Self-Publish or Go the Traditional Way? The Debate

David Vinjamuri has a terrific article in The Forbes on this. Worth a read whether you’re traditionally published or chose to go the self-publishing route.

A direct quote from the article. (I picked this because a lot of writers seem to think being published traditionally will free them from promoting their work):

“An entire generation of traditionally published authors has come of age learning to self-promote.  Particularly for mid-list authors the burden of writing and marketing a book a year without much assistance can be crushing.  Some publishing houses have trimmed back even further, limiting editorial assistance to new writers to proofreading and line editing rather than structural editing.

These authors feel less beholden to publishers and more independent.  They have been forced to become entrepreneurs, but are not rewarded commensurate with their contributions.”

Here’s another quote:

“One thing that mainstream and Indie authors seem united on is contempt for is the royalty structure that mainstream publishing houses apply to eBooks which is much less favorable than for printed books.  This is foolish and counterproductive for publishing houses.  Indeed, authors like Edgar-winning mystery author Lawrence Block and Margaret Muir have already embraced indie publishing for the obvious economic benefits.  There are also many authors who started as self-publishers and are making a solid living in Indie-land.  Many of them would be considered midlist or even minor celebrities if they had more visibility to the existing publishing world – I’m thinking of people like Robert Kroese and Rachel Thompson here.”

Click here for the entire article.