Which Type of Publishing is Best for You?

Erin Ann McBride
Feb 1, 2016
2 min read

Commercial publishing is the traditional form of book publication. An author writes a book, creates a pitch, and sends in a manuscript to a publisher (possibly via an agent), lands a contract, and the book is published and sold online and in bookstores. This continues to be a very competitive field, and not always an easy one to break into.

When an author decides to self-publish, they assume responsibility for all aspects of the publishing process – proofreading, editing, cover design, printing, marketing, and distribution.

Many authors choose self-publishing over commercial publishing due to two primary reasons: time and money. And to some extent creative control.

In commercial publishing it can take at least a year from the point that a contract is accepted before it gets printed. And that’s if the publisher has room and ability to make it move that fast.

A dedicated self-published author can achieve commercial success. There are many stories, on the verge of becoming urban legends, of self-published authors who hit the big time and are able to sell thousands, or even millions of copies. The success of 50 Shades of Grey, which began as a self-published book, has given hope to thousands of self-published authors.

But the reality is that most self-published authors will sell hundreds of books, not thousands. That’s just the reality of self-publishing. But with the right tools and knowledge of how to market, all authors, regardless of the type of publishing, can sell more books.

A vanity press is also an option for some writers. This is for writers who do not intend to sell their books in stores or online, but just want to print a few copies for friends or family members. (This is an excellent option for personal memoirs or cookbooks.)

Many authors are not familiar with the option of working with a distributor. After they self-publish they quickly discover how difficult it is to get their books into stores without a distributor. And many authors don’t know that they can submit their books to distributors just like they do to potential publishing houses. This is an excellent opportunity for self-published authors who have a high quality book that deserves a better audience than just friends and family.

Self-publishing with a distributor allows the author to maintain complete creative control over the book, but brings in the added bonus of bookstore distribution. Most bookstores will not stock and carry self-published books without an assurance that the book will sell well. When a bookstore contracts with a publisher they know that the publisher will buy back unsold books. But with self-published, POD books, the bookstore would have to carry the liability, which most are not willing to do.

Enter the distributor model, where the distributor contracts with the author, and carries the liability with the bookstore. The distributor may pass on (will most likely pass on) expenses to the author.