Pros and Cons of Traditional Publishing

 

Traditional publishing is widely acknowledged to be the better option when publishing a book. This is because, as the name would imply, it is traditional and people do not like breaking the traditions. People are often under the impression that traditional publishing is the easiest and best route to go down, simply because it's the one most "popular" authors go down. Let's weigh up the pros and cons of traditional publishing... 

 

Pros

 

Having an agent

Your agent will help you to get the most out of your book. They negotiate book deals and mentor you along your journey.

 

No upfront costs

Going down the traditional publishing route means there are no upfront costs to publishing your finished book.

 

Cash advances

When signing a book deal, you are likely to receive a signing bonus; your cash advance. Advances tend to be between approximately £1,500 and approximately £11,000, dependent on many factors.

 

Greater reach

Opportunities such as having your book placed in major bookstores are far easier to obtain when you go through a traditional publisher.

 

The majority of authors you see in popular book stores are traditionally published

 

More time to write

With a dedicated team behind you, you have much more time to write. You would not have to worry about other aspects such as book cover design; your team will take control of that.

 

Greater opportunities for acclaim

Traditionally publishing means you may have more of a chance to win book awards, earn starred reviews and get on bestseller lists.

 

Marketing assistance

When you self publish, you are your own marketing team. Traditional publishing means you get assistance when it comes to marketing your book.

 

Validation

Many writers doubt themselves. Getting accepted by an agent and a publisher can be personal validation that you are a good writer.

 

Cons

 

Lower royalty rates

If you are an author, you must earn back the cash advance given to you before they begin to earn royalties. Even then, you only earn 10% of the revenue made from sales.

 

Infrequent paydays

As a published author, you may only get given royalties twice a year. This can cause serious financial issues.

 

Loss of creative control

When publishing your book traditionally, your publishers will always have a final say in aspects such as the book cover, title and blurb. You do not get the freedom you deserve.

 

Traditional publishing often means a complete loss of control

 

Long publishing process

Traditional publishing is a long process; it can take anywhere from 3 months to a year.

 

Rejection

Many authors suffer large amounts of rejection before being accepted into a publishing house. This rejection can cause authors to feel disheartened.

 

Loss of rights

You give up your rights to your book once signing a traditional book deal.

 

So there are some of the major pros and cons of traditional publishing. It's important to weigh them all up before making a decision to go down the traditional publishing route, as the losses can often be a disadvantage and not something all authors want to agree to. The pros and cons of traditional publishing will allow you to grow your understanding of going down a traditionally published route and enable you to see what the process would be like. 
 

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Posted 14 months ago by Katie Houldsworth