Self-Publishing Vs Conventional Publishing: What To Choose In 2020

by Frank Hamilton

While freelancing has become a popular career choice for article writers and social media managers, fiction and non-fiction writers continue discussing their own career possibilities. There are two ways you could go: traditional publishing and self-publishing. Here is everything you need to know about self-publishing versus conventional publishing.

#1 Permissions

The first matter to consider when considering the two routes is whether or not you want someone over you to be granting you permission to do something (e.g. announce a new book, publish your book on a certain date, do Q&As, talk about character trivia). In this sense, self-publishing definitely has the upper hand.

When you are your own author, you are free to do virtually anything you wish to do. But when you have signed a contract with a particular publisher, you will need to stick to that contract. If you have a deadline for publication, you will need to have the manuscript ready by a certain date without the option of taking a vacation until you are done.

#2 Costs

This is a tricky one. On one hand, self-publishing can be fairly cheap (even free if you know how to edit your book, design a cover, and upload it in the right format to a publishing platform). But the marketing costs can still be quite significant.

On the other hand, some first-time authors going the traditional route will often have to pay for different expenses including marketing costs. It really depends on your circumstances and what you are able to do in your current situation.

#3 Autonomy

Autonomy is actually quite closely related to the point about permissions. When going the traditional path, you will still have some kind of autonomy even if you will need to stick to certain deadlines. However, self-publishing still gives you way more autonomy.

Of course, you still need to consider the benefits you get with traditional publishing even if you will have to give up part of your autonomy. Ultimately, it all depends on your own feelings and what you are willing to do or give up for the sake of your career.

#4 Career Possibilities

Speaking of your career, traditional publishing and self-publishing have very different opportunities for you as a writer. When you sign up with a publishing house, you are more likely to become a big-name author. It’s true that there have been self-publishing success stories in the past few years, but how often do they happen?

Self-publishing is still looked down upon and treated as something to be ashamed of. Self-published authors are often regarded as inferior because “they can’t make it in the traditional publishing world”. The sentiment is changing though, so if you are not afraid of standing up for yourself, then self-publishing could still be a great choice for you.

#5 Outsourcing

Ghostwriting has been around for ages now. While outsourcing is more popular among article writers, fiction and non-fiction authors start using it more often nowadays. For example, you could always hire a writer from a writing services reviews site like Online Writers Rating to write your book for you!

The main point of outsourcing and ghostwriting is to reduce your workload and give you some time to rest or make your days easier. Outsourcing is much easier when you are a self-publishing author, but it can still be done when you choose conventional publishing.

#6 Genres

Another point you will want to consider when deciding between self-publishing and conventional publishing is the genre you write in. Are you a fiction or a non-fiction writer? If you are a non-fiction author, do you write poetry, cookbooks, or something else? If you are a fiction author, what genre or genres do you write in?

Some genres don’t need a traditional publisher to be successful. Cookbooks and poetry, for example, fair pretty well in the world of e-books. Children’s picture books, on the other hand, will usually need a publisher who will release them primarily in print.

#7 Digital

Let’s discuss digital and print publishing in more detail. With so many people using the Internet daily and reading on various mobile devices, digital releases are becoming more and more common. People are not afraid of purchasing e-books instead of printed editions – and it’s not embarrassing to prefer e-books anymore.

At the same time, many printed books are being released on digital platforms at the same time as they are released in print. In this case, traditional publishing has the upper hand because it is much harder to have your books printed if you are self-publishing.

#8 Print

Even though digitally released books are so common now, printed editions are not going out of fashion anytime soon. But because self-publishing authors don’t possess the necessary funds for this, printed books are usually released only by publishing houses.

In other words, if you want your book to be available both as a physical book and as an e-book, you will need to take the traditional route. If you are fine releasing only digitally, then self-publishing is for you.

#9 Anonymity

There are many authors who love the attention and fame which comes when their book becomes a hit. However, there are also those who want to keep their lives private and go as far as publishing their book under a pseudonym. Moreover, some use different pseudonyms for different genres (especially if one of these is erotica and they simply want to stay private).

With traditional publishing, maintaining such anonymity is more difficult than with self-publishing. This is because authors will often have to go on tours promoting their books if they want to grow a dedicated fanbase and build a community of readers who will buy their books again and again.

#10 Audience

That being said, self-publishing authors need to interact with their audiences quite a lot. You can still be successful if you use a pseudonym and self-publish digitally (with Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited, for instance), but most of the time, you will need to reach your audience in different ways.

For example, many self-publishing authors are known for having social media profiles where they constantly reply to their readers, host Q&A sessions, and promote their books. On the other hand, most self-publishing authors can’t really go on tours for book promotions. So, in a way, this is a two-sided coin, so you will need to decide based on your own preferences.

Final Thoughts

To sum up, both routes can be profitable. Think about why self-publishing and traditional publishing can be great for you based on the information in this article – and then choose what you want to do as a writer.

Frank Hamilton has been working as an editor at review service Best Writers Online. He is a professional writing expert in such topics as blogging, digital marketing and self-education. He also loves traveling and speaks Spanish, French, German and English.

For more thoughts on self-publishing and how to price your book, check out this article.

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I am seeking representation for my novel, Missing Connections. It is a contemporary romantic comedy and is 45,000 words long. First off, I think it's more impactful to hit the agent with your hook, if you've got a good one. Tell the something they don't know. Every single query letter is from someone seeking representation. They know that. Wow them with something else. Seconly, your word count isn't long enough. Even if this is YA, it needs to be at least 55-60k.

(This is where I write some sort of a connection I have to the agent like if they represent some of my favorite authors then I mention it in this paragraph! Depends on the agent though, sometimes I don't include this...) I recently read and reviewed 'Red, White & Royal Blue' for the Santa Barbara Independent newspaper. I absolutely adored the novel and as soon as I turned that last page, I searched to find out who represents my new favorite author, Casey McQuiston! I truly feel that the comedy and romance in my novel resembles her work. (You can find the published article here: https://www.independent.com/2020/04/16/red-white-royal-blue/ This is good, but it almost feels like currying favor. I wouldn't include. Get to your book!

Missing Connections offers a hopeless romantic’s take on love and her yearning for a storybook ending. Definitely need to beef up this hook. This describes any love story, ever. Is your main character a tone-deaf piano tuner? That's interesting! I know she's not, but- see what I mean? What makes your story different from every other romantic one out there? The novel’s narrator, Amanda, is a teenage writer who draws her love stories from the real world and reimagines them through her successful online blog. She explores the stories of six different young couples in various places (Singapore, Santa Barbara, New York and more!) as they meet through chance encounters.

While Amanda is writing about other people finding love through chance encounters, You want to avoid using the same words and phrases more than once. If you do it in a 350 word query, how much does it happen in the manuscript?>/span> she’s lusting for love like the ones she dreams about. The characters she writes about come from diverse backgrounds, and find each other in unusual settings. From near-miss-car-crashes to an audience member and a musician making eye contact at a Broadway show, this novel develops unique perspectives on young adults as they find the “one”. The stories she imagines reflect her desire to see people come together, while the alternating chapters trace her own love story gradually building to an exciting romantic conclusion in which she finds the closure she has been imagining for others. Okay, but you spent more time talking about ficitonal characters within the novel than you did on your narrator. The main story is about Amanda... not Amanda's stories. They only illuminate her wishes and dreams. The focus of this query needs to be on Amanda, not on her fiction.

I am 17 years old and a high school junior currently living in southern California. As a young girl growing up in southeast Asia, I traveled frequently. Through this experience, I discovered my love of storytelling and connecting with people from diverse perspectives and backgrounds. I am a freelance writer and book reviewer at the Santa Barbara Independent (#1 Newspaper in Santa Barbara). I am also studying playwriting in a workshop at the local Equity theater now and taking a screenwriting class at the SB city college. This is a great bio for someone without fictional publishing credits. You are putting yourself forward in a professional manner and pointing to your accomplishments while also being honest about your age.

I have dedicated the past two years to writing Missing Connections because I know what YA readers love, and I believe this is it! A beach read with emotional tugs on the heart and comedy laced throughout, this is a novel for anyone who can relate to how teens who read first imagine, and then experience, love! I don't know that this is necessary. It adds a nice way to sign-off, but it's also not doing a lot of work Right now there are more words in this query dedicated to you than there are to the novel. Refocus to make Amanda and her story stand out.