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Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/3674
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

Source: https://writers.stackexchange.com/a/3674
License name: CC BY-SA 3.0
License URL: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

# Traditional Publishing

## Pros

- **If you're in, you're doing good.** If you've _got_ an offer, that says a lot about your writing ability. Not that all good authors get published or all published authors are good, but being published serves as a sort of indicator that you're at least at a certain level of competence. This is important for a lot of the rest of the pros, because good editing doesn't much help a lousy manuscript. The pro here is the explicit indication that you've written something that has publishing potential - if it doesn't, then polishing your ms, marketing, etc. etc. has very little value. So that's a good thing to know :)
- **Professional editing.** Good editing makes your book better. Usually, a _lot_ better. You _do_ want your book to be really really good, don't you? :P (...but see cons.)
- **Professional marketing and promotion.** Publishers have access to marketing venues that an individual author can't get near. Conventions, catalogs, websites, contests, promotions; soliciting reviews from respected venues; getting media appearances and interviews. In today's glutted, over-saturated market, these are invaluable. (...but see cons.)
- **Professional distribution.** E-books have changed this somewhat, particularly Amazon's distribution of self-published books. Nonetheless, an established publisher has tremendous advantages in getting books out to bookstores and libraries that an individual author can't hope to match. And this is important because the easier it is for a reader to stumble across your book and take it home, the greater the chance is that he'll read it.
- **Industry recognition.** Previous published books look good on your credit list, and make it much easier to achieve future successes. You’ve made it before; that instantly sets you apart from the mass of slush who might not know how to string two words together or might go ballistic if an agent suggests that three semicolons is too much for one sentence. Doesn’t mean it’s an easy road, but they know that you know how to walk.
- **Saleable rights.** Not every book has this potential, but plenty of books can earn some extra cash with translation rights, reprints, excerpts, even [movie options](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Option_%28filmmaking%29) (as opposed to actually buying rights to film, which is much much rarer and less of a consideration for most). 

## Cons

- **Hard to get into.** It’s really, really, really tough to get published. Talent and effort help a lot, but they’re hardly a guarantee, let alone a swift entry pass. And plenty of times, industry practices and trends make it very difficult for a newcomer to actually get in, even if they write at about the same level that some published authors are.
- **Marketing effort expected from the author.** While publishers market their books, it’s often far from the level or visibility of marketing that the author would like or expect. And authors are often expected to promote their books, in what can be a very arduous process - 
- **Must work well with others.** Since you're working in cooperation with lots of people who get a ton of control over your book, you need to be able to deal well with cooperative efforts and possibly painful compromises concerning your work.
- **Professional does not guarantee good.** Writing, publishing, and marketing are fields that are both subjective and extremely risky. Editors, publishers and marketers are not automatically and infallibly right. This means you need to find a publisher whom you trust and respect, and you need to second-guess even the professional feedback you get.
- **Watch out for scams.**

## Big vs. Small

The main difference is that the entry bar is lower, but the publisher's resources are fewer, so they're less good at getting you the pros.

# Self Publishing

## Pros

- **No entry requirements**
- **Complete control over final product**
- **Profits are yours to keep**

## Cons

- **Lack of professional input**
- **Amateur marketing efforts**
- **Physical distribution difficult to nonexistent**
- **Negative industry recognition**
- **Book market is super-tough**
- **Watch out for scams.**

## Self-Publishing vs. Vanity

Vanity publishing, by every definition I've found, seems strictly inferior to self-publishing - it's basically the same thing, but with more (false) pretension of getting you the pros of professional publishing. See: [What's the distinction between "vanity publishing" and "self publishing"?](https://writers.stackexchange.com/q/3677/1046)

# Creative New Approaches

This is reducible back to the other two categories. A great marketing concept is a great asset whichever publishing avenue you choose. Probably easier to market as you like if you're self-publishing, but again, this comes along with (A) having a lot more trouble reaching wide audiences, and (B) a greater chance that your brilliant marketing scheme isn't as brilliant as you thought.

# In Summary

Traditional publishing offers modest percentages of a highly risky endeavor with a whole lot of quality control (which may be restricting and even mistaken). Self-publishing offers high percentages of a hugely risky endeavor with zero quality control (which many self-publishers do not properly appreciate the necessity of).

Therefore, self-publishing is most appropriate when one of the following applies:

- Your book is such that its modest, targeted success is sufficient for you, while commercial publishers could not afford to invest in a niche product (nor an amateurishly published one, though many readers would not mind this in the least).
- You are confident enough in the book and in your own marketing ability that you believe it will bring you greater success - i.e., that even absent the advantages of traditional publishing, you will sell enough that the advantages and rewards of self-publishing will play out in your favor.

In contrast, if you think your book has great potential but are not sure of your own ability to single-handedly bring it to fruition, then a publisher is likely to be both far better capable at that than yourself, and (when shopped to a wide range of publishers) a more informed opinion of the potential your book actually has.

Original score: 3