It is often difficult for an author to decide whether they should publish their book the traditional route or try self-publishing. Of course, there is no one answer to this – there are pros and cons to both and everybody will have a different experience. What is the perfect match for you may be terrible for someone else, and vice versa.
This series aims to explain some of the differences between the two methods and the effect these have on you, the author. We have already looked at some of the advantages of traditional publishing, now it is time to consider the disadvantages of traditional publishing.
Lower Royalties, Less Frequently
If you choose to go the traditional publishing route it is worth bearing in mind that you will get a lower royalty rate than you would self-publishing where you can keep all the profits. The rates will vary, but a cut of the royalties made will go to your agent (if you have one) and some more will go to the publishing house. The amount the publishing house takes will vary depending on the format, with the author receiving more royalties on ebooks as these do not have the printing costs associated with physical books.
It is also worth noting that before you can even start receiving any royalties, you must first pay back the advance payment made to you before publication. Again, this is just taken from your cut of the royalties, not total royalties, so you may not see any royalties for quite a while!
In addition, when you are due any royalties these are often only paid twice a year by the publishing house. Depending on when these dates fall and your personal situation, this can cause problems with your finances, especially before the first one arrives. However, the advance payment made to you may well make these easier to manage.
Difficult to Get Into
Of course, one of the better-known problems with traditional publishing is how difficult it is to break into. Most traditional publishing houses will want your work to come from a literary agent, so you have to be accepted by one of these before you can even start, probably facing many rejections along the way.
You could try submitting your manuscript direct to the publisher, but this is likely to be even harder in the long run and will probably also result in a string of rejections. Even if you have an agent, they can’t guarantee a publisher will accept your manuscript, so you may still not be able to break into traditional publishing.
You may have an advantage here if you previously published a book and it was well received, as publishers and agents will not feel they are taking on the same level of risk as they would be with a new, unknown author. Indeed, you would quite likely stay with the same agent and publisher, assuming you didn’t have any problems with them. However, this can work both ways; if your last book did not sell well, this may deter agents and publishers from working with you again.
Lengthy Process
One thing you should be prepared for going into traditional publishing is that it truly is a long old slog! It is not uncommon for it to literally take years from the first acceptance of your manuscript to publication date, which may cause great inconvenience for you as the author. Even with the advance payment, you will need other finance in the run-up to publication (and quite possibly after, as discussed above). It is certainly not a get-rich-quick scheme!
A lot of this is simply due to the volume of the publisher’s list – when your book is accepted, it will join the end of a long line of other books waiting to be released, and so will have to gradually move up this to the top.
Another factor is just the time that is needed for the book to be ready for publication – everything from editing to cover design to setting up a marketing scheme – all the roles discussed in advantages of traditional publishing. It is an advantage, but a time-consuming one!
Add to this the time that you will have already spent finding an agent and publisher to take you on and you’re probably looking at several years from completion of the manuscript. Obviously, this is especially difficult if you are writing about topical events, as they may well not be relevant by the time of release. It may also apply to other areas, for example, contemporary fiction. Have you got a character using brand-new, top-of-the-range technology? This may well change dramatically over a few years!
Contract Trouble
A further disadvantage of the traditional publishing process is the complexity of the contracts they use. Whilst they’re probably not anything particularly unusual, it may be difficult for you to tell unless you have some experience in law or contracts, combined with a knowledge of the industry standard.
Of course, this is yet another reason to have a good literary agent who is familiar with this sort of contract and will try to negotiate the best deal possible on your behalf. However, all they can do is negotiate and advise you – they do not have the power to actually change the contract.
The confusing nature of contracts can often cause problems for the inexperienced author who is not sure what rights they are signing away. There may still not be anything that isn’t fairly standard for this sort of contract, simply something that surprises the author later.
A good way to deal with this is to have your agent (or someone at the publishing house) go through the contract with you and explain each clause of the contract so you know what you are agreeing to before you sign. Don’t be afraid to ask questions or challenge a clause you don’t like – there may not be room to change it, but you can try!
Wrapping Up
Hopefully, you are now more familiar with the pros and cons of the traditional publishing route and can consider whether it is the right option for you. Next time we will be looking at the advantages of self-publishing and why you might choose this. Again, leave any suggestions of advantages and disadvantages in the comments and what you have decided on or are leaning towards.
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