We have looked at the advantages and disadvantages of traditional publishing, as well as the advantages and disadvantages of self-publishing. The aim of this series is to better inform you of the pros and cons of each type of publishing and help you to decide what would be better for you overall. Ultimately, it comes down to what you want and what feels right for your manuscript, so there is certainly not a single answer for everyone.
To illustrate this, we will now be looking at two case studies and considering what option would suit them and their manuscript best. Of course, there may still be more than one answer that would be reasonable, so it’s just whichever one they choose.
Anna
The first case study we are looking at is that of Anna. She currently has a full-time, decently paying job and is working on her manuscript in the evenings and her time off, so it has been a long time in the making. Some points about her manuscript:
- It is a historical fiction novel, which she has researched intensively.
- She has not already had any sort of edit carried out on it and would like some suggestions to improve her writing.
- She would like a second eye over her work from someone with excellent history knowledge and experience of fact-checking this.
- It is her first book.
Some points about Anna herself:
- She is very busy and is concerned she does not have much free time to devote to her novel.
- She does not currently have any issues with cash flow and is meeting her bills.
- She would like her novel to have the best chance of being visible to a general audience.
- She is ambitious and could benefit from some mentoring in the publishing area, as well as wanting some support on making her way in the industry.
Based on these facts, it seems likely that Anna’s manuscript would be most suited to a traditional publishing deal. One advantage of this for her is that she would not have to spend time finding an editor experienced in working on historical fiction, as the publishing house should already have someone or will find a freelancer themselves (publishers often work with the same freelancers you could in self-publishing).
The publishing house will also select a suitable editor for a first-edit, who will be able to give Anna some pointers on her writing and what could make it better. They will also pay for and organise further edits and proofreading as a follow-up that will get the book in the best shape possible for release. This would be particularly good as this is Anna’s debut novel, so she does not have much experience herself.
Another advantage for Anna is that her novel would be at least reasonably well promoted and be available in most major bookshops and online as an ebook. The publishing company would ensure this, so her book should reach a large audience as easily as possible.
It would also be advisable for Anna to get a literary agent, both to give her a better chance at being accepted by a traditional publisher and to offer her more general support. A good agent will be able to give her the industry mentoring she wants and help her to achieve more than she easily could by herself. They will also be able to assist her in navigating publishing pitfalls and help her negotiate to get the best deal possible.
Finally, as Anna does not have cash flow issues, she has the resources to wait for the infrequent payments from traditional publishing. She may not get paid at all for the first few times while she pays back the advance that is given by a traditional publisher. In addition, she will only get a small proportion of royalties from a traditional publisher, but Anna seems to have the capacity to cope with this, so the possibly higher payout from self-publishing is not the worth the risk for her with the other benefits she would get from a traditional publishing deal.
Bill
The subject of the second case study is Bill. He has a part-time, lower paying job and has been working on his manuscript whenever he is not at work, so it has grown quickly. Some points about his manuscript:
- It is a factual look at how filmmaking has evolved and what the modern techniques are.
- He has also undertaken considerable research into his subject matter and got his filmmaker friend to look over some of it with him.
- He would still like someone to copy-edit his work before publication.
- It is his third book; the other two (about similar topics) have already been self-published.
Some points about Bill:
- He has a reasonable amount of free time that he is willing to devote to his book.
- He has some money saved, with enough left over to meet his bills, but would need to be on a tight budget.
- He has a core target audience that follows his work and he is not concerned about reaching a wider one.
- He is fairly knowledgeable about the publishing industry and is not interested in further advancement in this area.
- He would like to release his book as soon as possible, following on from his last one.
Considering all of this, it seems that self-publishing is the best fit for Bill. An advantage of this is that he has free time that he can use to find a freelancing team and work with them, as well as devoting time to marketing to his fanbase and cover design. It is also usually quicker than traditional publishing, which meets Bill’s requirement to release it as soon as possible.
Also, as he has self-published before, it is likely that he could use some of the same people as he did for his previous books. This has two key advantages. The first is that he will save time by not having to find people to work with, as he has presumably already built a team for his first two books, so he has valuable contacts. The second is that he does not need to be as worried about the quality of the freelancers he hires, assuming they previously worked well.
Based on this, it should be fairly simple for him to choose a copy-editor for his work, without a publishing house to help with this. He could also hire an editor with knowledge of filmmaking if he wants any more fact-checking done.
As he is on a tight budget, he will have to choose how he wants to divide this, as he will not be getting an advance payment and will need to cover all costs himself. However, he has already had some fact-checking done (although we don’t know how accurate this is), so he may be able to save money here. In addition, he is not interested in reaching a wider audience, so he might only need a small marketing budget or even be happy to take care of this himself.
Self-publishing will also allow Bill to get immediate, frequent payments on his work, as opposed to the widely-spaced, lower-royalty ones that are normal for traditional publishing. This will help him to keep his cash flow stable.
Finally, it does not seem like Bill would benefit enough from the support of a traditional publishing deal and that of a literary agent to make this worthwhile. He is not particularly concerned about advancing his career in this way and already has some knowledge of the publishing industry.
Wrapping Up
Of course, Anna and Bill are just fictional case studies – even if you have many things in common with them, there may still be another factor that would make a different option a better choice. This may simply be what you prefer, which is a very important thing to consider. What do you think you will go for or have already chosen? Leave your thoughts in the comments below!
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