(LOGO)
Hellooo, everybody! I'm still sick. Fuck my life. Anywho, today we're tackling the heated debate.
What's better, traditional publishing or self publishing? People get super wound up
over this. They throw tantrums. It's kind of sad. Fortunately, I'm here to set the record
straight. There is no superior option. Both traditional and self publishing are a major
kick in the dick. Today we're learning why that's the case. I am listing the pros and
cons of self publishing your novel. We'll save traditional publishing for another day. Before we
get started I wanted to give a quick shout out to Skillshare who has sponsored this video. You guys
already know Skillshare is my favorite learning platform. It's an online community for creators
with over 17,000 classes in business, marketing, creative writing, design, painting— a bazillion
other topics. It's amazing! Premium membership gets you access to all of their classes,
and it's super affordable. A yearly subscription breaks down to less than ten bucks a month. If
you're looking to improve your writing, or learn the business skills necessary to navigate the
publishing industry, and you want a cheap way to do it, I definitely recommend Skillshare. Just be
careful because you'll get sucked in for hours and hours. It's happened to me, multiple times.
I've also got a special gift from Skillshare at the end of this video, so stick around for
that. But first let's talk self publishing, specifically all the stuff that's awesome,
and all the shit that'll make you weep. I myself am a self published author so all the information
I'm presenting is based both on extensive research and firsthand experience. Additionally, please
keep in mind that just because I chose to self publish, does not mean it's the right decision for
you. And just as there are a number of pros and cons to self publishing, there are also quite a
bit of misconceptions. Ones that could drastically change your publishing decision, if you don't have
all the facts straight. So why don't we tackle these misconceptions first, shall we. Number
One - The worst part of being self published is that you have to market yourself. This is true,
the worst part of being self published is the marketing. It's also the worst part of being
traditionally published. Actually, it's the worst part of being a writer in general. I’ve said this
a thousand times but it bears repeating, unless you are famous it doesn't matter which publishing
option you choose, you will be marketing yourself. Publishers reserve a bulk of their marketing power
for their most prominent authors. Yes, it's shitty, yes, it's unfair, but it's also smart
business. Marketing costs money, and they're not going to waste it on assets that haven't proven
themselves profitable. If you're basing your publishing decision on marketing, may be don’t,
cuz you're fucked no matter which option you take. Misconception Number Two - Self published books
cannot be featured in stores. Wrong again. Self publishing platforms like IngramSpark give authors
the option to have their books available in brick and mortar establishments, and many stores offer
consignment programs that allow indies to sell their work. However, a lot of self published
authors choose to have their books not featured in stores. “But why?” For starters, it's expensive,
indie authors retain a much smaller profit if their books are featured in stores, because the
store is entitled to a cut. Second, bookstores are a dying breed. A vast majority of readers purchase
their books online. At this point, the main reason authors like to have a bookstore presence is for
self affirmation. ‘Look my book’s in a store. Pretty cool, right?’ And Misconception Number
Three - Self publishing is better because you can release novels much quicker. It's true that you
can release a book quicker via self publishing, but that's not a good thing. There's a reason
books take so long to publish. It's because quality takes time. One of the reasons some
people look down on self publishing is because a lot of writers rush their content. They pump
out books without enlisting beta readers, without hiring an editor, or a proofreader,
and it shows. Just because the option is available to you, doesn't mean you gotta take it. I have the
option to drown myself in the bathtub every day, yet here I am alive and breathing. Well
mostly alive, I am sick after all. Writing and publishing quickly is not impressive. It's a red
flag. So please, I beg you, take your time. If you decide to rush the process, well, enjoy the
reviews. Now that that's out of the way, let's get to the major pros and cons of self publishing your
novel. Pro Number One (1): Retaining creative control. If you're a self published writer,
you're your own fucking boss. You get to write whatever story you wanna write. It doesn't matter
if it's marketable or trendy. Do you. You're not contractually obligated to a specific prompt,
you don't have anyone dictating your content, you can write whatever you please. This is not always
the case with traditionally published writers. Yes, a lot of suggestions a publisher makes will
be for the benefit of the story. But even more will be for the benefit of their business. If
you self publish, you don't have to worry about compromising your creative integrity, unless
you choose to. Con Number One (1): Retaining financial control. If you're self publishing your
novel you have to pay for everything. EVERYTHING. Professional editor, gotta pay for it. Cover art,
pay for that too. Copyright, sensitivity reader, marketing team, proofread, whatever else you
need along the way. Whip out your wallet, you're gonna need it. Think of being an indie author as
being an entrepreneur. You're in the business of creating marketing and selling books. And in order
to create quality books that people will want to buy, you need to invest in it. The easiest way
to deal with this con is one, to budget and two, to get a day job like most writers do,
especially if they're not making money off their work. Pro Number Two (2): Higher royalties.
Royalty rates vary but depending on the platform, a lot of self published authors retain 60% to 70%
of their profits for ebooks. However, based on my research a lot of big publishers only award
their authors 25% of their ebook profits. And that blows. You might have noticed I'm talking about
ebooks, and that's because hardback and paperback novels make dick profit no matter which publishing
option you choose. Physical books are extremely expensive to produce. Which means royalty rates
are really small, like 15%. However, if you self publish, you get to price the book yourself,
which means the royalty rate is at least in your control. But ebooks are the big seller right now,
they're affordable and thus popular. So that 70% versus 25% figure is pretty fucking important.
Con Number Two (2): No guarantees. If you're not familiar, an advance is one big automatic paycheck
that typically accounts for the first two years of a novel's life. Traditionally published authors
get one of these, and self published authors are shit out of luck. Now it's difficult to pinpoint
an average advance amount because the number varies; however, the most common numbers that
I've seen floating around are $10,000 to $20,000. This is shit money considering all the effort
that goes into writing a book, but it's also guaranteed shit money, something self published
authors do not get. That means if a traditionally published author doesn't sell, what the fuck ever,
they still got their paycheck. If a self published author doesn't sell, oh well, sucks to be them.
It's also important to note that most small publishing houses do not offer advances. So if you
sign with one of them, consider yourself in the same boat as self published authors. Pro Number
Three (3): Complete business responsibility. You get to pick the release date, you get to choose
your cover artist, you get to choose your editor. Have a great idea for a book trailer, fantastic,
make it happen. Wanna sell signed copies of your novel, you can totally do that. Did you know there
are certain times of the year that are considered dead months for releasing media? January,
I'm looking at you. Self published authors don't have to worry about someone purposely releasing
their novel at a terrible time because they get to make that decision themselves. They don't have to
ask permission to share excerpts. They don't have to request copies of their own novel. Nothing ever
has to happen that they don't approve of, this is your book baby, you make the rules. Con Number
Three (3): Complete business responsibility. Sometimes it's nice to have someone to bounce
ideas off of, or someone to help make important decisions, especially if you have no idea what
you're doing. When do I copyright my novel? What is the standard font size for an adult
novel? What about a young adult novel? Which day of the week do releases typically fall on?
Why can't I breathe? Is this is normal, should I call a doctor? It's a very, very sharp pain. Being
an entrepreneur is stressful. And as we already covered, if you're self publishing, that's what
you are. You need to be prepared to make these sorts of decisions if you want your platform
to be successful, and sometimes it's really overwhelming. So there you have it. Those are the
pros, cons and misconceptions to self publishing. Again, while I chose to self publish my novel,
that doesn't mean it's the correct decision for you. Take an honest look at the pros and cons of
both publishing options and choose the path that is right for you based on your skills and needs
as an author. In a few weeks I will be covering the pros and cons of traditional publishing, so
be on the lookout. A huge thank you to Skillshare for sponsoring this video. It's because of people
like them that I’m able to grow my platform, which means more writing advice for you guys,
more giveaways, more books—the works. If you wanna brush up on your business and marketing skills in
order to prepare for whichever publishing path you choose, I highly recommend Skillshare. I
myself have a class all about growing your author platform and there are a ton of other amazing
classes featuring a wealth of information. And Skillshare is making it even easier to join in
on the action, they are offering two months of Skillshare premium for just—
(Jenna voiceover) Don't you just love it when your camera cuts out right when you're about to say something super
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premium for FREE to the first 500 people who click the activation link below. This is a super
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you don't have to pay a dime. So the activation link is in the description. Go ahead and click
it. It's only available to 500 people, do it now. Blah! Okay, back to the video. Don't forget
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