Activity

@bama-rose Most traditional publishers will make you sign away (some or all of) the rights to your books, so technically they could change your book however they want. A lot of publishers will respect what you’ve done though and their changes will probably make it better. Remember that not all publishing houses work exactly the same way.

Having defended traditional publishing, you should also know that it is perfectly possible to get a traditionally published book in a book store. You might have trouble with B&N, but there’s a lot of privately owned bookstores that would stock you.

The idea that a traditional publisher will market your book for you is mostly a myth. They’ll get it in book stores which helps, but it doesn’t mean anyone will know about it. They may also have connections to reviewers which would help and may spend some money on you. All in all though, it’s not something to rely on.

In my mind, the biggest advantage of traditional publishing is that, if your book isn’t ready to publish, they won’t let you! That’s awesome for a first-time novelist. (Of course, some traditionally published novels stink, but chose a reputable publisher and your chances are pretty good.) Oh, and you don’t have to pay for your own editor. 😛 That’s nice.

The biggest advantage to self-publishing is the way higher royalties. As long as you’re good at marketing, your chances at a career are better in the self-publishing world.