Should I Self Publish Or Look For A Traditional Publisher?

The most frequent question I hear from aspiring authors is, "Should I self-publish or traditionally publish?"

Which publishing option will better suit your needs? If you don’t answer this question when you begin writing your book, you may end up doing a great deal of extra work. Authors who intend to self-publish can simply write their book, but those who intend to traditionally publish need to write a book proposal first, particularly for a nonfiction book.

A book proposal can take almost as much work as writing your book–and the time and resources you put into writing a great proposal can make the difference between no publisher and finding a publisher, or between a small advance (maybe $3,000) to a much larger advance (low- to mid-five-figures and up).

So, how do you make that important decision?

1. To interest a publisher, you almost always need a platform (think big: a following of tens of thousands of people or even hundreds of thousands is ideal). You may reach these folks through the your blog, high profile blogs like Psychology Today, WebMD or the Huffington Post, an e-mail list, your newsletter, public speaking, radio, TV, a print column, or a variety of ways, but you need a strong following to interest publishers nowadays. If you don’t have one, are you willing to create one now, before you pitch your proposal? If not, self-publish this first book.

2. If your story or subject is unbelievably compelling, it’s possible that an agent and publisher may see the media potential and be interested without a current following–but not terribly likely. And they will most likely still want you to develop a following or platform before publishing.

3. Okay, let’s say you have a following, should you definitely traditionally publish? Not necessarily. Assess your situation: look at time, money and other important needs to determine whether to self-publish or seek a traditional publisher. For starters, take these things into consideration:

• The biggest benefit of a traditional publisher is their distribution channels: they will get your books into book stores (ideally).
  • It’s easier to get publicity as an author on major TV, radio and in national print publications if your book is traditionally published. Usually, at the upper echelons of media coverage, it’s hard to get publicity for a self-published book (but not impossible).
  • A traditional publisher does lend credibility to your book.
  • A traditional publisher has experience with book covers, layout, editing (some publishers do more editing than others), marketing and other aspects of publishing–you’ll have to learn many of these things, or find a qualified professional, if you self-publish–and you’ll need to beware of people who are not that competent.
• If your goal is to build your business and use the book as a multi-dimensional business card, you’ll want to self publish.
  • You’ll make more money per book self-publishing.
  • You’ll have more control self-publishing.
  • Any mistakes can be corrected faster by self-publishing.
  • You’ll have your book much faster, generally at least two years faster, if you self-publish.

Sometimes people assume that a traditional publisher will handle all the publicity and marketing for your book. Wrong. Either route, self-publishing or traditional, you will be responsible for marketing and promoting your book.

"What about e-books?" you may ask. We'll save that for another post...but certainly e-books are a viable option nowadays--depending again on your goals.

Please share your experiences with publishing--including any pros, cons or cautionary tales. And, of course, ask your questions...

Medicine & Motherhood

By Dr. Dawn Barker

Until recently, it was easy to reply when an inquisitive acquaintance asked, “What do you do?” I would answer that I was a child and adolescent psychiatrist. Easy.

The most difficult part was trying to explain that yes, a psychiatrist is a medical doctor, and no, I’m not a psychologist and there is a difference. But when faced with the same question these days, I struggle to answer. Of course, I am still a psychiatrist, and those certificates on my office wall are still valid. But my role now is so much broader and difficult to define.

Almost two years ago, I stopped work to have my first child, with a plan to take a year’s maternity leave. I was surprised when many of my friends and colleagues were shocked that I was taking so much time off. I replied with my standard child psychiatry spiel about the first year of an infant’s life being critical for secure attachment development, but the reality was that I wanted to stay at home with my new baby. I looked forward to having a year when I didn’t have to deal with acutely distressed patients, and the equally distressed hospital system. If I was going to be woken at night, I wanted to deal with my own child’s need rather than someone else’s. In fact, I wasn’t sure that a year would be long enough.

Before that first year was up, I was pregnant again, and I officially resigned from my position at work. I have recently had my second child, and now haven’t worked in medicine for almost two years. I always thought that society frowned upon women who went back to work when their children were young; instead, it seems that the opposite is true, and professional women are somehow expected to return to work quickly and hand over the raising of their children to someone else.

So what do I do now? I have been writing: I’ve written a novel and won a publisher’s manuscript development competition; I’ve kept a blog of my parenting experiences; I’ve written a few articles for magazines. Would I call myself a writer? I still can’t help but feel embarrassed to say that. It doesn’t seem like a ‘real’ job. I’m not earning a living from it, so I can’t really say it’s what I ‘do’.

Do I say that I’m a mother, or a housewife? In reality, that is what I do every hour of the day: I look after my family physically and emotionally, and I run a household. But I hesitate to define myself as a homemaker. I want people to know that I can do more than that, even though I know that raising children is difficult and tiring and incredibly important – but it is undervalued in our society. There seems to be more value placed on professional women returning to the workforce and employing someone else to look after their children.

There are days when I wish I was at work, having a coffee with other adults while we discuss a challenging clinical case, or reading a magazine while I eat lunch without a toddler trying to escape from a high chair next to me. Then I remember – that rarely happened when I was working. I was just too busy. It’s then that I remind myself: even the worst day at home with two young children is nowhere near as bad as the worst day at work.

Doctors should be the most supportive of professions when it comes to our colleagues becoming parents. We work every day with patients in difficulty and know the importance of a strong family, and yet our profession is one that makes it very difficult to balance both a working and parental role. Part time work is difficult to manage, clinical meetings and ward rounds are often held very early or after hours, and the on call work can be brutal. But we are more than doctors; we are mums and dads and wives and husbands, and we shouldn’t have to pick one or the other. We can’t do it all, and maybe we should stop trying to.

So when people ask me what I do now, I tell them that I am a psychiatrist who has taken a few years off to raise my family, and I also write on the side. And that’s an identity that I am happy with.

About: Dawn Barker is a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, writer and mother, based in Perth, Western Australia. She blogs at psychiatristparent.wordpress.com

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Publishing Contracts & What To Expect From Your Publisher

Answers to physician publishing questions.

In a previous blog post, 5 Reasons Your Book Isn't Published Yet (And The Cure For Each), Arlen had asked about negotiating points in a publishing contract, as well as what publishers are responsible for and what they expect their authors to do. It seemed a big enough group of questions (he had 10) to warrant a separate post. I'll get us started with Arlen's questions and feel free to add your own as a comment. 

I will say, as a book coach, I almost always recommend authors sign with a reputable literary agent rather than negotiate their contracts themselves. Even when you're signing with a small publisher, the advantages of having a qualified agent far outweigh the cost (typically 15% of your royalties, but can often be negotiated to 10% if you already have a publisher and they are just negotiating the contract).

Here are answers to the questions about some of the main negotiating points:

Royalties: While a typical royalty percentage is 10%, I have recently seen several authors earning and even 20% in unusual cases.

Royalties are typically paid quarterly and authors should receive quarterly reports. If you have an agent, your royalty is actually paid to the agent, who then pays you.

Copies of the book: Publishers tend to provide from 20-100 free copies of the book to the author. This is often an item that can be negotiated, especially if you have a solid marketing/pr plan for additional copies. Authors can usually buy additional copies at a discounted price.

Due dates and turnaround times: I've also seen agents negotiate dates that chapters are due or turnaround time for revisions.

And here are my answers to questions about what a publisher will do and what they expect from the author:

What tasks are the author's responsibility and what will the publisher do in terms of rights and permissions? In my experiences, the author would be responsible to get permissions, waivers and copyright releases. One of my clients had to pay to use the lyrics to a song. He hired an attorney to find out who owned the rights and make arrangements (he did not have a literary agent).

Design and art: Generally, the publisher provides graphics, art and layout. However, there are times that an author may provide a cover design--one of my recent clients liked an image and suggested it to his publisher who accepted it. The publisher often shows from 1-3 different cover designs and gets the author's (and agent's) input. However, the publisher almost always has the right to final decisions on cover and title.

Marketing and promotion: Generally, as an author, you are expected to market and promote your book. The publisher may pitch your book to the media along with other books, during meetings with national producers, but the lion's share of publicity is yours to develop and implement. This is a really critical point. If you are writing a book proposal for a trade book, be sure to include a robust promotion plan (that includes online promotion) and demonstrate that you have a following and/or reach a good-sized segment of your audience (we call this author platform in the industry).

Pricing: This is determined by the publisher.

And, to answer Arlen's last question, if only a few books sell, your publisher may sell the books at a discount to resellers. Sometimes you can negotiate to buy back the rights to your book.

Arlen, thanks for these great questions. Let's hear from other authors about your experiences with publishing contracts and responsibilities. And do post additional questions here, too.