Benefits of Publishing Agencies Compared to Self-Publishing for Writers
With the rise of the digital era, the idea of self-publishing seems a game changer for the publishing industry. In 2015, a publishing process is left in authors hands, meaning almost everyone can become a writer today.
Self-publishing builds a strong platform for writers. Let’s take E.L James: she is a great example of how writers can benefit from self-publishing. This author is so successful with her self-publishing efforts that 50 Shades of Grey is popular all over the world today. More than that, they did a movie after it!
James is the only author with such success, which makes new self-publishing formats rise today. Author Rachel Hulin has posted her novel on Instagram (!), getting global media attention for the truly innovative method of publishing.
In 2014, Book Works – The Self-Publishers Association claimed that “self-published books now represent 31% of ebook sales in Amazon’s Kindle Store.” It is a huge percentage, although we want to mention that publishing books for Amazon’s Kindle Store is easier than publishing paper copies.
Despite this impressive boom of self-publishing, we want to provide writers with a guide on why traditional publishing might be the best option to choose in 2016. Yes, self-publishing might seem the best new method.
But:
Are you sure it’s better than the old fashioned way?
What benefits do publishing agencies have for writers?
1) Support
Publishing can be daunting, especially for a first-time author. So many questions are bound to cross every writer’s mind. Will people like the book? Will people want to buy the book? How do books get stocked in shops? How do people purchase the book? When writers work with a publishing house, they always have an expert to direct them through all tricky questions. Either you have queries to solve during the editorial process, or your book is under marketing, your publisher will support you. Likewise with any unanticipated problems that may arise you will have the backing of your publishing house.2) Contacts
Approaching people can be intimidating, especially when it comes to contacting those in the mainstream media, even if you know that journalists do not bite. Publishing agencies have a wealth of contacts and established relations with journalists, booksellers, distributors, reviewers, and others. The publicists within these agencies will help you approach every contact in the correct manner. PR specialists also bring the expertise to send out comprehensible press releases to the media. Knowing what it is, editors and reporters of newspapers and magazines will be most responsive to do.3) Children Books
The market of books for children is hard to enter by yourself. Despite being a smaller market than adult fiction, it is less open to self-publishers. Reasons are: A big number of children books is sold to schools and libraries, which are usually difficult to reach without having pull with right people. They require guarantees from publishers to make sure the books are suitable for their child audience, and that they are worth purchasing. In such economic climate, it’s crucial to have a type of institutes that could help with that. Want to publish a children picture book? The printing costs may be extremely high, and it means that self-publishing is expensive and unwelcome. Producing children books does bring a lot of hard work. If you’re interested in learning more details about producing a popular book for children, then please click here.4) The M-Word. Marketing!
Many first-time authors are not aware of how many efforts it takes to promote one book. Marketing is a full-time job for publishers, and that is why they have big departments dedicated to making every published book successful. Publishers know how authors tug on creating their books, so a marketing team gives writers more time for doing what they do best – writing! Marketing is not about contacting people only. Marketing teams deal with everything from registering booksellers and getting books to distributors’ lists to setting up the online presence for authors at their websites. Social media play a big role in publishing, too: it helps to promote events, it provides writers with tips, and it offers professional advice from experts. Traditional publishing can also help authors get opportunities, such as entering awards or gaining accreditation for their books. Do you know that self-published titles are often not eligible for entering certain awards? Awards not only bring recognition but also help to boost sales and get the attention of the media.5) Reputation and Credibility
Despite self-publishing is soaring in popularity, some negativity still surrounds this method. Many bookshops don’t stock self-published titles, and the media are often hesitant to report on them. When writers choose to work with a publishing house, they defer to its brand’s authority. It can help with the writer’s establishment, and it is a sign that he or she has written something noteworthy. So, publishing houses and agencies can be a so-called extra help for a book to take air it does deserve.6) The Quality of Your Book
For first-time writers, it may be surprising to find out what labor-intensive and time-taking the process of one book production is. Working with publishing houses can relieve the stress of a writer. Dedicated teams of publishers do their best to produce a book and make sure it gets the best quality in the end of the process. One should consider all elements of a publishing process as they are time-consuming:- A cover design
- Proofreading
- Layout perfection
- Typesetting
Posted Nov 27, 2015