Book publishing has been in practice for years now, and like all other techniques even, publishing has evolved from time to time. From traditional publishing to publishing digitally there are different types of publishing.
Publishing a book is one dream that most aspiring writers hold. When it comes to your first book, it is an adventure. Though you have awesome writing skills, it is all about picking the right publishing method that will suit your needs.
As important it is for you to upskill your writing, you need to know about all types of publishing. It is equally important to analyse their pros and cons before you choose one.
In this article, we will discuss different types of publishing and how to choose the one that will suit you.
Different types of Book Publishing Explained
Traditional Publishing
Traditional publishing is one type that has been in existence for quite a long time now and the one that is more sought after even today.
In traditional publishing, the author is only liable for his writing. All other works, like editing, publishing, and designing the book covers are left to the publishing companies.
This is the most stable method because most of the publishers have a skilled team to create a successful book out of the raw script given by the author. All the marketing and launching work are taken off the author’s shoulder.
The biggest hurdle in traditional publishing is it is very hard to get selected by one of the reputed publishers. Traditional publishers can be reached only through a credible agent who can get your work to them. You can’t reach them directly unless you are a reputed writer yourself.
Traditional publishers are very selective of the books they accept to publish; since they do all the work and all risk is left to them. The writer in this type of publishing gets very small royalty rights.
Self-Publishing
Self-Publishing is publishing a book on your own, without depending on any other publishing house. While you plan to self-publish your book, you have to put on the shoes of an editor, proof-reader, cover designer, and PR whenever required or simply you can hire them.
Here unlike traditional publishing, all the rights of the book remain with the author. There are many self-publishing platforms available in the market which helps you to publish your books without a fuss. The most user-friendly and reached platform is the Amazon Kindle.
As easy as it seems, self-publishing is quite risky too. You have a fair chance of being lost since your audience don’t know who you are or you are not backed by a credible publisher like in a traditional publishing method.
However, this method can be your go-to method if you have had your writing break already, your name by itself serves as your brand. You can choose this method to publish tutorial e-books or any other e-books that are small and you can easily market. In this way you don’t have to wait for someone else to approve your work. Here you are your own boss.
Many freelancers nowadays, opt for self-publishing to publish their e-books on tutorials and other topics. It serves them as a passive income.
Hybrid Publishing
Hybrid publishing is the grey area between traditional and self-publishing. In this type, the publishing house will take charge of publishing and selling books. The publishers charge a fee from the authors for publishing while allowing them to own more royalties to the book than that is offered in traditional publishing.
Hybrid publishers are quite picky too, however, they are not taking full risk, so it is a more approachable method compared to traditional publishing and less risky than self-publishing.
This modern-day technique is more likely for many new authors who unfortunately have no agents to reach the traditional publishers or cannot take the risk of self-publishing. This method surely makes debutant authors’ life easy.
Vanity Publishing
Vanity publishing is where the author does all the work from editing the book to proofreading to designing the book covers and still pay the publishing house for distributing the books and give away most of their royalties.
Often Vanity publishing is mistaken for hybrid publishing, but they are two different methods of publishing. In hybrid publishing, the publishers are more selective to the books they choose to publish compared to vanity publishing, which has no restrictions and limitations to the types of books they publish.
Since most of the risks involved in publishing and launching a book lies with the author, Vanity publishers are more open to the scripts they approve. This type of publishing is more like you buy the name of the publishing house to brand your books.
Conclusion
By now, you may have known different types of book publishing methods that are in practice. You should weigh the pros and cons of each method before you opt for one. Each method is suitable for each phase of your career, and it is solely up to you to choose which method to opt-in which phase.
About the Author
Aakanksha Jain is a top Indian book reviewer and an avid YouTuber, Podcaster, and author of a self-published book, How to Become an Amazon Influencer.
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I am a freelance content writer, currently exploring the field of Instructional Designing. Bookshot is my passion project. I love creating content about reading, writing and content creation.
Self-publishing is a process where an author publishes their book without the assistance of a traditional publishing house. It has become an increasingly popular alternative to traditional publishing, due in part to the technological advances of the 21st century. Self-publishing allows authors to have more control over the publication process as well as a higher percentage of the profits. However, it also requires more work on the author’s part and there is no guarantee of success.
What a Great Explanation! I read your article this is a good guidance. A book publishing is a complex and difficult process. It can take many months, if not years, to get your book published. There are many different methods and in this article are describe perfect methods to publish your book. Thank you for sharing this informative article.
What an amazingly written article!