self-publishing vs small press vs the big five
I’ve been seeing some things on my dash over the last week containing some confusion regarding publishing + the multiple options, so I’m going to do a fast little write-up that shares what is essentially a major part of what I do. While I am an editor, part of the service I bring to the table is guidance in publishing. I have walked authors through self-publishing, as well as walked them through the journey of submitting to small (also known as indie) presses, or aided authors in finding an agent who can pitch work to the Big Five. There are considerations for all of these forms of getting your work to market, + the considerations are also financial. Self-publishing is a greater financial risk, but it is a fantastic option if you have the money, time, + motivation to build a brand---a name. I usually only recommend it for books that are either very niche (to such an extent that I do not see the book appealing to presses) +/or authors who already have a platform to launch from. Considering self-publishing always circles back to finances + time. You can save money by creating the book’s layout design yourself. You can save money by creating the cover, spine, + back cover by yourself. These things take time to learn (+ you also need to know how to save + then upload things correctly into websites that offer printing + distributing services), but there are free programs that can help with all of it. E-books will require different formatting than the physical books, which is another consideration as making sure things translate + look nicely across the board is important. I do often offer to do the book design + covers for clients who are interested in self-publishing because I already have those skills in my toolbox. But, it’s an added cost to hire someone to do these things for you. But, if you want to have them done correctly, hiring help is often an easier, less-stressful route to self-publishing. There is also how you are going to distribute your book, who will you choose to print it, what markets will carry it, marketing, so on + so forth. The main issue is always financial risk. You can put a lot of money, time, + labor into self-publishing + see very little return. Most self-published books will receive no more than 250 downloads. While some authors are very successful at self-publishing, many, many, many are not. It requires an added layer of labor. If your goal is not to have your books sold, but to merely publish your book for yourself. Self-publishing can also be quite apt in those situations. There is nothing wrong with publishing as a pet hobby. Self-publishing can also be an attractive option for people who are uncomfortable with giving up creative control, but my advice is still to always hire an editor at the very least to do substantive edits. These edits are in-depth, story-level edits that can be expensive + take a long time depending on the complexity of your text + the length of your manuscript, but they are worth it. People who do well at self-publishing will push self-publishing, but be mindful of what it has taken them to do well + consider if it is truly your best option. I like self-publishing, but there are too many options in publishing to say that one is objectively better for every author + every book. Small presses come next in the hierarchy. Finances do come into play here as well, but in a different way. Some small presses have open + free reading periods, but many small presses require a reading fee to sustain their business + pay their staff. You can make the contest rounds by submitting to the annual contests hosted by small presses, but these always require a reading fee + it is usually somewhere between ten to fifty dollars depending on the press + the type of work the press is considering (an average number for poetry manuscript contests is around 20 bucks). You will want to have already hired + worked with an editor before you begin seeking publication with small presses. Your editor, depending on their qualifications, may be able to help steer you toward the presses that they think will have the most interest in your work. I would suggest finding an editor who can do that, because there are many small presses + some are better than others. It’s difficult to wade through them all yourself + try to pick the ones that would be most worthwhile to pay to send to. Small presses will often combine some of the pros of self-publishing with the pros of publishing with one of the Big 5 houses. How much they offer does depend on the press though. Some will create a cover to your specifications (that also suits them) while others will give you four mock-ups to choose from while others will say “this is the cover.” They may also suggest, or require, further edits to your work. After acceptance, the cost of printing + marketing falls mostly on them, but you will likely still have to do some of the marketing legwork on your own + out of your own pocket. Payment will vary depending on the press. Some presses buy a manuscript out right. Some presses pay only royalties. Contests often offer prize money + royalties. It is dependent on the market + the press. With all things considered, small presses are a good option for many authors (+ you can see some very big names publishing with these smaller independent houses). You will often have more control when working with a smaller press, but they will receive a cut of the book’s earnings (which you would not have with self-publishing - well, depending on how you self-publish). For most authors + most books, I prefer the small press route seven times out of ten. You may also still need to consider an agent for this route, but it isn’t as automatically required as it is with one of the Big Five. Small presses, with how many there are, present options within the option. In the terms of considering publication with one of the major presses (penguin etc), this is something that is difficult to attain. I rarely suggest it to authors I work with (+ the ones I do suggest it for have written something I know is extremely marketable). Nonetheless, I have helped authors through the process. You will very likely need an agent unless you somehow already have contacts within one of the houses (so it’s good to have already edited your manuscript with a professional before shopping it to agents). Agents will want to be paid somehow. They will also only take you on if they feel confident that they can place your book somewhere (because they want to be paid). I suggest agents that work on commission + not ones that want a flat up-front fee for exactly that reason. Agents that take up-front fees are more likely to take any book whether they think they can place it or not. Major press houses offer the big book deals. These deals can be a lot of money or hardly any money at all (some people walking away with checks of only 12k for a book that sat on the bestseller list - make sure you have an agent who will fight for you in this regard). Books that can become series are often very attractive to the major publishing houses + those can see deals of 100k + a percentage of the royalties for three books.
One of the Big 5 will rigorously edit your book + they may want to take out something you think is vital to your story because they think the removal of this element would make the book more marketable, more entertaining, more successful, etc etc etc. They also might want you to add something. I’ve known of writers of series replaced with ghostwriters because the original author did not want to budge on a major edit. This is where creative control can be lost. This is where books become a serious business with all the cutthroat qualities of business to go along with it. Your preexisting social platform as an author still applies as much as it does to the first two options (+ can make you more or less attractive to publishers), but you will also be automatically better placed to sell books because of who your publisher is. With existing platform in mind, you’ll still receive more publicity + marketing help from a Big 5 house than any of the other options. Unlike with self-publishing + small presses (although some do get their books into stores so this is also dependent on other factors, but the distribution will not be as wide as with a major press), a Big Five press will place your books on the shelves of physical stores. Don’t get me wrong either, because I wouldn’t mind + even have interest working for one of the Big Five, so all of this is said without a negative bias toward them. What they do + how they operate as entities is simply specific. This really only covers some basics, but there ya’ll go.
