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Steve,

I love the covers that you have done for Mary Ann Bernal. And looking at these you are very talented. Keep up the good work!

Wow. These are amazing. I really wish I had a book that needed a cover right now. But I will definitely be putting you on my list for stuff for the future.

K - Much appreciated and I'll do my best to keep up the good work, mostly because it also keeps the bill collectors happy. ;)

EMILY - Thanks! If and when you do find yourself in the market for a cover drop me a line at novakillustration@gmail.com I'm always there. Literally. I have no life. ;)

Thanks for posting our emails! Of course, it's been edited down. Can't wait for the post next week!

So interesting - the worlds of publishing are blending and the lines are really blurring.

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Thanks so much for hosting us, Lisa!

Loved hearing Susan and Laura's advice. They are always so generous in sharing what they've learned. I think they are right that it's harder to self-publish a middle grade book. It's great to contemplate that there are actually more options out there for us all.

Looking forward to the Sourcebook editor interview. I've been working with them a lot lately and have been impressed with their books. And they seem like a smaller press that gets their books to bookstores.

So, so interesting. Hearing about the self-pub world from those who have done it helps clear the air from what you hear from traditional-pub. Thanks so much.

Wow, ladies! Great information. Thanks for sharing it. I'll spread the word for you.

Lisa, I love this post! Susan and Laura, thanks so much for this awesome info. I've bookmarked this page :)
Nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com

Loving this post! So informative and inspiring. It's always great to see thoughts on indie publishing from those who've actually experienced it!

I love that the lines of publishing are blending. So many great stories to be read on both sides!

Great information. Thanks for sharing it!

Two of my favorite writer-friends being their usual brilliant selves! I LOVE it! They bring up such great questions and answers here. I agree about staying away from the negative people and focusing on the goal. I think Sue summed it up best here:

"I see this as the true future for hybrid publishing – managing your intellectual property through all the most effective channels (trad-pub for print, indie for e-rights, film agents or indie producers for the film world, indie collaborations for things like graphic novels, audio books, and translations into foreign languages)."

Pure brilliance~

I loved this honest discussion. Thanks, ladies!

I know Susan and Laura have put their heart and soul into launching quality stories into the world so I revere their insights. Thanks for bringing them together in one place, Lisa.

Fantastic post! Thanks so much for sharing these experiences so honestly!

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I think there is SO much more to add to this that it would cover numerous blog posts, so what I will say is, I totally agree with this point: "You can become so overwhelmed with trying to act like the publisher that you forget to spend time writing"

But if you can find a balance, it's awesome.

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Now that I'm planning to self publish, I'm realizing I don't have as much control on the timing of things as I would have liked. Because I plan to have my books professionally edited, I'll be working on the editor's timelines, too. But at least while I'm waiting, I'll have time to work on my next project.

I am so proud of you for taking this path. And having just finished going through editorial on my short story with them, and having read the two anthologies you were in, I can say that I am beyond confident that the quality will be amazing. I'm not sure that's always the case with every indie publisher, or every traditional publisher, these days, but you are doing it right!

So agree with your pros and cons of each. Stina has a good point that the timing of self-publishing is sometimes governed by those you hire to help you. I do think that some SP authors get their books out too soon without enough editing or marketing wise, not realizing that we only have so much time to read any authors books.

Great list, just like before! Another con with the indie way, which I've personally experienced, is that you might take too long to get a new book out there. As important as it is to edit a book, it's easy to get obsessed with it and not learn to move on, since there's no deadline from a publisher looming over your head...

Nice list, Lisa. I like that you're representing the 'sides' equally -- because truly, as with most things in life, there are pros and cons to all decisions we make.

I thought your cons to indie publishing were perfectly stated. And now that I think about it to traditional publishing too. Gives us all something to think about.

Funny how control is a pro and a con, LOL!
Nice post!

Thanks so much for the list! I could imagine how controlling the timeline could be both a pro and a con. It's a lot of pressure!

Yup - being in control is really one of those infamous double edge swords! :)

Great points about possibly rushing the book out before it's ready and your writing/revising time suffering. Control vs. control. Never seen it put like that, but you make perfect sense.

Personally, I just love the fact that there are so many choices for us these days. Nice list.

The biggest con to me with both traditional and self publishing is discoverability. I've read some terrific books published both ways that I just can't understand why they're not selling better. Even before self publishing, I wasn't aware of the myriad of books that were published that I'd never even heard about, that never made it to the bookstore. Now there are even more books!

The rest of the pros and cons, have never been a huge issue for me. If anything I'm more focused on my writing and have produced more since I started my small business of self publishing.

This is one reason I've loved working with Sourcebooks. They've been great about speeding up timelines so that there's not too much lag between books, especially now that we're later in the UnFairy series. And my next series is going to be super fast, which is both exciting and scary. :-)

Great pros and cons of timelines! I agree that self-publishing takes discipline, which can be hard in that excitement of wanting to share your books with others. Self publishing just takes discipline period. :D

Which is why maybe it's not the best option for everybody. <3

Very impartial list. Nothing but facts. I like that. :)

another pro of traditional publishing: you can focus on being a writer, instead of having to act as a publisher, marketing manager and so on.

Nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com

Great summary!

Trad-Pub-Con: What they think is "right" may not be what you think is "right" - if they want you to add more sexy to the book and that was not your intention, your choice may be do it or walk away. With indie, you can be sure that your book reflects your author vision, whether or not that lines up with the latest trend in publishing.

Trad-Pub-Con: You still have to do a lot of the marketing, but it may not be along your timeline - there's a lot of "hurry up and wait" in trad-pub. Hurry, hurry these edits, then wait a long time until it's your turn to hurry again.

Indie-Pro: You mention this, but it's HUGE, so I'm elaborating - getting your books into the hands of your readers sooner (i.e. not the 1 1/2 year wait from completion to publication) is HUGE. In the year and a half since I pulled my first Mindjack book from agents and decided to self-pub, I've written and published two more books, three novellas, produced a trailer and sold over 23k books. If I had kept with the agent/editor search, and the very earliest, I would be looking at publication of the first book about now. It would take me two more years to release the other books, I probably wouldn't have written the novellas, and the trailer likely wouldn't exist (at least not in current form). I would have had no income for the last year and a half (except possibly 1/3 of typical debut novel advance (~$5k) so a couple thousand dollars), and limited prospects for income over the next two years (due to limited release rates on the books).

Indie-Con: Because you CAN publish quickly, there's the pressure to write-edit-market 24/7. This isn't a CON about rushing to publish before you're ready, but rather the tendency to let the work overwhelm your life. When your publishing is only limited by how much time you put into it, you're tempted to put a LOT of time into it (this is the motivation to write more that Laura speaks of). Or maybe it's just me that struggles with work/life balance? :)

So how do you know your book is perfect? That's the big, big, big question I have. Experienced publishing houses have a good feel for the "ready" question. Fortunately some experienced editors are available for "side work", but do you rely on one editor's advice? And after taking their advice and re-writing do you stop there, or possibly pay another fee to see if you are "ready" or if there might be yet more issues to work out?

All the Indies I've read so far have been good, but could've been better with more polish.

Hmmm...you point out the pros and cons rather plainly. It does seem like a Tilter-Whirl, doesn't it? Can't wait to see how you analyze audience.

It's so often true that a Pro can also be a Con - having total control is definitely both!

Boxing Kangaroos! Wait... was there a question?

You can rely on the professionals and know that you are in good hands.

That sounds great, but I know a few authors who believed this before their first publication, but not so much after.

Quality is a very subjective thing, and I'm not saying that to make excuses for poor copyediting or storytelling. I mean that your idea of quality and someone else's idea may be different, and when it comes to your novel, no one is more invested than you in making it top-notch.

It would be nice if it was all clear cut, but I love that you are sharing this all so lucidly! It's a confusing time, but the opportunities are great too. So happy you are jumping into this!

Loving this series (and the photo of the battling kangaroos is awesome, too)! I'm sticking with trying the traditional route right now, and quality is one of the biggest reasons. I don't have money to pay a proper editor and I don't trust myself to do a thorough enough job. Same deal with the cover image (I'm not particularly great with visual art).

Yes, all the control is both great and not-great!

To me, this is one of the best parts of being Indie... especially when it comes to covers~ <3

Covers are one major reason I'm tempted to go Indie next time I have a book ready - and quality is a reason I'm tempted to try and get published traditionally. I guess it will depend on the novel, but I definitely will get a professional editor either way!

This one definitely sounded more pro Indie than the last one. Can't wait for Audience. Very illuminating series. Keep them coming!

Many small presses include the author in choosing a cover design. Mine did.

love, love, love this series, Lisa! Can't wait for the next one.
Nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com

Quality is the main reason why I hold back from doing it myself. However, now there are a lot of great freelance editors and cover artists who are jumping into the game as well.

Yes, looking forward to more in this series too. I like how you are breaking it down.

So, wait - do the kangaroos mean we need to find a publisher in Australia for quality? Kidding. You make great points.

Def. pros can be our cons. I look at my kids and their greatest strengths are also their greatest faults. :)

Great series, Lisa. I think you've gotten this right. Another pro of traditional marketing is that you get the advice of their publicist and help in designing your marketing plan if you get a good one.

Another pro of self-publishing is that you can get books out more frequently (you might have already said that) but need to watch not to publish too many too quickly.

I think you're doing a great job of showcasing the ups and downs of both types of publishing! Looking forward to the next installment :)

featured prominently at chain bookstores
Since publishers pay for the "featured prominently" part, there's a pretty limited pool of authors that applies to. It could be you! You could get an endcap at B&N or a face-out placement on the bookshelf. But with shrinking space for books at each bricks-n-mortar store, and less stores overall (B&N says they're closing a third of their stores over the next 10 years), I'm thinking this pro has diminishing value.

Indie Pro: You can price yourself so that people who DON'T know you will give you a shot, and not have to worry about spending $9.99 for an unknown author. And the truth is, no matter how many books you've sold, you're still an unknown author to almost everyone who read you for the first time. Getting to the point where your reputation proceeds you... that happens AFTER you've sold crazy-tons-of-books.

You have a better chance at hitting the best seller list and your book becoming big
This I would say is partially true, partly not. If your book is a hit, trad-pub can take you even further by putting you prominently in bookstores and investing mega-bucks in a coordinated national publicity campaign. They can make the hits bigger hits. But do they give you a better chance at hitting the best seller lists in the first place? I don't think so, because of the price disadvantage. It's much harder to sell 30,000 copies at $7.99 than at $2.99. MUCH harder. This is part of the reason that indies are a significant fraction of the books on the fiction bestseller lists on Amazon (and increasingly on the NYTimes and USA Today bestseller lists as well). When Colleen Hoover got her print-only deal with S&S (she's an indie author who hit the NYTimes bestseller list), I perused the top 100 on Amazon for Romance (and extremely competitive category, meaning you have to move a LOT of books to get on it). About half of the titles were indie titles. HALF. Price is a big advantage.

You have to work hard to get the book in the hands of the right people to spread the word
You list this as a con for indie, but I think this is a con for any book. You can't just sit back and let the publisher do all the marketing for you. Actually... you CAN do that, but I think it's a myth that publishers market the heck out of your book when you trad-pub and you can sit back and just write. At the same time, as an indie you don't HAVE to work hard at marketing your book, and I've seen some books take off with minimal marketing. In the end, no matter how it's published, it's really the book that sells itself.

I have to agree that I see more traditional authors working their butts off in social media before and after their release, hoping/praying they'll sell through and get that second book deal, because they didn't get much from their publisher.

And then this past fall, I saw a book receive a huge advance and significant marketing power from NY, and from what I could tell it totally flopped.

It really is about the book. What I love is when a traditional book gets little or no marketing or money, and then skyrockets!

Great points! I really am enjoying this series. :)

I'm loving these posts. You do such a great job of sharing the pros and cons of both sides, which many don't do, since they tend to be biased to prefer one or the other. Can't wait to read the final round!

Looks good to me, Lisa. I've been learning so much from your posts.

Marketing is for sure the hardest part of being indie. It's nice if your book does well in a hot genre, b/c then it feels like the marketing just does itself. But that doesn't always happen. In fact, I think it's kind of rare.

But like Sue said (and like I've heard from lots of traditionally pubbed authors), most times you're doing a lot of your own marketing w/those guys, too. Unless you're like one of the handful of superstars.

GREAT posts, LG! :o) <3

Again, well-stated with these pros/cons! Yeah, marketing can be tough...especially for introverts :)

Yep! It's quite a toss up, isn't it? I take vitamins nowadays.

Great points! I guess like with any book, it all comes down to story. If it's good, people will spread the word and others will read it. We can all hope for that!

Ah, fickle audience what method shall please ye?

Another con of indie is that you have to do all the leg work yourself to get your books to the right audience.
great series!

Nutschell
www.thewritingnut.com

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Great honest thoughts. Indie has wonderful flexibility, but it's more difficult to market. It works well for people who think creatively marketing-wise!

I agree with you. They both possess valid pros and cons. It's a personal path and I even think that sometimes it's the book's path not the author's. Thanks for this series.

Another great post, Lisa! These are important points. And I can't wait to hear what all the authors have to say after they've been in the trenches. I'm a big fan of both Laura and Susan Quinn, and they both do such a great job online!

This is an awesome series, Lisa. I'm really enjoying it. The best thing is all the options that are now available to authors.

I think both is a great way to go!

I've truly appreciated your honest look at both sides.

I think both are viable options as well. I'm planning on self pubbing later on this year, but I don't think I'll rule out trad pubbing in the future.

I think both options are great, and I'm thankful we have a choice. Heck, we don't even have to choose. We can do both.

I love Sheri's answer that it's the book path. :) I love seeing that more people, even who don't self publish, see it as a viable option. One more choice for the writer. And that's a good thing.

Thank you for adding a voice of clarity in this relevant conversation.

Yup that's the bottom line, writing isn't glamorous but boy it has its creative reward (I call it the creative high!) and we write because we have too. In the end I think indie vs. trad. is just a personal choice. The only people that may make a mistake are those that jump into it too quickly without weighing the pros and cons which is why I really appreciate this series!

I agree about writing not being a glamorous pursuit. I'm going to set up a reminder so I don't miss Susan Quinn and Laura Pauling post.

Oh, wow! I look forward to reading Laura & Sue's posts! I'm sure they'll be fantastic!

And you've made awesome points here, LG! I think going for a mix is a good approach. It's one I'm following for now. Who knows, I might decide before it's all over that one's superior to the other. But for now, the ball's still in the air.

Happy Valentine's day~ :o) <3

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