I opted for traditional publishing but let’s be clear: there is nothing wrong with self-publishing.
Writers choose traditional publishing or self-publishing based on decisions about what is best for their book and their trajectory as a writer. With so many choices available from audiobooks, eBooks, print-on-demand, digital media, more and more writers are self-publishing because:
- It gives them more creative control over all aspects of the book.
- They want their book in the market without having to go through submission cycles and waiting to hear back from publishers.
- They don’t want to deal with possible rejections or are sick of receiving rejections.
- They want to retain marketing and distribution control.
- They want to retain all rights to their work.
- They want to control pricing and royalties.
- It takes longer for traditional publishers to bring the book to market.
Self-publishing is accessible to everyone, it is much harder to get traditionally published. A common understanding in the publishing industry is that less than one percent of all submitted manuscripts are accepted for publication in a single year.
Why then, with no guarantees of ever being accepted, did I keep putting myself through the wringer of submission cycles and rejections through the years when I could have self-published my first collection 5 years ago?
INDUSTRY FEEDBACK
Writing poetry is self-directed work. Like many creatives, I started out writing for myself, pleasing myself. However, when I decided to share it with an audience, the bar was raised. I was pushed to write better, create better. Opting for traditional publishing helped me do that because of the cycles of submission and objective feedback. Anytime I got rejections, I was forced to examine my work. If I had gone the route of self-publishing years ago, I would have put out less-than-polished work into the market because without industry feedback, I would have thought it good enough.
CREDIBILITY
There’s a difference between you wanting your work out in the world and a press wanting your work out in the world. When a publisher looks at your writing with critical, evaluating eyes and decides they are willing to invest in you because they think your writing has merit and marketability it also makes a statement about your work. Someone else, other than you also values it. I thought having the credibility of being accepted by a Press would be of validating benefit for my first collection. Also, traditionally published books have a chance for more visibility compared to self-published books which established retailers may not carry.
INVESTMENT
In self-publishing, the writer bears the responsibility of printing, marketing, distributing their books. They get to keep most of the profits but they also bear all the costs and burdens. In traditional publishing, the press bears the costs of printing and production, has a dedicated editorial team, provides marketing support, and mobilizes their distribution networks on behalf of the writer. For me, having this support, especially for a first collection was important. I didn’t want to pay out of pocket for professional services for different aspects of book production, and have sole responsibility for marketing.
In the end, choosing traditional publishing or self-publishing is an intensely personal decision. For me, the above reasons were more relevant, for another writer it could be a different set of considerations. The important thing is to keep writing and pursue the avenues that are the best for your book.
Until next time!
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