Indie Versus Traditional- Sizing up the costs, pros & cons.
Jan 30, 2016 20:00:50 GMT -5
PurpleCyanide and wintersrage like this
Post by kristynicolleauthor on Jan 30, 2016 20:00:50 GMT -5
Okay Future Indie Authors of the world, I'm gonna lay it down for you real slow, tell you what it's about and all that Jazz. It's gonna be hard for some of you aspiring J.K Rowling's and James Patterson's to hear, but this is my experience and i'm gonna give you all of it. Every last bit. The cold hard truth.
INDIE AUTHOR VERSUS PUBLISHED AUTHOR:
So... you've all heard the term 'indie author' chucked around, and i'm pretty sure most people in publishing know what the traditional route is, but what's the difference? what are the pros and cons for each? Well, i'm gonna tell you, because choosing indie over traditional is a big decision and it's one that often overlooked and not researched by writers before they self-publish. Then a year later you hear all their self published books have been pulled and are being re-released by their publisher... So, stay informed. Here are the Pro's and Cons for you in simple, plain, black and white English.
INDIE PUBLISHING- THE PROS:
So, what is indie publishing? Indie publishing means that YOU are your own publisher. So publisher is a big title. What we actually mean when we say you are your own publisher is a lot tougher than uploading a word document to createspace and or kdp direct and cashing in. What it means is that you are responsible for your own:
• EDITING -PROOFREADING AND CONTENT EDITING
• BETA READERS
• BOOK COVER CREATION AND DESIGN
• PUBLIC RELATIONS
• FORMATTING
• DISTRIBUTION
• LEGAL RELATIONS
• DISTRIBUTION AND SIGNED COPIES
So... you're responsible for this giant list of stuff, all of which needs to be top notch if you hope to sell, especially editing, public relations and book cover but that's within your control, because your say is the only say. What does that mean for you? It means you could do it all yourself, if you have the skills, the know-how and of course those all important connections on social media. You as the author have one hundred percent creative control over your material. You make the decisions. You decide on your cover artist, formatting, editor etc. You get a say that not all published authors are afforded. Also, the other great thing about publishing yourself is you get presented with these mind boggling, delightfully high royalty figures like 70% from amazon.com and other online retailers. So basically... it's all plain sailing! Wait? Did i just say that? Hold on one hot second, you haven't seen the cons list yet...
INDIE PUBLISHING- THE CONS:
Indie publishing seems too good to be true... that's because in some ways it is. Having all the decision making power is great, but lets remember that before we can get to those deliciously tempting royalty percentages which far outweigh those of traditional publishing houses that you have to pay... and when i say pay, i mean for EVERYTHING. It's hard to know just how much any one author puts in to any one title and it's true that some authors are lucky enough that they have friends in the business to get certain services for free. Here's a list of a kind of average cost you should expect for publishing your baby, as well as why you should want to put your money where your mouth is:
• EDITING- $400+ (some of the top paid editors charge as much as 1cent per WORD.) So you've written your masterpiece, right? WRONG. Your first draft may make your heart sing, but you'll need another more experienced opinion. A good editor is perhaps the single most important part of being successful as an indie author. Bad editing and a novel full of typos can harbor bad reviews and ruin a reader's experience as well as your fledgling reputation. Self-editing crossed your mind as a way to cut costs? I wouldn't. I mean, really, i wouldn't. If you cut costs everywhere else, don't cut on your editor. Get someone you know will be honest with you and who isn't afraid to hurt your feelings. Manuscripts are personal and as an author and editor myself i wouldn't dream of editing my own manuscript. You're in love with your manuscript and that will make you blind. You've written this piece, so of course you think it's perfect, but that's rose tinted spectacles and nothing is more valuable than having someone pull it pieces and help you build it back up again.
• PROOFREADING- $200+ More Editing? Yes that's right, you need a proofreader to edit your editors editing. Proofreaders need to be total grammar Nazis by nature, they're the fine tooth comb that's going to prevent unfortunate typos or grammar in the final draft.
• BETA READERS: FREE- kind of... So beta readers can be implemented at a stage of your choosing. I chose to have my betas read my final draft before it went to the proofreaders. All my betas were friends and they did this for me for free ( a pro) can i trust them to be totally honest? Maybe, maybe not (a con) but they play the role of being an average reader. You can pay for betas from beta reader companies, but these also cost in addition to your other expenses. I chose to pay my betas by sending them signed paperbacks which cost me, but compared to the cost of hiring betas from a company i got a good deal.
• BOOK COVER CREATION AND DESIGN- FREE (if you know someone handy) to $4000!(YES I DID SAY FOUR THOUSAND) They say you have five seconds from the moment someone glances your book on the shelf to when they make their decision whether to buy or not. So the cover really does matter. You could have written the most beautiful novel the world has ever seen, but if your cover doesn't attract attention in an over-flooded market then your book will die a very slow and certain death. Appearance is EVERYTHING so make sure you make your covers five seconds count! Find a good cover designer who knows how to use Photoshop etc effectively and be specific with what you want. Do research on what's popular and look into what grabs your own attention too. Covers can be as cheap as a couple of hundred dollars for pre-made covers, but if you want something custom you could be looking at a lot more. The cost all comes down to whether or not you can settle on a stock image and your artist can do what you want with it. In the erotica community particularly authors are now paying to have models do custom shoots for their books, so they have the rights to totally unique and personalized images. That of course costs, because you are paying the photographer, the model and THEN the cover designer for putting the entire thing together.
• PUBLIC RELATIONS- FREE to INFINITE. It all depends on what you want. Ideally most authors need a good social media presence, selling books takes a lot of work, especially when you consider that the average novel that is self published on amazon.com rarely outsells the 500 copy mark in it's first year. PA's can book sales and can be fantastic at getting you increased reach and exposure online, this is absolutely VITAL for your 'business' long term. PA's offer services like book release online party packages, blitzing packages, cover reveal parties and more. They also often pimp you to selling groups on Facebook on a regular basis and work hard to get your books reviewed for you. I haven't caved and hired a PA just yet and I've been published just over two months, but i receive over eleven thousand Facebook notifications and emails a week, so if you also have a full time job this might be useful. Some authors also go for other exposure such as signings which can cost in excess of $3000 to attend because you have to pay for your own paperbacks, travel, accommodation and table at the event. Very rarely do you make back what you spend at signings and it is well known that these events are usually more for networking with potential readers and fellow authors than for actually selling masses of books.
• FORMATTING $100-$400 This is the interior of your novel and it does matter. Nothing ruins the reading experience like a badly formatted novel. You should look into previous works of who you choose to format and also check that they're able to format for all the distributors you're looking at using e.g createspace, smashwords, ibooks, kdp, kobo, nook. Some formatters use fancy graphics and images, but personally i feel my story needs to be the main focus on the page, so i opt for something simpler and cheaper.
• LEGAL RELATIONS: $1000+- This isn't necessary for publishing to start with, and you may never need it, but i like to address it as a hidden cost because few new indie authors realise that this can be a real money suck. PIRACY. Yes. That's right, it's not just for the latest episode of Pretty Little Liars or the new star wars movie, it's a real problem in the publishing world too. Piracy sites are taking our books and making them available elsewhere FOR FREE. That means you may sell 10,000 pirated copies, and you see... absolutely nothing. Sucks right? So what can you do? Get a lawyer and saddle up for a fight is what i'm seeing from authors who i know have been victims of this. One author in particular i know spent a massive $8000 fighting for the rights to her own work. Some authors i know can't fight this kind of piracy because they can't afford to. Just something to be aware of.
• DISTRIBUTION AND SIGNED COPIES- COST BASED ON HOW MANY COPIES OF YOUR OWN BOOK YOU PURCHASE. If you've managed to get everything else for free, this will be the big cost for your publishing journey. Buying author copies may be at reduced cost, but if you're trying to get your books into brick and mortar stores you'll need hundreds of copies of your own novel to sell to them. That means covering the costs yourself, and if the books don't cost you an exorbitant amount, i'm betting the shipping will. Doing signed copies also means you have to purchase copies of your own books to sign, which will also cost you. Unfortunately, you also have to be willing to increase the distribution of your book by giving it away for free. Now, online author communities sustain themselves on a concoction of amazon giftcard giveaways and free e-copies or signed copies of your novel, added as incentives for participation and interaction on book blogs that are struggling in an over-flooded market. You are usually responsible for providing these, so in other words make some room on your shelves for hundreds of copies of the same book. YOURS.
(PLEASE NOTE THESE COSTS AREN'T SET IN STONE, THEY ARE ESTIMATES BASED OFF MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE)
PUBLISHING- THE OLD FASHIONED WAY- PROS
You submit a novel to the publisher, they cover all the costs if they give you a contract. They put your book out there in the public eye line and they take care of all the pesky decision making which costs so much. You'll probably have no problems getting your book into brick and mortar stores and may even have signings arranged at the cost of the publishers if your books are doing well. Make no mistake, it may seem like the rise of the indie at this moment in time, but publishers still hold all the keys to all the doors. They often have years of experience and connections which for any individual would take a lifetime and a crap ton of luck to compile. It is harder to get into publishing traditionally, but if you don't know what you're doing from a business standpoint and you just want to write. I recommend looking into the traditional route and getting yourself an agent.
PUBLISHING- THE OLD FASHIONED WAY-CONS
It's not all perfect with publishing the old fashioned way though, because that would be too easy. Publishing takes away a lot of your rights to decide things such as cover design, formatting etc. In some cases publishers can refuse to publish your manuscript if they don't like where it takes them. If they think it'll make them more money to change your gory ending to a happy one, they will do it. Your contract means you are their product and if they think you aren't going to help them better their bottom line they will let you go. I haven't yet mentioned the all important ADVANCE yet either. You hear it on sit-coms all the time, an author gets a giant advance, a number so large their eyes fall out of their face in pure amazement. This is a myth, unless you've written a book about a boy wizard with a lightning shaped scar, or your last name in Patterson and you write about Alex Cross. In fact the average book advance from a publisher is little more these days than around $8000, due to such over saturation of the market because of indie authors and smaller publishing houses. It's also important to remember that because of this advance you don't get any royalties until you sell over that amount in books and if you don't outsell your advance it's unlikely you'll see another contract, because publishers don't like paying out when they don't make profit.
So then there's the other thing about publishers. With many of the big names, you might be lucky to get 10% of what your books make. You need to remember that the publishers have paid to publish you and now when it's out there they'll be wanting their money back. In addition, it can also cost to even get your manuscript in the hands of a big time publisher, because of these lovely little people called book agents. You pay them in the hope they can sell your book to a publisher for you. They can be costly and there are a lot roaming around on the internet who are just out to make a quick buck. Make sure you do your research and that you're offered a free consultation before you start paying anything. There are also smaller publishing houses which take manuscripts in from authors directly, they also take less of your profit and for some authors this is the perfect balance between indie and traditional so make sure you research what publishers are accepting submissions for your genre before making any decisions.
Is your brain hurting yet?
Mine certainly did when i was researching all this for the first time. It's a puzzle, one without a right or wrong answer. There is only what suits you best in the situation you are publishing in. Either way, the market these days is tough, particularly if you are writing outside the golden genres (YA, CRIME, NON FICTION, EROTICA, CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE <- these can change at any time, but these are the current genres which sell best according to market research performed by amazon.com.) Nowadays there's the feeling that anyone can publish, which they can. Whether everyone should is for you to decide, but know that you aren't alone in being confused surrounding the issue of what's more lucrative. The key with indie publishing is quantity and quality, you probably won't make a million on your first book, or your second, or maybe even your third, but if you keep publishing and working to get your books out there you may just make a living (<- this as opposed to a theme-park based off your novels is the more realistic dream for most authors these days). This is a time of evolution in the publishing world, and one which can be lucrative should you have the money, work ethic and a smidgen of luck on your side. Just know this, whatever you decide, always go for writing what you love. Readers respect that above all else!
I hope you have learned a little from this, I’m sure there’s tons I’m still learning about, this is merely my story and I hope it gives you an idea of what to expect. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to let me know!
Kristy Nicolle x
INDIE AUTHOR VERSUS PUBLISHED AUTHOR:
So... you've all heard the term 'indie author' chucked around, and i'm pretty sure most people in publishing know what the traditional route is, but what's the difference? what are the pros and cons for each? Well, i'm gonna tell you, because choosing indie over traditional is a big decision and it's one that often overlooked and not researched by writers before they self-publish. Then a year later you hear all their self published books have been pulled and are being re-released by their publisher... So, stay informed. Here are the Pro's and Cons for you in simple, plain, black and white English.
INDIE PUBLISHING- THE PROS:
So, what is indie publishing? Indie publishing means that YOU are your own publisher. So publisher is a big title. What we actually mean when we say you are your own publisher is a lot tougher than uploading a word document to createspace and or kdp direct and cashing in. What it means is that you are responsible for your own:
• EDITING -PROOFREADING AND CONTENT EDITING
• BETA READERS
• BOOK COVER CREATION AND DESIGN
• PUBLIC RELATIONS
• FORMATTING
• DISTRIBUTION
• LEGAL RELATIONS
• DISTRIBUTION AND SIGNED COPIES
So... you're responsible for this giant list of stuff, all of which needs to be top notch if you hope to sell, especially editing, public relations and book cover but that's within your control, because your say is the only say. What does that mean for you? It means you could do it all yourself, if you have the skills, the know-how and of course those all important connections on social media. You as the author have one hundred percent creative control over your material. You make the decisions. You decide on your cover artist, formatting, editor etc. You get a say that not all published authors are afforded. Also, the other great thing about publishing yourself is you get presented with these mind boggling, delightfully high royalty figures like 70% from amazon.com and other online retailers. So basically... it's all plain sailing! Wait? Did i just say that? Hold on one hot second, you haven't seen the cons list yet...
INDIE PUBLISHING- THE CONS:
Indie publishing seems too good to be true... that's because in some ways it is. Having all the decision making power is great, but lets remember that before we can get to those deliciously tempting royalty percentages which far outweigh those of traditional publishing houses that you have to pay... and when i say pay, i mean for EVERYTHING. It's hard to know just how much any one author puts in to any one title and it's true that some authors are lucky enough that they have friends in the business to get certain services for free. Here's a list of a kind of average cost you should expect for publishing your baby, as well as why you should want to put your money where your mouth is:
• EDITING- $400+ (some of the top paid editors charge as much as 1cent per WORD.) So you've written your masterpiece, right? WRONG. Your first draft may make your heart sing, but you'll need another more experienced opinion. A good editor is perhaps the single most important part of being successful as an indie author. Bad editing and a novel full of typos can harbor bad reviews and ruin a reader's experience as well as your fledgling reputation. Self-editing crossed your mind as a way to cut costs? I wouldn't. I mean, really, i wouldn't. If you cut costs everywhere else, don't cut on your editor. Get someone you know will be honest with you and who isn't afraid to hurt your feelings. Manuscripts are personal and as an author and editor myself i wouldn't dream of editing my own manuscript. You're in love with your manuscript and that will make you blind. You've written this piece, so of course you think it's perfect, but that's rose tinted spectacles and nothing is more valuable than having someone pull it pieces and help you build it back up again.
• PROOFREADING- $200+ More Editing? Yes that's right, you need a proofreader to edit your editors editing. Proofreaders need to be total grammar Nazis by nature, they're the fine tooth comb that's going to prevent unfortunate typos or grammar in the final draft.
• BETA READERS: FREE- kind of... So beta readers can be implemented at a stage of your choosing. I chose to have my betas read my final draft before it went to the proofreaders. All my betas were friends and they did this for me for free ( a pro) can i trust them to be totally honest? Maybe, maybe not (a con) but they play the role of being an average reader. You can pay for betas from beta reader companies, but these also cost in addition to your other expenses. I chose to pay my betas by sending them signed paperbacks which cost me, but compared to the cost of hiring betas from a company i got a good deal.
• BOOK COVER CREATION AND DESIGN- FREE (if you know someone handy) to $4000!(YES I DID SAY FOUR THOUSAND) They say you have five seconds from the moment someone glances your book on the shelf to when they make their decision whether to buy or not. So the cover really does matter. You could have written the most beautiful novel the world has ever seen, but if your cover doesn't attract attention in an over-flooded market then your book will die a very slow and certain death. Appearance is EVERYTHING so make sure you make your covers five seconds count! Find a good cover designer who knows how to use Photoshop etc effectively and be specific with what you want. Do research on what's popular and look into what grabs your own attention too. Covers can be as cheap as a couple of hundred dollars for pre-made covers, but if you want something custom you could be looking at a lot more. The cost all comes down to whether or not you can settle on a stock image and your artist can do what you want with it. In the erotica community particularly authors are now paying to have models do custom shoots for their books, so they have the rights to totally unique and personalized images. That of course costs, because you are paying the photographer, the model and THEN the cover designer for putting the entire thing together.
• PUBLIC RELATIONS- FREE to INFINITE. It all depends on what you want. Ideally most authors need a good social media presence, selling books takes a lot of work, especially when you consider that the average novel that is self published on amazon.com rarely outsells the 500 copy mark in it's first year. PA's can book sales and can be fantastic at getting you increased reach and exposure online, this is absolutely VITAL for your 'business' long term. PA's offer services like book release online party packages, blitzing packages, cover reveal parties and more. They also often pimp you to selling groups on Facebook on a regular basis and work hard to get your books reviewed for you. I haven't caved and hired a PA just yet and I've been published just over two months, but i receive over eleven thousand Facebook notifications and emails a week, so if you also have a full time job this might be useful. Some authors also go for other exposure such as signings which can cost in excess of $3000 to attend because you have to pay for your own paperbacks, travel, accommodation and table at the event. Very rarely do you make back what you spend at signings and it is well known that these events are usually more for networking with potential readers and fellow authors than for actually selling masses of books.
• FORMATTING $100-$400 This is the interior of your novel and it does matter. Nothing ruins the reading experience like a badly formatted novel. You should look into previous works of who you choose to format and also check that they're able to format for all the distributors you're looking at using e.g createspace, smashwords, ibooks, kdp, kobo, nook. Some formatters use fancy graphics and images, but personally i feel my story needs to be the main focus on the page, so i opt for something simpler and cheaper.
• LEGAL RELATIONS: $1000+- This isn't necessary for publishing to start with, and you may never need it, but i like to address it as a hidden cost because few new indie authors realise that this can be a real money suck. PIRACY. Yes. That's right, it's not just for the latest episode of Pretty Little Liars or the new star wars movie, it's a real problem in the publishing world too. Piracy sites are taking our books and making them available elsewhere FOR FREE. That means you may sell 10,000 pirated copies, and you see... absolutely nothing. Sucks right? So what can you do? Get a lawyer and saddle up for a fight is what i'm seeing from authors who i know have been victims of this. One author in particular i know spent a massive $8000 fighting for the rights to her own work. Some authors i know can't fight this kind of piracy because they can't afford to. Just something to be aware of.
• DISTRIBUTION AND SIGNED COPIES- COST BASED ON HOW MANY COPIES OF YOUR OWN BOOK YOU PURCHASE. If you've managed to get everything else for free, this will be the big cost for your publishing journey. Buying author copies may be at reduced cost, but if you're trying to get your books into brick and mortar stores you'll need hundreds of copies of your own novel to sell to them. That means covering the costs yourself, and if the books don't cost you an exorbitant amount, i'm betting the shipping will. Doing signed copies also means you have to purchase copies of your own books to sign, which will also cost you. Unfortunately, you also have to be willing to increase the distribution of your book by giving it away for free. Now, online author communities sustain themselves on a concoction of amazon giftcard giveaways and free e-copies or signed copies of your novel, added as incentives for participation and interaction on book blogs that are struggling in an over-flooded market. You are usually responsible for providing these, so in other words make some room on your shelves for hundreds of copies of the same book. YOURS.
(PLEASE NOTE THESE COSTS AREN'T SET IN STONE, THEY ARE ESTIMATES BASED OFF MY PERSONAL EXPERIENCE)
PUBLISHING- THE OLD FASHIONED WAY- PROS
You submit a novel to the publisher, they cover all the costs if they give you a contract. They put your book out there in the public eye line and they take care of all the pesky decision making which costs so much. You'll probably have no problems getting your book into brick and mortar stores and may even have signings arranged at the cost of the publishers if your books are doing well. Make no mistake, it may seem like the rise of the indie at this moment in time, but publishers still hold all the keys to all the doors. They often have years of experience and connections which for any individual would take a lifetime and a crap ton of luck to compile. It is harder to get into publishing traditionally, but if you don't know what you're doing from a business standpoint and you just want to write. I recommend looking into the traditional route and getting yourself an agent.
PUBLISHING- THE OLD FASHIONED WAY-CONS
It's not all perfect with publishing the old fashioned way though, because that would be too easy. Publishing takes away a lot of your rights to decide things such as cover design, formatting etc. In some cases publishers can refuse to publish your manuscript if they don't like where it takes them. If they think it'll make them more money to change your gory ending to a happy one, they will do it. Your contract means you are their product and if they think you aren't going to help them better their bottom line they will let you go. I haven't yet mentioned the all important ADVANCE yet either. You hear it on sit-coms all the time, an author gets a giant advance, a number so large their eyes fall out of their face in pure amazement. This is a myth, unless you've written a book about a boy wizard with a lightning shaped scar, or your last name in Patterson and you write about Alex Cross. In fact the average book advance from a publisher is little more these days than around $8000, due to such over saturation of the market because of indie authors and smaller publishing houses. It's also important to remember that because of this advance you don't get any royalties until you sell over that amount in books and if you don't outsell your advance it's unlikely you'll see another contract, because publishers don't like paying out when they don't make profit.
So then there's the other thing about publishers. With many of the big names, you might be lucky to get 10% of what your books make. You need to remember that the publishers have paid to publish you and now when it's out there they'll be wanting their money back. In addition, it can also cost to even get your manuscript in the hands of a big time publisher, because of these lovely little people called book agents. You pay them in the hope they can sell your book to a publisher for you. They can be costly and there are a lot roaming around on the internet who are just out to make a quick buck. Make sure you do your research and that you're offered a free consultation before you start paying anything. There are also smaller publishing houses which take manuscripts in from authors directly, they also take less of your profit and for some authors this is the perfect balance between indie and traditional so make sure you research what publishers are accepting submissions for your genre before making any decisions.
Is your brain hurting yet?
Mine certainly did when i was researching all this for the first time. It's a puzzle, one without a right or wrong answer. There is only what suits you best in the situation you are publishing in. Either way, the market these days is tough, particularly if you are writing outside the golden genres (YA, CRIME, NON FICTION, EROTICA, CONTEMPORARY ROMANCE <- these can change at any time, but these are the current genres which sell best according to market research performed by amazon.com.) Nowadays there's the feeling that anyone can publish, which they can. Whether everyone should is for you to decide, but know that you aren't alone in being confused surrounding the issue of what's more lucrative. The key with indie publishing is quantity and quality, you probably won't make a million on your first book, or your second, or maybe even your third, but if you keep publishing and working to get your books out there you may just make a living (<- this as opposed to a theme-park based off your novels is the more realistic dream for most authors these days). This is a time of evolution in the publishing world, and one which can be lucrative should you have the money, work ethic and a smidgen of luck on your side. Just know this, whatever you decide, always go for writing what you love. Readers respect that above all else!
I hope you have learned a little from this, I’m sure there’s tons I’m still learning about, this is merely my story and I hope it gives you an idea of what to expect. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to let me know!
Kristy Nicolle x