Making the Decision: Self-Publishing vs Traditional Publishing

Written by Nicole Klunder.

It's the big question we wonder after we start this writing journey. I have dipped my fingers into learning about publishing, but I don’t overthink or obsess about any of it. It can be pretty overwhelming if you think about it and take on too much.

Is it harder to market yourself? Of course, it is! 

Isn’t all success hard and challenging?

The question is how do we decide to choose whether we want to self-publish or publish traditionally? 

There are many ways to market ourselves.

Get on social networks: Only take on what you can handle. I use Linktree and Instagram. I usually post published work and ongoing blogs on my Linktree account. Instagram is a little bit of everything I do, but as a business page.

Advertise on all of your socials. Get creative. Make a poll of what people you know might want to see published. What are their interests? What would they be excited to see published by you?

Substack: This is a membership that you create for others but you do need your audience first. I decided to hold off on this site because I would rather build my fans first. You have to decide what you can include in a paid subscription on this site comparing it to the works you publish for free.

Publish free stuff for a while or when starting your writing journey. When you meet people, pass out your writer business cards, socials, and linktree or your website info. Always make sure all your contacts are added to your business cards. I even made poem bookmarks for fun to pass out with my business cards! 

Then, when a book is born you can sell it that way. People will believe in you and always say they love what you write so most likely they will buy your book when it's released.

Quarterly Newsletter: This is the best way to have direct contact with your fans, friends, family, and whoever is interested in reading something like this. I create many different topics within my newsletter to make it fun to read. I might include a makeup tip, book rec, and one of my paintings as new ways to write a newsletter. 

This is also a great way to get that audience to actually add them to Substack. Now, you have to decide what to present for free here versus substack for a subscription. 

Website: I know this is important to have online for yourself and for people to find you! I have held off on this because I know I would need to hire someone and it costs money. I left it in my writer's toolbox for now. I would like to revisit this.

Business Cards: Bring them everywhere you go and pass them out at any writer's group events and conferences. 

Enter Contests to get yourself out there! I have four published poems with the Anthologies of the League of Utah Writers and Write-On, St. George. It is a way to be seen by others and your own “future resume” for when you are ready to publish.

Enter your work to Writer Groups: Whether it be random pieces, blogs, or anything you can with writer groups for their newsletter they send out to their members. It's a great way to share knowledge and putting yourself out there as well!

Write blogs about your writing journey can be very inspirational to other writers alike. It’s also my way of reflecting on myself, my progress, what I have learned, and so much more!

Critique Groups, Writing Conferences, and Retreats are all excellent ways to network and market yourself as well as meet new faces and connect on everything we love about writing! You can learn so much!

What do I love most about self-publishing?

You retain full creative control! Why would I want anyone to alter my creative writing and art? I experienced this once and I didn’t think it was for me. Now, I can use my original in my very own poetry anthology!

You are 100 Percent guaranteed to be published with a quicker publishing process than traditional publishing. 

Here are some other key points:

• You keep more of the royalties and retain future publication rights.

• You want to retain publishing rights across all channels and mediums.

• Prefer 35%–70% royalties on ebooks and 40%–60% on prints, but no advance.

• You will have to market yourself in every way to get yourself out there which consists of a lot of time and effort. (But be warned, you'll also have to market yourself if you traditionally publish.)

• A self-published author isn’t just a writer. They’re also a marketer, designer, and production team.  Since you’re in charge of everything, you’ll have to split your time between writing your story and arranging the actual publication process. 

• You will have to pay for or do the editing, cover design, and formatting yourself. But you will have control of the finished product. Tip: Some of the best editors in the industry are on Reedsy.

While I am choosing the self-publishing route for myself, I wanted to mention the benefits of traditional publishing.

Here are some key points:

• You can solely focus on writing.

• You won’t have to pay for production.

• You’ll have more mainstream exposure.

• You can access prestigious awards. You can solely focus on writing.

• Leave it to the professionals to format, and cover design marketing.

• Prefer an advance (typically $5k–$10k), as well as 25% royalties on ebooks and 5%–15% on print books.

• Can tolerate potentially multiple rejections from agents and publishers.

• Polish your book with expert help.

This means that to make the best decisions regarding content, design, and marketing strategies, you need to have an experienced team working with you. Experienced professionals will expect fair payment for their expertise — and as an indie author, you will have to foot that bill. 

If you’ve decided that self-publishing is more for you, that’s great, too! It’s an increasingly viable and personally satisfying option for many authors — you can get plenty of support from the indie community and dedicated professionals when you go down this path.