Thursday, February 16, 2012

traditional vs. self-publishing: my experience

For the past 35 years I’ve been a professional writer and have published more than two-dozen middle-grade and young adult novels for traditional houses: Harcourt, Scholastic and Holiday House. And as of last November, I’m also a self-published author. From big signings and national tours to now managing the whole thing myself, I can say there are joys and stresses to both routes:

Time: With several books I’ve waited at least two years between acceptance and seeing them in print, and often have already turned in the final manuscript before receiving the contract. With self-publishing you just click a button. It’s instantly gratifying to publish right away, but the time it takes with a traditional house isn’t for naught (points below:).

Support: Editorial, sales and marketing is a huge plus with regular publishers as is Production. This is the cover design, copyediting, formatting, and adding the title to their catalogue. It’s a team effort getting a book out to libraries, schools and stores. When you’re on your own, all this is up to you.

Economics: Okay, here’s the money part. An advance with traditional publishers is actually a loan against your future earnings, which may or may not blast out of the park like J.K. Rowling. If your works don’t sell, the advance is it, probably gone by Christmas, and it’s time to start the process of submitting and waiting—and waiting—all over again. Publishing with, say, Amazon Kindle, there’s no up-front money but you’re guaranteed 70% of sales if your title is priced at $2.99 or above.

Royalty statements:
Traditional publishers send these in the Spring and Fall, reflecting earnings from the prior nine months. I spent two years writing and editing my recent novel, STALKED, then my artist son did the cover. I published it on Amazon Kindle in November and have already received a check! Monthly royalties, wow!

Trends: Success with traditional houses often depends on fads and inflated expectations for profits. I was invited to create two paperback series for young readers, which the publisher initially loved but soon cancelled. The reason? Despite mountains of fan mail from kids, parents and teachers, sales weren’t as brisk as hoped for. Now out on my own, I can directly reach my readers with new adventures.

All this to say, there are benefits to both approaches. I’m deeply grateful to my former editors and publishers. They put my stories into the hands of so many children, many of whom are now adults reading to their own kids—and many of these kids have e-readers! What a great time in history to be an author.

9 comments:

Leslie said...

Thanks, Kristiana! Great summary from someone who knows both sides well.

Kristiana Gregory said...

Thank you Leslie :)

Donna Fletcher Crow said...

Absolutely,ups and downs to both sides, but isn't it great to have a choice! congratulations onyour success with STALKED--and toyour son for the great cover.

Kristiana Gregory said...

I hadn't quite put my finger on how to express it, but yes, it's exhilarating being able to CHOOSE how to publish our stories. Thank you so much for your encouragement, Donna, and for your kind words for Cody!

Bradlee F. said...

Kristiana, I'd be interested in your thoughts on Diversion Books, with whom I just signed. They are a traditional publisher, but they publish you in e-book first. Their model, in my experience, seems to address most of the concerns you cite: time to market, responsiveness and so on. Given what they offer and the competitive royalties they pay with no up-front payments from me, I would not want to go the self-publishing route. Thoughts?

Kristiana Gregory said...

Hi Bradlee ... gosh, I'm sooo not an expert here! But I think the best thing an author can do at this crossroads is a meticulous reading of the contract and decide if the deal is in your best interest. If not, dump it!

Bradlee F. said...

Thanks. I agree. I am pleased to see that there are traditional publishers doing e-book so someone does not have to decide between "e-book" and "traditional." Now the choice is "self," i.e., pay to publish, or "traditional," without regard to medium, which is a great thing for authors!

Elisabeth Sharp McKetta said...

Nicely said, Kristi! I enjoyed reading the differences between these two.

Kristiana Gregory said...

Elisabeth, thank you! {Love your hat!}