Writing.Com General Discussion

There's no simple way to recommend one mthod over the other. There are pros and cons to both, so you have to choose what suits you best.

Traditional publishing gets you a great support structure through your agent, publisher and editor - all of whom are top prfessionals who know what they are doing. However, the ublishing industry is geologically slow - expect to wait from nine to eighteen months from signing the publishing contract to having the book hit the shelves. Then you have to wait six months for the first royalty cheque (which arrive twice a year). On the upside, you'll get great exposure - your books can be stocked by anyone who uses the same distributor, and you'll typically sell many more copies.

Self-publishing is a faster track, and your novel can go on sale within hours of uploading it. You'll also typically get a much higher royalty rate and those royalties typcially start kicking in after three months, and get paid monthly thereafter. However, if you want a support structure, you'll have to make friends with knowledgable people, and source (and pay for) your own editor.

For authors seeking to publish their debut novels, I suggest getting your manuscript to as high a quality as you can, then submit to agents. If tey like what they see, they'll ask for teh full manuscript, and if they are still interested, they give you "the call", where they'll tell you what they can offer you. This will often be advice that you need to make some changes, but you'll have to take them on to fond out what they are. At this point, you can decline if you wish, knowing your story got their attention, and self-publish if that's what you want.