THE PROS AND CONS OF SELF-PUBLISHING
Self-publishing is a relatively new way for authors to publish their work, and like anything else, it comes with a pretty extensive set of pros and cons that differ from that of traditional publishing. Let's walk through some of those together so you can make a more informed decision on which route is right for you.
Pros:
You get to keep the rights to your novel:
Self-publishing means you retain the rights to your work, whereas if you published through a traditional publishing house, you would be selling them those rights. No one can reproduce, copy, or sell your book if you own the rights to it.
Creative control
As explained earlier, if you sell your rights to your book to a publishing house, they can now change a lot about your novel. They will have professionals take over editing, formatting, cover design, marketing, and they can even sell rights to make films or television shows about your movie. You are giving up all rights to creative control over the finished product of your novel and how your work will be marketed to the world, even though your name will be attached to it.
Higher royalties
As someone who self-publishes through Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing, I make about 70% of my royalties. If I were to go through a traditional publishing house, I would make a much smaller percentage, typically somewhere around 15-30%. It is important to note, however, that the royalties you make off of your book as a self-published author depends greatly on what platform you publish on and whether your contract entails print on-demand fees.
Beginner-friendly
Traditional publishing is a great way to go if you are new to the industry, aren't interested in career writing, or are looking at your novel more as a milestone than a money-making endeavor. There is no rejection in self-publishing, and no pressure to continue writing or change what you want to publish in order to sell more copies like there is in traditional publishing. Maybe you have a book you want published, but are still looking to grow as an author or receive some reviews from friends and family before trying to make it big in the traditional publishing world. Self-publishing platforms are perfect for that.
Cons:
No money up front
Because you are selling your rights to your novel when you traditionally publish, you make money up front in exchange for that copyright label. With self-publishing, no one is buying your rights, so there is no money up front like there is for traditionally-published authors.
Out-of-pocket initial expenses
There are a lot of expenses to creating the actual novel that most people don't think about before they're hit with them. Traditionally-published authors don't have to worry about these costs, because their publishing house would cover the expenses as part of their contract. What I have to pay for up front when I self-publish is a professional freelance editor (I spent about $450 for a 100,000 word novel) and buying artwork from a cover designer for my cover (I’ve spent about $150 for each cover). I also pay about $200 per year for marketing, but I do a lot of it myself, so if you were to outsource, that price would go up.
No professional help
It is undeniable that there is a much more professional touch to books that are traditionally published. They have marketing teams, professional cover artists, formatters, editors, etc working on your book day and night with years of experience in the field. They know what sells, and they've had a lot of success because of it, so if you self-publish, you have to accept that your book may have gone farther with the help of trained professionals than it will trying to do it all on your own.
Slower return on investment
If your novel is very successful, you will make a lot more money than you would traditionally publishing because you get so much more of your royalties. But it is more challenging to get to that point on your own. You have to sell less copies in order to make the same amount of money as a traditionally published author, but you obviously have less reach than a well-known company with a professional marketing team would.
