Publishing a book used to mean one thing: finding a literary agent, securing a book deal, and waiting for a traditional publisher to bring your book to market. That path still exists and it works well for certain books and certain authors. But it is no longer the only path.
Today, any writer can publish a book. The barriers are gone. What remains is the work of producing something worth reading and getting it in front of the people who want to read it.
I have published through multiple channels. Each has tradeoffs, and the right choice depends on your goals, your timeline, and how much control you want over the process.
The Two Publishing Paths
There are two publishing paths to consider.
Traditional Publishing
In traditional publishing, a publisher acquires the rights to your book, pays you an advance against future royalties, and handles editing, design, printing, distribution, and marketing support. Whether you go traditional or self-publish, you will need an ISBN, which the International ISBN Agency manages globally.
The typical path:
Write and polish your manuscript
Write a query letter and book proposal
Submit to literary agents
Agent submits to publishers
Publisher offers a book deal
Publisher produces and distributes the book
Advantages: professional editorial support, established distribution channels, bookstore placement, industry credibility, an advance payment before the book is published.
Disadvantages: slow (18 to 36 months from deal to bookshelf), lower per-unit royalties (typically 10 to 15 percent of list price), limited creative control, difficult to get accepted.
Self-Publishing
In self-publishing, you produce the book yourself and publish it through platforms like Amazon KDP, IngramSpark, or Draft2Digital. You control every decision and keep a higher percentage of each sale.
Advantages: speed (weeks instead of years), creative control, higher royalties (35 to 70 percent), no gatekeepers, you keep all rights.
Disadvantages: all costs are yours, no built-in distribution to bookstores, requires self-directed marketing, no advance payment.
To decide which path fits your goals, consider your budget and timeline. If you have the capital to invest in professional editing and cover design upfront, self-publishing allows you to launch quickly and retain full ownership of your intellectual property.
Hybrid Publishing: A middle-ground option where you pay for professional services but benefit from the publisher's distribution network and brand.
Print-on-Demand (POD): A technology used by self-publishers to print books only when an order is placed, eliminating the need for expensive inventory storage.
Metadata Optimization: The process of selecting the right keywords and categories to ensure your book appears in relevant search results on retail platforms.
You should also evaluate your marketing comfort level before making a final choice. While traditional publishers provide a marketing team, you are still expected to build an author platform and engage with your audience directly to drive sales.
Beta Readers: Use a small group of target readers to provide feedback on your manuscript before investing in professional editing.
Advance Review Copies (ARCs): Send digital copies of your book to reviewers before the launch date to build social proof and momentum.
Rights Management: Remember that traditional deals often involve selling world rights, while self-publishing allows you to sell translation or film rights individually later.
Success in either path requires a professional mindset regarding your book as a product. Whether you are pitching to an agent or uploading to a digital storefront, your work must meet industry standards for formatting and cover aesthetics to compete effectively.
Preparing Your Manuscript
Regardless of which path you choose, the manuscript must be excellent. Publishers reject manuscripts that are not ready. Self-published readers leave one-star reviews on books that feel unfinished.
Complete the Draft
Finish the entire manuscript before pursuing publication. For nonfiction, you can sometimes sell a book based on a proposal and sample chapters, but having the complete manuscript strengthens your position.
Self-Edit Thoroughly
Before anyone else sees your manuscript, revise it yourself. At minimum, do three passes:
Structural Edit: Does the story structure work? Are there chapters that should be cut, moved, or expanded?
Line Edit: Is the prose clear, concise, and engaging? Are there repeated words, awkward phrases, or unclear passages?
Proofread: Are there spelling, grammar, or punctuation errors?
Get Beta Reader Feedback
Share your revised manuscript with three to five beta readers who represent your target audience. Ask specific questions: where did you lose interest, which characters felt flat, was the ending satisfying?
Incorporate feedback that aligns with your vision. Patterns in feedback (multiple readers flagging the same issue) indicate real problems.
Hire a Professional Editor
For self-publishing, this is essential. For traditional publishing, having your manuscript professionally edited before querying dramatically improves your chances.
Types of editing:
Developmental Editing: Evaluates structure, pacing, character arcs, and narrative logic
Copy Editing: Corrects grammar, punctuation, consistency, and style
Proofreading: Catches final typos and formatting errors
Budget $500 to $3,000 depending on manuscript length and editing depth.
The Traditional Publishing Process
In this section, we’ll cover the traditional publishing process.
Write a Query Letter
A query letter is a one-page pitch to a literary agent. It includes:
A hook that captures the book's premise
A brief synopsis (250 words or less)
Comparable titles (books similar to yours that sold well)
Your relevant credentials
The query letter is the most important piece of marketing writing you will do. Agents receive hundreds per week and decide within the first paragraph whether to keep reading.
Find and Submit to Agents
Research agents who represent books in your genre. Use resources like QueryTracker, Publishers Marketplace, and agent wish lists on social media.
Submit to 10 to 15 agents at a time following each agent's specific submission guidelines exactly. Response times range from weeks to months.
The Book Deal
If an agent offers representation, they will submit your manuscript to editors at publishing houses. If an editor wants to acquire it, they will make an offer that includes an advance (money paid upfront against future royalties) and the terms of publication.
Advances for debut authors range from $5,000 to $50,000, though most fall toward the lower end. The advance is paid in installments (on signing, on manuscript delivery, on publication).
The Publishing Timeline
From accepted manuscript to published book, traditional publishing takes 12 to 24 months. During this time, the publisher handles cover design, interior layout, copyediting, proofreading, printing, and distribution.
The Self-Publishing Process
Now, we’ll cover the self-publishing process.
Design a Professional Cover
The cover is the most important marketing asset for a self-published book. Hire a professional designer who specializes in your genre. Budget $200 to $1,500.
Do not design your own cover. Genre conventions in cover design are specific and readers recognize amateur covers instantly.
Format the Interior
You need two formats: ebook (ePub) and print (PDF). Tools like Vellum, Atticus, or Draft2Digital's free formatter handle this efficiently.
Interior formatting includes: consistent chapter headings, appropriate fonts, proper margins, front matter (title page, copyright page, table of contents), and back matter (author bio, also-by list).
Choose Your Platform
Amazon KDP: largest ebook marketplace, print-on-demand paperbacks, optional Kindle Unlimited enrollment (requires exclusivity)
IngramSpark: wider bookstore and library distribution, hardcover options
Draft2Digital: distributes to Apple Books, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, and other retailers
Many self-published authors start with Amazon KDP and expand to other platforms as their audience grows.
Set Your Price and Launch
Price competitively within your genre. Ebooks typically sell for $2.99 to $9.99. Paperbacks for $9.99 to $18.99.
A launch plan includes: building an email list before launch, sending advance reader copies for reviews, announcing on launch day, and running promotional pricing in the first week.
Marketing Your Book
Both paths require author marketing. Traditional publishers provide some support, but the majority of book marketing falls on the author regardless of publishing path.
Core marketing activities:
Author Platform: website, email list, social media presence
Book Launch: coordinated announcement across all channels
Reviews: Securing early reviews on Amazon, Goodreads, and book blogs
Ongoing Promotion: paid advertising, podcast appearances, speaking events, newsletter features
The most effective long-term marketing strategy for any author is writing the next book. Each new title brings new readers who then discover your backlist.
To build a sustainable email list, offer a "lead magnet" such as a free prequel novella or a character cheat sheet in exchange for a reader's sign-up. This direct line of communication is more valuable than social media followers because you own the data and can reach your audience without relying on algorithms.
Amazon Advertising: Start with "Sponsored Products" ads targeting similar authors and genres to place your book in front of active buyers.
ARC Teams: Build an Advance Review Copy team of loyal readers who receive a free digital copy in exchange for an honest review on launch day.
Local Outreach: Contact independent bookstores and libraries to schedule author talks or book signings to build a local fan base.
Price Promotions: Use services like BookBub or Bargain Booksy to run limited-time discounts, which can boost your book's ranking and visibility.
Focus on metadata optimization by researching high-traffic keywords and selecting specific sub-categories for your book's listing. This ensures that the retail platform's search engine can accurately categorize your work and recommend it to the right readers.
Engage in content marketing by sharing behind-the-scenes snippets of your writing process or research on platforms like TikTok or Instagram. Authentic storytelling about your journey as an author helps build a personal connection that turns casual browsers into lifelong fans.
Choosing Your Path
Choose traditional publishing if: you want industry validation, bookstore distribution, and an editorial team, and you are willing to wait.
Choose self-publishing if: you want speed, control, and higher per-unit earnings, and you are willing to manage every aspect of production and marketing.
Choose hybrid (some books traditional, some self-published) if: you want to build a career across both channels and have the bandwidth to manage parallel publishing strategies.
There is no wrong choice. The wrong choice is not publishing at all because you could not decide which path to take.
To determine which path fits your goals, consider your financial investment and timeline. Traditional publishing often requires a literary agent and can take 18 to 24 months from contract to shelf, while self-publishing allows you to go from finished manuscript to live sales in just a few days.
Traditional Publishing: Best for authors seeking prestige, professional cover design at no cost, and placement in physical retail chains.
Self-Publishing: Ideal for niche non-fiction or genre fiction (like romance or sci-fi) where you can leverage direct-to-consumer marketing and keep up to 70% of royalties.
Hybrid Publishing: A middle ground where you pay for professional services but retain higher royalties and more creative input than a traditional house allows.
Evaluate your marketing strengths before making a final commitment. If you enjoy building a personal brand and running social media ads, the autonomy of self-publishing will feel rewarding; however, if you prefer to focus solely on writing, the support of a traditional house's publicity department may be worth the lower royalty rates.
Don't overlook the importance of rights retention in your decision-making process. Self-publishing ensures you keep all subsidiary rights, such as film or foreign language translations, whereas traditional contracts often require you to sign these over to the publisher in exchange for an advance payment.
Final Thoughts
Publishing a book is an exciting and rewarding journey that requires thoughtful planning and persistence. Whether you choose traditional publishing for its validation and industry support, or self-publishing for its speed and control, both paths offer opportunities to share your work with the world.
The key to success lies in preparing a polished manuscript, understanding the unique demands of each publishing route, and committing to long-term marketing efforts. Choose the approach that aligns with your goals and values, knowing there is no "one-size-fits-all" answer in publishing.
Whichever path you take, remember that the ultimate goal is to connect your story with readers. Stay focused on creating the best work you can, and let that passion carry you through the process.
Related Resources
FAQs
Here I answer the most frequently asked questions about publishing your own book.
How long does it take to get traditionally published?
From querying agents to seeing your book in stores: two to four years is typical. Querying takes months, agent submission to publishers takes months, and the publishing process takes 12 to 24 months.
How much does self-publishing cost?
A professional self-published book costs $1,000 to $5,000 for editing, cover design, and formatting. Marketing adds additional variable cost.
Do I need a literary agent for traditional publishing?
For major publishers, yes. Most large publishers do not accept unagented submissions. Some small presses and university presses accept direct submissions.
Can I switch from self-publishing to traditional publishing?
Yes. Strong self-publishing sales can attract agent and publisher interest. However, a book that has already been self-published may be harder to sell to a traditional publisher since they typically want first publication rights.
How many copies does the average book sell?
The average self-published book sells 250 copies or fewer. The average traditionally published book sells around 3,000 copies. Bestsellers represent a tiny fraction of all books published.
Should I copyright my book before publishing?
Your work is automatically copyrighted when you write it. Formal copyright registration provides additional legal protections and is recommended. In the US, registration through the Copyright Office costs $45 to $65.