Go back fifteen or twenty years and the only real way to get your book out into the world was to find an agent and have it pitched to a traditional publishing house. Today, with the rise of Amazon and other self-publishing platforms, there are more ways than ever to get your book into print.
When we talk about book publishing, there are three main routes aspiring authors can consider: traditional publishing, self-publishing and hybrid publishing. But what are they and what does each branch entail? Here are the basics, to help you understand your options.
Traditional publishing
Traditional publishing is a route that many people aspire to, but it is by far the hardest to navigate or find success with. Many traditional publishing houses don’t accept unsolicited manuscripts, which means you will need to find an agent who acts as an intermediary and can get your manuscript in front of an editor. Other houses will have an open submissions policy, whereby anyone can submit a manuscript.
The main advantage of traditional publishing is that everything is taken care of ‘in-house’ – editing, design, production, distribution, marketing and royalties. While there’s still a lot of hard work for you to do as an author, the bulk of the heavy lifting is done by your publisher and there’s a team behind you to provide support.
Self-publishing
Online platforms and new digital technologies have arguably made book publishing much more democratic, although there are downsides to self-publishing as well as positives. If you can find an online platform you’re happy with, then self-publishing gives you much more control as an author and is always faster than traditional publishing.
Traditional publishing can take a long time – think months and years, rather than weeks – while self-publishing is almost instant. The biggest drawback is you’re on your own, with none of the support and security provided by a traditional publishing house. That means handling everything for yourself, from hiring editors and cover designers to promoting your book and keeping track of sales.
Hybrid publishing
Finally, we have the middle route: hybrid publishing. While this might sound like it offers you the best of both worlds, you do have to be cautious with this method of getting your book into print. Hybrid publishing involves taking out some services from a publisher whilst handling other elements of the publishing process for yourself. You might, for example, take out editorial services and handle all the marketing yourself, or take out production services and manage your own distribution.
Of course, that means splitting the royalties too, so not all the profits from your book will come your way. As this is a relatively new way of publishing, you also need to be very careful about selecting your hybrid publishing company. Many will not have a long or proven track record, unlike more traditional publishing houses, so do your homework before making a decision.
Whichever path you go down, there are major pros and cons. I’ll outline these in future posts, to help you weigh up your options and decide which route is best for you.
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