Self-Publishing vs. Traditional vs. Hybrid

Traditional Publishing

Traditional Publishing is when you submit your manuscript to a literary agent or publisher with the hope that the agent will connect you with an enthusiastic publisher, or the publisher will embrace your book beyond your wildest dreams. This does, occasionally, actually happen. But more often the process tends to be lengthy — you’ll need to first write a full book proposal, find an interested agent or publisher, and then wait (often a year or more) from the time of acceptance to the time of publication. Of course, there are good reasons why some authors go this route: wider distribution, the prestige of your book being chosen by a respected publisher, and often a monetary advance against royalties. Some authors consider this the gate of paradise, while others view it as more trouble and less payback than it’s worth.

Hybrid Publishing

Hybrid Publishing is when you pay a company composed of book-publishing professionals to publish your book. They may offer everything from soup to nuts — editing, proofreading, illustration, cover art, book design, typesetting, ISBN, printing, and marketing — or just the basics. Some authors appreciate having publishing professionals handle the “baby” of their manuscript. Some hybrid companies invite author preferences and decisions, while others less so. There is no monetary advance (you pay them), but all or most of the net profits from sales tend to belong to the author. The main consideration: hybrid publishing services typically cost several thousand dollars or more, and the degree of creative control you retain varies widely by company.

Self-Publishing (& My Self-Publishing Guidance)

Self-publishing is when you take the matter into your own hands. You will work with professionals — a proofreader, a typesetter, possibly an illustrator, and so on — but you make all the creative decisions yourself. You have total creative control: the book can be and look like whatever suits your heart, esthetics, and budget.

No one can convince you that neon-blue book covers are the rage this year if that doesn’t sit right with you… or that you really need to condense your 400-page lovingly edited manuscript down to 250 pages because “no one reads more than around 40,000 words anymore.” It’s your book, your baby, your pride and joy to share with the world.

For self-publishing, my POD (Print On Demand) printer of choice is IngramSpark — and for good reason. Used by large and small publishers as well as independent authors, IngramSpark has printing facilities around the world, and its distribution arm, Ingram, is a major industry player. Your self-published book will be made available to hundreds of online retailers worldwide (in addition to Amazon), and can also be purchased by libraries and bookstores (though in this case, authors typically need to reach out to them directly).

Self-publishing through IngramSpark is an excellent way to turn your lovingly tended manuscript into a beautiful, professional-looking book (whether print or ebook, or both).

That said, IngramSpark is quite intricate to navigate, especially if self-publishing is new to you. And before you even upload the typeset files of your book to IngramSpark, there is an entire production phase to understand and complete. This is where many authors feel broadsided. Did you know, for instance, that there are specific things you need to have in place before you ever send your manuscript to a typesetter? (Did you know you need a typesetter at all?) And then there’s the ISBN — what it is, why you need it, where to get it, what to do with it.

My course addresses all of this — walking you through the production phase first, then guiding you step by step through the entire IngramSpark book-printing process.