25 for 25: The paths to publication
Where and how you publish the book is often as big a decision as the book topic itself.
This essay is part of my 25 for 25 book writing series. The lessons in this series are meant to simplify the book writing and production journey. You can find a guide with links to the entire series here.
Traditional or self-publishing?
Where and how you publish the book is often as big a decision as the book topic itself.
The option you choose depends on the book topic and your goals. If it’s a mainstream topic and you have a strong platform, traditional could be the way to go.
If you don’t have larger sales goals, or want more control over the publishing process, self-publishing is probably your better option.
Let’s dive into each option further.
Traditional publishing
The traditional publishing path starts with a book proposal, a 25-50-page document that details your book’s message, why you’re the best person to share this story, your marketing and promotional platform, and sample chapters.
Nonfiction proposals typically include the following sections:
Project overview
Author biography
Comparable titles
Audience
Author platform
Table of contents
Chapter descriptions
Sample chapters
The most important part of a proposal is the author platform.
How is the author going to promote the book?
What sales mechanisms do they have in place?
How can they get attention?
You could have the best book in the world, and if there’s no way to promote it within your channel, book publishers are going to be less inclined to pursue the project.
When and how to shop your proposal
You can start pitching your non-fiction proposal before finishing your book—a big change from fiction projects, which require you to complete your draft.
Once your proposal is complete, you can begin engaging literary agents.
Agents often ask for a short query of your project, and if they are interested in learning more, they will ask for your full proposal.
Agents then shop your proposal to book publishers hoping to find the right landing spot. If a publisher is interested in your book, they will offer you a contract that pays an advance, potentially at three different points—when a contract is signed, when the draft is complete, and at publication.
Those advance payments are counted against the royalties you earn—somewhere around $3 to $5 per book sold, depending on the price and any promotions. You can begin making money again after the advance has been satisfied.
A traditional publisher will cover editing and production steps and help you promote the book.
Self-publishing
Self-publishing is a simpler process—there’s no proposal necessary, and more control—but more upfront costs.
Authors who self-publish pay out of pocket for editing, cover design, layout, marketing, and promotion instead of having the publisher cover the costs—but once the book publishes, you will start recouping money off of sales instead of working back from your advance. And the money earned for each book is usually higher.
With the right platform and sales approach, you could make more money from self-publishing—and the services you receive with good self-publishing are just as solid as traditional publishers.
So it really depends on the process that works for you.
Hybrid
Hybrid publishing involves some elements of traditional and self-publishing. A hybrid publishing deal will involve some costs by the author but some promotional and marketing support from the publisher.
The process of getting a book “sold” and publishing it traditionally can be maddening.
You could face lots of rejection and frustration on your path to publication.
The process requires you to remain vigilant—and to keep championing your book. Otherwise, it could be easy for you to bend and cave and compromise just to match somebody’s wishes, only to see your dreams diminished.
It also reinforces the importance of book foundation work. The stronger that work, the better you unlock your book’s message and takeaways and audience and positioning, the easier it will be to find a publisher who sees your vision and wants to carry it forward.
Watch this!
I cover the paths to publication in this video.