You are finally done writing your book. Now comes the tough decision to self-publish or pursue traditional publishing. While both paths can lead to success, they each come with extremely different financial models, compensation, and levels of control over your work. The choice between self-publishing and traditional publishing often comes down to the finances. Before making your decision, it is important to consider things like advance payments, royalties, costs, and long-term earnings.

Advances

One of the most noticeable differences between self and traditional publishing is the idea of an advance. When you sign with a traditional publisher, you often receive an advance payment before the book is released. This advance is an upfront sum that is paid to the author against future royalties. 

Traditional Publishing

  • Advance Payments: Traditional publishers usually offer advances based on their prediction of the book’s sales. These payments can range from a few thousand dollars for debut authors to six-figure deals. Bestselling authors can negotiate advances significantly higher, sometimes in the hundreds of thousands, if they have a track record of proven success and sales. 
  • Payment Timing: Advances are usually split into three payments. One upon signing the contract, one upon delivery of the completed manuscript, and one upon the book’s publication. For larger advances, additional payments may be spread across throughout the book’s release and marketing. 

Self-Publishing

  • No Advance: Authors who choose to self-publish will not receive an advance. Instead, if you choose to self-publish you will make money directly from your book sales. While this does mean that you won’t receive any upfront income, self-published authors start earning royalties from their first sales. This gets rid of the need to “earn out” an advance that traditionally published authors have to do. 

Royalties 

Another key difference between self and traditional publishing pay is in the royalties. This is the percentage of profits an author earns from book sales. 

Traditional Publishing

  • Print Royalties: When choosing the traditional publishing route, publishers will offer you a percentage of the book’s sales, often around 10% to 15% for hardcover books and 5% to 8% for paperbacks. 
  • Ebook Royalties: For ebooks, royalties are typically much higher, ranging from 25% to 30%. But the publisher still takes a larger share compared to self-publishing, because they take on the costs of editing, marketing, and distribution. 
  • Audiobook Royalties: Depending on the contract, traditionally published authors usually earn between 10% to 25% on audiobook sales. Publishers typically handle all audiobook production costs.

Self-Publishing

  • Higher Royalties: Self-publishing authors typically earn a much higher percentage of royalties. On platforms like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), authors can earn between 35% to 70% on ebooks, depending on the book’s price. For print books, the royalty rate could range from 40% to 60% depending on the platform and method of distribution. 
  • Platform-Specific: Other self-publishing platforms like Barnes & Noble’s Nook, Apple Books, or Kobo offer similarly high ebook royalty percentages. Audiobook platforms like Audible’s ACX typically have two options. They usually offer authors around 40% of the sale price if they handle the audiobook production independently, or 20% if they opt for Audible’s production services. 

Costs

If you choose to go through traditional publishing, the publisher will take on most of the costs involved in producing, marketing, and distributing your book. By choosing the self-publishing route, however, you will have to take on all of those expenses upfront. This can reduce your short-term profits but it also gives you more creative control and potentially greater long-term earnings. 

Traditional Publishing

  • No Upfront Costs: The publisher will pay for the cover design, editing, formatting, printing, and marketing of your book. Authors are not responsible for any upfront costs, which is one of the main appeals of traditional publishing. Though some authors may opt to pay for additional support in arenas like publicity and marketing if they feel the offering from their publisher isn’t sufficient.
  • Marketing Support: Publishers also often handle the major marketing and publicity of your book, although authors are highly encouraged and are starting to be expected to promote their works on social media through platforms like BookTok and Bookstagram, as well as go on book tours. Major marketing pushes like tours and large social media campaigns, however, tend to be saved for bestselling or highly anticipated titles.

Self-Publishing

  • Large Upfront Costs: If you choose to be a self-published author you will need to invest in cover design, editing, formatting, and marketing. A professional book cover can cost anywhere from $200 to $1000. Editing services can vary widely depending on the type of editing and the editor’s experience level, but typically range from $500 to $5,000. Marketing budgets are also varied depending on how much you want to advertise and how you choose to go about that. A great, and free, source of marketing for your book is through social media! Platforms like BookTok, Bookstagram, and BookTube are all great spaces for authors to share their works and gain an audience before the book is even published.
  • Earnings vs. Costs: While self-publishing allows you to keep more of the profits, the initial costs can eat into those earnings, especially if the book does not do as well as hoped. 

Distribution and Reach

The reach of a book can make a large impact on an author’s earnings. Traditional publishers have the advantage in this area through their established distribution channels that ensure books are available at all major book retailers, online bookshops, and libraries worldwide. Self-published authors, on the other hand, usually have to be reliant on digital platforms and print-on-demand services for distribution. 

Traditional Publishing

  • Wider Distribution: Traditional publishers have established relationships with bookstores, libraries, and international distributors, which ensures that the book is available in multiple formats.
  • Limited Control: Authors who choose traditional publishing may not have much say in the pricing or distribution decisions, and their book may be pulled from shelves if it does not meet sales expectations. 

Self-Publishing

  • Global Digital Reach: Authors who choose to self-publish, especially those who use platforms like KDP, can sell their books worldwide without worrying about the logistics of print distribution. Print-on-demand services are also often used by self-published authors because they make sure that physical books can be available without the need for ordering bulk prints. 
  • Limited Physical Distribution:  Self-published authors sometimes have challenges getting their books into physical stores. But some platforms like IngramSpark allow self-published authors to distribute through independent bookstores and libraries, though at a cost. 

Long-Term Earnings Potential

The potential for long-term earning in both traditional and self-publishing is based upon factors like book sales, marketing efforts, and the author’s business plans. 

Traditional Publishing

  • Earnings After the Advance: Authors don’t earn any additional royalties from their book until their advance has been “earned out”. For many authors, this means that you may not see a lot of income from your book beyond the advance for a long time, if ever. 
  • Rights and Licensing: Traditional publishers often keep a lot of the rights to your book. This can range from foreign rights to film adaptation rights to many others, meaning that a traditionally published author may miss out on potential payment streams unless negotiated. 

Self-Publishing

  • Ongoing Royalties: Since self-published authors do not have to earn out an advance, they begin earning royalties and payouts from their books immediately. If a self-published book continues to sell well over time, the author will be constantly receiving income without waiting for a new contract or deal. 
  • Retaining Rights: Self-published authors have complete control over their work, meaning they can negotiate their own foreign rights, movie adaptations, or audiobook deals. 

Resources

Here are some amazing resources for authors looking to self-publish or learn more about the financial differences between traditional and self-published authors.

  • Authors Guild Report on Author Income is a site full of information about the financial realities of authors. It includes reports on advances, royalties, and long-term income information for both traditional and self-publishing. 
  • Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is a popular self-publishing platform because it gives authors a chance to sell their books in ebook format and print-on-demand paperbacks globally. KDP offers high royalty rates and control over pricing. 
  • IngramSpark Publishing is a print-on-demand and global book distribution site that helps self-published authors make their books available worldwide in physical bookstores, libraries, and online bookstores. 
  • Barnes & Noble Press is a self-publishing platform that allows authors to publish ebooks and physically printed books with the option to sell directly through the Barnes & Noble website and Barnes & Noble stores. 

The pay differences between self-publishing and traditional publishing are a lot, with each route offering different opportunities and challenges to an author. While traditional publishing gives you the security of an advance payment and larger distribution opportunities, self-publishing offers higher royalties and complete creative control but requires more upfront investment. The best option depends on your goals, resources, and willingness to compromise.