Types of Publishing

There are many ways to take your manuscript to a final published book. While traditional publishing gets the most cachet, self-publishing, hybrid publishing and vanity publishing are all viable routes to a finished book. Each type of publishing has its pros and cons. Which one you choose depends on your publishing goals, timelines, funds, expertise, time and willingness to do non-writing work.

There is no one size fits all and what works for one book might not be a good fit for another. To help you make an informed choice, here is an overview of the four major types of publishing.

Traditional Publishing

Traditional publishing is what most people think of when they think about getting their book published. Traditional publishers make their money selling books. As a result, they are focused on what books will bring in the money they need to continue operating. What this means can vary based on the parameters of the press. Large, for-profit multinationals tend to skew more commercial and popular to fund their massive operations, while a smaller, non-profit press might focus on more niche markets that cover their costs and not much more.

Traditional publishers vet all submissions for quality, marketability and fit for their mandate. If a traditional publisher is interested in a book, they will offer a contract that includes an advance (usually in the thousands) and a royalty offer. Most contracts cover, at a minimum, the exclusive publication rights for a specific territory, but can also cover worldwide and translation rights, additional formats (like ebooks and audiobooks) and other media such as film/TV adaptations. In most cases, the author retains the copyright of their work.

The publisher then funds the production of the book, including editing, layout, cover design, printing, distribution and marketing. The author receives royalty payments once the publisher recoups the advance.

Most traditional publishers have sales reps with connections that can get your books into brick-and-mortar stores as well as libraries, schools and online, although this isn't always an option with smaller presses. The publisher should take on the work of marketing the book including organizing interviews, book signings, tours and social media posts. This responsibility has shifted more to the author in recent years, with publishers asking authors to take a more active role in the promotion of their book and in some cases asking the author to fund their own tours. However, traditional publishers are invested in the book's success because they need the book to sell to make a profit.

Pros

• No financial risk to the author

• Payment upfront before publication

• Professionals come with the deal

• Guidance from people who have a proven track record in the industry

• Authors usually have an agent to support them through negotiations

• Access to the brand recognition and marketing channels of the publisher

• Usually access to multiple retail options (brick and mortar, online)

• High probability of a professional finished product

• Higher potential than other publishing streams for lucrative ancillary deals

Cons

• Difficult to get a publishing deal. Competition is high.

  • Authors usually require an agent first, which is an additional hurdle to publication, and acquiring an agent doesn't guarantee publication

• Publishers are less likely to take a chance on unusual, experimental or off-trend manuscripts

• Authors usually have less control over the final product than with other publishing options

• Royalties tend to be modest, and there are none if the book doesn't make back its advance

• Failure to recoup the advance can hurt an author's chances of having future books published with a traditional publisher

• With big publishers, smaller titles can get lost in the shuffle and not get the attention they need to be successful

Self-Publishing

Self-publishing is exactly what it sounds like: the author publishes their own work. While in the past self-publishing had the reputation of being inferior to traditionally published books, this stigma has mostly disappeared. There are a lot of high-quality self-published books and self-published authors can be incredibly successful.

Self-publishing requires a lot of work beyond the writing process. As the publisher, the author is responsible for hiring the editors, designers and marketers that they need, or they have to do all the work themselves. This means that 100% of the financial risk is with the author, but they also get 100% of the profits. Self-publishing also gives the author the greatest amount of control over the final product. Even if they hire professionals to help with the process, the final say in whatever is produced remains with them.

At first, self-publishing can seem like a major task, but there are tons of tutorials online and companies like KDP and Ingram Spark that provide support for self-published authors. Many editors and designers specialize in working with self-published authors and can also provide support for the publishing process. There are also a lot of social media groups for self-published authors so you can learn from other authors.

Pros

• Guarantee of publication

• 100% creative control

• Larger royalties and no profit sharing

• Control over distribution and marketing as well as pricing

  • This means you can make adjustments as needed

• Ability to make changes after publication

Cons

• Expensive up front.

• Big learning curve to learn all the ins and outs required to publish a book

• No access to larger marketing budgets/networks

• Lots of work beyond the writing

• Can be difficult to get into physical stores and libraries

Hybrid Publishing

Hybrid publishers provide a combination of traditional publishing and self-publishing. Like traditional publishers, hybrid publishers vet submissions, although their criteria for selection are usually less rigorous and they are more willing to sign authors who are willing to pay to get the manuscript to a publishable standard. Like traditional publishers, hybrid publishers make their money by publishing books. However, the author covers at least some of the cost of production.

Since the author takes a significant financial risk for publication, royalty payments tend to be higher than with traditional publishers and kick in as soon as the book is published; there is usually no advance. Many hybrid publishers encourage the use of crowdfunding for their authors to cover the costs of production and publication.

The main advantage of hybrid publishing over self-publishing is that it gives you access to their in-house editing, design and marketing teams. This means less legwork for the author. Services included in any packages will be clearly outlined up front and the fees charged will be clearly outlined on the invoice and cover the true cost of the services. These fees don't make the publisher a profit; they simply cover the expense of production. A hybrid publisher should at a minimum include a copy edit and a proofread in addition to distribution.

In most cases, hybrid publishers will ask for short-term rights (a couple of years) to publish a book, but it is not unusual for them to let the author retain the rights and simply set up an agreement for publication.

Legitimate hybrid publishers follow the guidelines set out by the Independent Book Publishers Association.

Pros

• Easier to get a publishing deal than with traditional publishing

  • No agent is needed to get in the door

• Professionals come with the deal, including editors and designers

• Support through the publication process from people who know the industry and are invested in the success of your book

• Built-in marketing and distribution networks (in most cases)

• Generally more control than with traditional publishers

• High royalty payments with no waiting period

Cons

• Expensive upfront. Author takes on the bulk of the publishing expenses.

• Smaller marketing budgets than traditional publishers, so it can be more difficult to gain market success

  • Authors will likely have to take on a bigger role in marketing than with a traditional publisher

• Can be difficult to find a reputable hybrid publisher. Many are vanity publishers in disguise.

  • ALLi has a great list to help authors weed out potential scammers

• No agent support through negotiations (agents only work with traditional publishers)

• Most offer the same sales channels as self-publishing, but with lower royalties

Vanity Publishing

Vanity presses make their money not by selling books, but by charging authors for the services required to publish a book. The difference between hybrid presses and vanity presses lies in quality control. Vanity presses are usually willing to publish anything that is submitted, regardless of quality. A vanity press will ask the author to pay for all production costs, including editing, design work and marketing. These will often be presented as lump-sum payments with little transparency of the cost of individual services. Because their business model is based on collecting payment from authors, not on selling books, a vanity press has already made a profit simply by publishing the book, so there is little incentive to push the book to commercial success.

Do your research on the press before signing anything. If you have the money and the goal is to publish something for a limited market (say the genealogy of a small town) and you don't want to do the legwork yourself, a vanity press might be the way to go. Just make sure that what they produce is the quality you are looking for first.

Read the contract very carefully, and make sure you are not signing away more rights of your manuscript than you intend to. If the contract is full of legalese, have a lawyer go over it to make sure you are clear what the terms are. Check what royalties they are offering. They should be high since there is no advance paid, but it is common for vanity presses to ask for royalty agreements similar to traditional publishers despite the author taking all of the financial risk of publication. Make sure there are no sales conditions to receiving royalties, such as a certain number of copies being sold before you start earning them.

Since vanity publishers make their money off of authors, it is not uncommon for them to push for add-ons to the initial contract or to hide clauses granting them the copyright of the manuscript in the contract. Since authors deal with vanity presses on their own without the support of an agent, it can be difficult to navigate.

Pros

• Guarantee of publication

  • No need for an agent to get in the door

• Publishing professionals like editors and designers or marketers come with the contract

• Minimal effort to get from manuscript to published book

Cons

• Expensive

• No agent support through negotiations

• Often over charge and under deliver

• Lack of quality control

• Low incentive from the publisher for market success

• Low royalty payments

• Contracts often include clauses that give the rights over to the press or make it difficult for the author to sell rights beyond the vanity press

Summary

There is no correct way to get your manuscript published and there is nothing wrong with going different routes for different books. Every route to publication has advantages and disadvantages, so the choice comes down to what factors are most important to you.