As an author, the most common question that boggles your mind is “how do you get published?” Simply, there are two ways to publish your book. You can either rely on traditional publishing or publish independently.
Traditional book publishing is when a publisher offers the author a contract and, in turn, prints, publishes, and sells your book through booksellers and other retailers. The publisher essentially buys the right to publish your book and pays you royalties from the sales. On the other hand, self-publishing is the publication of books that is done by the author himself without relying on publishing houses.
Both methods require hard work and can make loads of money. Although at recent times many authors focus more on self-publishing, the boons of traditional publishing are still not forgotten. Why should you target traditional publishing? Find out more:
More Supremacy
The prestige associate with traditional publishing is particularly important if you’re writing Literary Fiction or Nonfiction. It’s less important for genres like SciFi and Romance. However, with the help of well-known publication houses, you earn fame earlier and faster compared to self-published authors.
Spend Less
Your publisher will cover most, if not all, the expenses of publishing your book. You will still need to pay for your website and email, but the actual publishing will be covered by the publisher which is far less considered to promotional activities done for self-publishing.
Access to Prestigious Awards
Many awards only consider traditionally published authors to be eligible for the award. If you opt for self-publishing you might miss many wondrous opportunities that only focus on traditionally published authors.
Better Distribution Facility
Traditional publishers make most of their money selling paper books, and self-publishers make most of the money selling ebooks. Most physical bookstores don’t even stock most self-published books. More money is spent on paper books even though ebooks are growing rapidly. In certain genres, undoubtedly ebooks are dominant. However maximum readers still prefer paperbacks that are covered by traditional publication houses.
The publisher takes care of everything
The publisher provides professional services such as editing, proofreading, and designing, as well as takes care of the printing, warehousing, and distribution (making the book available at bookstores, libraries, and other institutions). They would also arrange for editorial reviews and organize book signing events. Having someone take care of all this is a big relief for authors, who can then devote more of their time to writing.
There are many more pros to traditional publishing, but there are also cons. Royalty rates in traditional publishing are lower than in self-publishing and you won’t have complete control over the creative aspects of your book, such as its title, its cover design, and how it is edited.
To summarize, it can be both lucrative and rewarding if you rely on traditional publishing. If you are new in this field and you want risk-free publishing, you should definitely go for traditional publishing!
This article was written by Jinnatul Raihan