PRINT TWO-SIDED
Traditional or self-published? Authors no longer have to choose one or the other, as Simon Whaley discovers talking to two writers with a foot in both camps
Simon Whaley
Afew years ago, a writer’s life was binary: either you sought a traditional publishing contract for your book, or you selfpublished it. Traditionally-published authors liked someone else picking up the costs of editing, proofreading, jacket design and production (in return for a reduced royalty rate), while independent authors were proud that they were in complete control of the whole process, despite having to finance it, in return for a higher royalty rate.
However, the business of writing is changing. No longer is it necessary to be one or the other. Some writers are choosing the hybrid route: having a mixture of traditionallypublished and self-published projects. Why be pigeon-holed into one, or the other, when you can have your cake and eat it?
Leah Mercer (www.leahmercer.com/books), whose latest novel The Man I Thought You Were is published by Amazon imprint Lake Union Publishing, believes being a hybrid author offers many benefits. ‘Hybrid authors really have the best of both worlds,’ she explains. ‘By self-publishing, they have the freedom to publish what they want at a price they choose, and they can plug the gaps that often occur when publishing with major houses.’
This flexibility of production can really boost an author’s income, because it can take a long time for a traditional publisher to publish a book. Some of this is down to fitting your book into their existing publishing schedule. (Your book is one of tens, hundreds or thousands they are publishing each year.) It’s not uncommon for a book to be published some six to twelve months after the author has delivered the manuscript. Writers contracted to produce two or three books for a traditional publisher may find their deadlines for delivery of these manuscripts stretches over several years. This leaves them with plenty of time to work on other projects. Self-publishing your own material between these commissioned works keeps you busy, while also helping the business cashflow.