You want to write a book. Should you self publish or try to get a book deal?
It’s not quite that simple.
There are four different paths to publishing your book:
1. Self publish
You keep all the rewards but you also do all the work (or find contractors to do parts of the work for you such as editing, cover design, etc.).
2. Traditionally publish
You sell your book to a publisher. They do some of the work and get most of the rewards. BTW, add 18-24 months onto your launch timeline.
3. Hybrid publish
This is basically self publishing, but you hire a hybrid publisher who does all/most of the work. They do what a traditional publisher does but they charge a fee for it.
4. Hybrid then traditionally publish
Work with a hybrid publisher, make your book a success, then sell it to a traditional publisher to take it to the next level.
99.99% of authors should self publish.
Of the 0.01% who are left, half of those should hybrid publish (plan on it costing around $60K, not counting a ghostwriter).
Another chunk of that 0.01% should hybrid publish then sell to a traditional publisher.
The rest are those who should traditionally publish, and I may be overstating how many people should traditionally publish.
Got questions about any of these routes?
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