you an excellent self-promoter? Trade publishers want you to be a promotional machine. If you can convince them you are (in your book proposal), you’ll have a much better chance at landing a deal. If you aren’t this kind of person, you might be better off self-publishing and going at your own pace. Not that you won’t need to promote — but you won’t have a publisher expecting more of you than you might want to commit to. And they typically don’t wait long. If the author isn’t “moving the needle” (selling well) within 6–8 weeks after the book is released, their support will usually die off. And if your book is in bookstores, this is especially true, because if the bookstores aren’t seeing results, they’re going to start returning their inventory.

Do you want to get your book out into the world quickly? Trade publishing is not quick. First, you have to find an agent or publisher. Then, there’s the process of editing the book (assuming you have a finished manuscript). Then, there’s the design phase. And then there’s the publisher slotting your book into their release calendar, which is often in “seasons” (like fashion). This entire process can easily take 18 months to two years. If you want your book out quickly, for whatever reason, self-publishing is a far better route.

These aren’t, by any means, all the factors — nor is each of my paragraphs comprehensive. To provide this would be to write a book, which is why there are entire books written to answer your question.

The bottom line is that neither route is better for every book, author, and situation. There are myriad considerations. I used to be a professional publishing consultant for years, specifically because this is sometimes a complicated answer that needs to be tailored to each client. But hopefully, my brief examination of some of the considerations above will help you in your decision. For more detail, a couple great books are APE: Author, Publisher, Entrepreneur and Writer’s Market 2018. (Be sure to get the most recent Writer’s Market, if you’re reading this after 2018.) Many libraries carry both books, especially the latter.

If you’re writing them in a series, the quicker you can get them out - one after the other - the better. Most readers are fickle, unless you’re a well know name. People may hold out for a year or more for a Stephen King book, you on the on the hand, might be forgotten after two weeks. Not that that’s a reflection on your writing or your books, but there’s some much content out there. Unless you’re capturing your readers details, and letting them know when your book is coming out, you’re going to miss out on future sales.

I’d also have the chapter of book two at the end of book one so your reader goes straight from one book to another as seamlessly as they can. I used that a while back to get kids to read through a 17 book series. Trust me, it works.

But get your books out as quick as you can. Or grab their details to announce your future books.

Self-publishing is always better than traditional publishing.

Here are the problems with traditional publishing:

1. Most traditional publishers keep at least 70% of the book’s royalties.
2. They still expect the author to help promote the book. Some publishers require a marketing plan as part of the manuscript’s query.
3. It can take weeks or months to get a response for your query (if you get one at all). Some publishers don’t send a response at all if the answer is “no.”
4. It can take months or years for your book to finally be published and distributed to bookstores IF you’re chosen.
5. You are competing with hundreds if not thousands of other authors who want their manuscript to be the one of the few that the publishing company says “yes” to.

If you self-publish:

A. You don’t need anyone else’s permission to put your words out into the world! No queries are needed!

B. You keep most of your book’s royalties.

C. With modern day self-publishing tools, it only takes a few hours or days to publish your book.

There are a few different ways you can self-publish your book:

I. Use Amazon KDP.

II. Create a newsletter or blog. Each week, publish one chapter from your manuscript on it.

III. Create your own author website and publish and/or sell your books there.

IV. Publish your book on social websites like Wattpad or Tablo.io.

The process of self-publishing a book involves several steps:

1. Writing and editing your book: This is the first and most important step in the self-publishing process. It's essential to put in the time and effort to create a high-quality manuscript that is well-written and properly edited.
2. Formatting and design: Once your manuscript is complete, you'll need to format it into an ebook and print-ready file. This can be done using software such as Microsoft Word or Adobe InDesign. You'll also need to design a cover for your book.
3. Choosing a self-publishing platform: There are several self-publishing platforms available, such as Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, Barnes & Noble Press, and Kobo Writing Life. These platforms allow you to upload your book and make it available for purchase on their online stores.
4. Marketing and promotion: Self-publishing your book doesn't guarantee that people will read it. You'll need to put in effort to market your book and reach potential readers. This can include creating a website, using social media, and reaching out to book bloggers and reviewers.

Pros of self-publishing:

• You have complete control over the process, from the manuscript to the cover design
• You can get your book out quickly and start earning royalties
• You keep a larger share of the royalties from book sales
• You have the freedom to choose what genre to write
• You can test the market and see how well your book is received before committing to a traditional publishing deal

Cons of self-publishing:

• You are responsible for all aspects of the process, including editing, formatting, and marketing
• It can be expensive, as you'll have to pay for editing, formatting, and cover design
• It can be harder to get your book noticed among the thousands of self-published books available
• Self-publishing can be viewed as less prestigious than traditional publishing

Comparing self-publishing to traditional publishing: Traditional publishing offers a more established route to getting your book out there, but it can take longer and require more gatekeepers to approve your book. With traditional publishing, you'll typically need to find an agent, who will then work to sell your book to a publisher. Once a publisher has agreed to publish your book, they'll handle editing, formatting, cover design, and marketing. However, the author will typically receive a smaller share of the royalties and have less control over the final product.

Getting started with self-publishing can be a bit difficult but doesn’t have to be.

After publishing 200+ books on Amazon and running 120 million Amazon ads, I discovered the secret to getting books self-published easily and selling.

The key is to break down the steps into easy-to-follow bite-sized chunks as I lay out in my free self-publishing secrets checklist.

1. By having other people who like that genre read it.
2. Joining a critique group and having them critique it for things that you don’t see.
3. By paying a developmental editor to go over it then a copy editor.

Okay, you’ve written a book. That’s great, you are in the 10% of the people out there who say they want to write a book. Do you know the basis of story? Have you hit all the points when needed. Have you had anyone who is familiar with that genre read it? Have you looked for a critique group who will give you feed back on that story? You are way to close to it to see any errors. Have you edited that book or just tinkered with it? There is a HUGE difference there.

Once you have someone else read it and had other point out what isn’t working and you’ve done the revisions, have a copy editor edit it. Then you will need to do query letters for an agent or you can self publish. Do not think that the draft you did is even close to publishing without self-editing and then professional editing. I learned that the hard way even though my first good was decent.

Hello there,

If you want to publish your book, you have two ways to do it, by self publishing or publish it traditionally.

It’s all depends on your goals, preferences, and resources, here you will know some pros and cons of both so you can decide which way will better work for you:

Traditional Publishing:

Pros:

credibility and recognition: Under reputable publishers, acceptance of your work can enhance your works credibility and recognition.

Professional Support: You’ll get reputable publishers, editors, designers, and marketers support.

No upfront costs: You don’t have to worry for upfront costs for cover production and distribution costs.

Wider Distribution: Reputable publishers have already built network for bookstores, libraries, and international markets.

Advances: You might get upfront payment when your book sells or before your book sells.

Cons:

Time-consuming: this process could take months, or even years to find an agent or publishers, if you don’t know any of them earlier.

Loss of Creative control: Publishers can edit update your creative craft, cover design, and even marketing strategy.

Lower Royalties: You’ll get 10–20% of book sales, less than by self publishing.

High Competition: It can be challenging to secure a deal as a debut author.

Self Publishing:

Pros:

Full creative control: If you are publishing your book by self, you decide everything, editing, cover design, marketing etc.

Higher Royalties: if you are doing it by self you won full credits off the book, you can earn 70–90% of sales you made.

Faster Publication: You can publish your book as soon as it’s ready.

Niche Audiences: You can get highly targeted audiences.

Learning Opportunities: You will gain first hand experience byg doing it all by your own.

Cons:

Upfront Costs: You will have to bear all the costs by yourself, editing, designing, and marketing etc.

Time intensive: Managing every aspect of publishing can be overwhelming and time consuming.

Limited Reach: without a publishers network, reaching more readers might be a little harder and costly.

Stigma: Some readers and and reviewers perceive self publishing books as lower quality.

Marketing Responsibility: You’ll have to take responsibility to promote your book, and it’s all depends on your ability to promote our book’s success.

You could try reaching traditional publishers while you can do it by self if you didn’t get traditional publishers on time. if it takes too long you can switch to self publishing.

it’s all on you which suits you better, go ahead and never stop.

Do a hybrid of both self-publishing and trying to shop your manuscript around to publishing houses.

Self-publishing is not a complicated process, but it means you’ll have to do everything. It also means you’ll keep a larger portion of the proceeds.I go to one place to publish and they actually have design services for cover art, editing, printing, printing on demand, and getting you into a lot of online retailers.

Pros: you can get your book to market very quickly, you have complete creative control (besides your editor chopping up your manuscript), and you maintain a very large portion of the revenue.

• Traditional publishing could take years before your book even sees the light of day. That’s if an agent doesn’t throw your manuscript away post haste because he doesn’t think it will make money for the big publisher. (after all that’s what he’s paid to do)
• Agents are very expensive and sometimes don’t have the vision you have for your book (but they’re probably right since they excel in that area)
• All the knowledge you’ll learn self-publishing can’t be learned any other way. It’s so valuable and you’ll just get better with each book. It’s how I’m writing this article.

Cons: You don’t have the reach that the “big boys” have or the connects, money or contacts they do so it’s going to take longer. Much longer. Maybe. You could be a hit though. I’ll take those odds.

• You won’t have a professional team working on your title, cover artwork and descriptions or marketingYou won’t have the name of a big publisher behind it making it harder to get into bookstores, etc.

All in all, publishing period is a huge accomplishment not to be taken lightly. But it’s your choice. Most people don’t understand how much work it is to promote a product and get it to market. But you could do a hybrid model where you self-publish and still try to shoot for a traditional deal.

You’ll be sharpening your skills and getting your book chops up in the process. That’s a win-win and one I recommend. Biggest thing? Just do it and don’t wait.

The time you waste not publishing is time you aren’t learning mistakes so you can adjust. I’m not saying rush, I’m just saying be meticulous.

Question: How do you coordinate all the different aspects of self-publishing a book and ensure nothing falls through the gaps?

Answer: Well - there are different levels of complexity here.

I’ve had years in the professional world of accountancy, systems and processes. Running projects and making sure they come in on time and budget isn’t new to me.

There are various tools from Microsoft Project and Gant charts to … look if you are used to them, fine, go to it. But for most people just think about what is involved in planning and coordinating a wedding, the honeymoon, and somewhere for the happy couple to live when they get back from the honeymoon. Lots of people manage to do that, and it’s basically the same set of skills and thinking.

Regarding complexity - at the simple end are the people who just want to get a manuscript out on Kindle and an eBook. That really is pretty simple. Get a cover artist who knows what they are doing in the book world. Use a third party who knows how to turn your manuscript and cover art into a Kindle suitable file, and you’re set to go. Amazon will even provide an ISBN code for you, and you can say - “Yippee, I have a book of mine published and available for my friends and relatives.”

And you have. You have published a book.

Of course - it may be awful, having spelling, punctuation and grammar errors in every paragraph, use terrible fonts, etc. etc. Then again readers can set their own fonts on Kindle, so don’t sweat the small stuff.

However, if you get a non-fiction book or novel published by a traditional publisher they not only take care of the proof reading, presentation, copyright registration, editing, localisation, etc. for you, but they also market and finance the book. They will commonly organise both hard and soft copy forms, and have established distribution chains. They also handle most of the accounting and tax side too.

In short - they do what a Professional Publisher does.

So if you want to PUBLISH your eBook yourself properly, you are also looking at doing all the proof reading, editing, layout formatting, soft copy format, but also keeping hard copy as an option. You need to establish the cost / benefits of going-wide, pricing, localisation, etc. You probably will need a literary lawyer’s guidence, especially regarding overseas sales (whatever that means to you). You need to address copyright issues in multiple countries, library copies, registration, and sort out the ISBN issues for yourself, rather than just leaving it to Amazon.

And you need to come up with a marketing plan, implementation thereof, including supporting web sites, book launches, author signings etc. etc.

And you need to organise the financing for any marketing / advertising you plan to do.

And you need to take care of the accounting and tax side as well.

Now if you only expect to sell ten books in the first six months - well much of this can be ignored.

But if you seriously hope to sell a couple of hundred thousand copies in the first year - then every bit of this needs to be done perfectly.

And that is indeed a serious piece of project management. And it is easy to drop a ball on a project of that size.

But essentially it is still like planning that big wedding, honeymoon and return home. Start identifying and writing down the list of tasks. Start allocating them to suitable people. Identify prefered suppliers. Put dates against tasks as to when they need to be booked, completed etc.

And as with Weddings, when a crisis blows up, jump on it immediately, manage it, and fix it.

Hope this helps.