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Self Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing: Pros and Cons

by Laura Dawson
Bowker | Mon Mar 11, 2013

You may not be sure whether you want to self-publish or go the traditional publishing route. There are some benefits and drawbacks to each.

In traditional publishing, an author retains a literary agent, who pitches the book to acquisitions editors at publishing houses. Once the book is acquired, the author is often paid an advance against royalties to be earned once the book is published. The publishing house assumes the costs of editing, design, manufacturing, ebook conversion, distribution, marketing, publicity, and special sales (into retail outlets not served by the publisher's book distributors). After sales of the book have earned back the author's advance, the author begins to receive a percentage of book sales going forward.

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Is Self Publishing a First Step to Traditional Publishing?

by Laura Dawson
Bowker | Sun Mar 10, 2013

Fifty Shades of Grey. The Shack. The Christmas Box. Your Erroneous Zones. Amanda Hocking's Trylle Trilogy. There are many bestselling books that began as self-published titles, and were later republished by traditional publishing houses.

Is self-publishing an on-ramp to traditional publishing?

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Assuming the Risk For Your Own Book

by Laura Dawson
Bowker | Wed Mar 6, 2013

When an author publishes a book in the traditional way, the publishing house assumes the risk - the costs of publishing - in the hopes that the book sales will recoup that investment and begin generating a profit. The publishing house is, in effect, taking a bet on the book that it will do well and warrant that investment.

When an author self-publishes, she is assuming that investment herself. And there are some costs that a new-to-publishing author may not know to take into account as she begins investing in services to bring her book to market.

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Why Publish?

by Laura Dawson
Bowker | Tue Mar 5, 2013

Writing is one thing. Publishing that writing - sharing it with the world - is something entirely different.

There are many reasons why writers ultimately decide to publish their work. In some cases, it's because they want to offer a memoir or a novel to their family and friends, and anyone else who happens to be interested. In some cases, it's because they are in a business where a book about their experience or expertise will help them get consulting or speaking engagements. In other cases, it's because they haven't seen sufficient interest in their work from traditional publishers. In still other cases, it's because they are not getting the royalties from traditional publishers that they can get by self-publishing.

It's almost never to make a lot of money.

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