In today's ever evolving literary landscape, authors face an important decision when bringing their work to the public, what to choose in between self-pub, small press, or traditional publishing. Each path comes with their own advantages and challenges which can significantly impact an author's creative control, earnings and overall publishing experience. On the writers hub, I have spoken to a few authors who would like to provide their thoughts and their personal journeys in publishing their work, this also may help some of you upcoming writers in which path to take! Enjoy.
This heartfelt and inspiring video from Stephanie Tomlinson offers a glimpse into her journey as a self-published author. Stephanie shares how she has embraced self-publishing while balancing the demands of family life, managing medical challenges, and navigating everyday responsibilities. Her story is a powerful reminder of resilience and passion, and her words are sure to leave you feeling uplifted and motivated.
Stephanie's website: TheAuthStephTom
https://x.com/TheAuthStephTom
Get her book here! https://amzn.to/4335PlT (Second Chance At Love)
A book can be high (or low) quality no matter whether it's traditionally or self-published. If you're self-publishing, you gain control over the process but you take on all the upfront financial risk and very possibly don't have the bank of knowledge and skills a traditional press has. You need to gain those skills or outsource them and make sensible decisions about what's suitable in a budget-friendly way.
I find self-publishing exciting, exhausting and rewarding. I'm learning all the time. I had the advantage of having worked as an editor at a traditional publisher before I self-published my book but I'm still learning. Marketing is particularly outside my comfort zone. Even when the wins are small, I celebrate them (one book sold - yay!) because I know how hard won each one is.
There can be some annoying factors, such as some bookshops not being interested in individual self-publishers unless you go through a larger distributor. However, I've found plenty of people imagine there is more of a division between traditional and self-publishing than there is. Many people shift between both. There are lots of authors and illustrators experimenting with different ways of publishing and they're all part of the writing community.
Writer Rebecca Fung finds self-publishing exciting and rewarding, despite the challenges. With a background in editing, she's still learning—especially about marketing—and celebrates every win. She highlights the growing crossover between traditional and self-publishing and sees both as valuable paths in the writing community. Thank you, Rebecca!
Check out Rebecca's social media:
Rebecca Fung (@RebeccFung) / X
To buy her books:
owltitude.com - San José, CA
Thanks Aimee Louise for giving me space to share my thoughts on self-publishing. I’ve learned a lot over the years, though in publishing it’s sometimes difficult to keep up with the changes. A little history – My first traditionally published book came out in 2010 and my first self-published book in 2012. Since then I’ve had about twenty books traditionally published and self-published 4 novellas under a pen name.
My advice for people considering self-publishing:
Realize certain types of books and certain genres will not sell well without a tremendous effort on your part. Many of my traditionally published books are for young readers, both chapter books and middle grade fiction. Most of the market for these books is physical copies through bookstores, so unless you have a good plan to get into some, your book is unlikely to sell well. Schools and libraries buy children’s fiction based on reviews from certain journals, and self-published books do not get those reviews. (The paid Kirkus ones aren’t the ones the buyers read.) You can arrange school visits and sell your books through those, though that is a very time consuming path. I may evidentially self-publish a children’s book, but if I do, it will have a holiday theme, which is easier to sell online and I won’t expect a large number of purchases.
Good covers and titles are vital! I have been through about six covers for my adult historical mystery and finally realized that not only the cover wasn’t great, but the title didn’t clearly indicate the genre. Also, make sure the whole thing works even in thumbnail size. I’m working on the cover of a romance novella, and I thought I had a great one with a cute cat on it, but when I looked at it in thumbnail size, the cat looked like it was dead, not playing as I’d intended!
Learn to read reviews as a business person. Don’t take them as a personal attack on your very being. If you get a lot of terrible reviews that focus on the writing though, take a step back to evaluate. Maybe that means you need an editor or more beta readers. I still have to remind myself every time I finish a draft that the elation I feel for writing ‘the end’ doesn’t mean the story is ready to put out in the world. Learn to ignore the reviews of readers when the story clearly wasn’t for them. You will get those kinds of reviews too. Every single one of my books, except some I wrote for the Boxcar Children series, have cumulative ratings that hover between 3 and 4. That’s good with me, and fairly standard for most authors. The Boxcar Children books tend to have higher ratings because so many people love the whole series. I’ve benefited from that.
The last bit of advice I have is to understand that most authors, both traditionally published and self-published, don’t make enough to support themselves on writing alone. When I first started out, so many people told me that if I published five books traditionally and then managed to have one new book a year, I could support myself on the royalties plus the advances. Maybe that was once true, but not now. Last year I earned a total of $49 in royalties from my first book and nothing from three others, all published by large publishers. I am going to take a big leap into self-publishing several books in the next few years, but I am realistic about what I can expect to earn. For me, the benefit will be putting out the books I want to write, on my own timeline, and with control over many aspects that I didn’t have with my traditionally published books.
Dee shares insights from her own personal experiences within both traditional and self publishing. She emphasises that self-publishing requires significant effort, especially for children's books. Additionally, she stresses the importance of professional covers, appropriate titles, and managing reviews with a business mindset. Ultimately. she highlights that most authors can't reply solely on writing for income and values the creative freedom and control self-publishing offers. Thank you, Dee!
Check out the authors website:
Adventure Author Dee Garretson
Follow the author on social media:
Dee Garretson (@deegarretson) / X
Buy Dee's books:
https://amzn.to/4km26Hf
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