The Great Debate: Traditional Publishing Is Dying

There are typically two camps of people: those who love traditional publishing and those who... have issues with it.

I fall in the latter, with good reasons (we'll get to shortly).

But this debate has been ongoing for years, since self-publishing starting its rise a few years ago. Authors have gone back and forth, comparing self-publishing vs traditional publishing to no end.

I'm here to shine a light on a few, true issues with the traditional publishing industry and why self-publishing a book is quickly going to take over as the primary publishing option in the years to come.

1. Lack of diversity in story structures

I've read so many traditionally published books that seem like they're just a rehashing of each other with new characters and new settings that I am bored.

A huge issue for me is the lack of types of story structures out there in traditional publishing.

Yes, I'm aware that certain structures are reliable in the sense that it's proven, time and time again, that readers love them. However, they're so similar that I've found many readers have grown so tired of the same thing, over and over again.

Traditional publishing houses (and agents, in particular) tend to look for the same thing in new books: a "unique take" on something that's already been done.

My issues?

Where's the originality? Where's the innovation?

I've read far more self-published books that have captivated my attention simply because they were different than the same old, same old.

2. Lack of diversity in characters

While this is improving greatly with traditional published hits like Simon vs the Homo Sapiens Agenda and Children of Blood and Bone, it's happening far too slowly.

Diversity in fiction is crucial. Self-published authors are doing a far better job of crafting realistic, good characters with unique backgrounds, ethnicities, disabilities, and more, while the traditional publishing industry is still publishing a large majority of white-washed fiction with no real diversity.

This is a huge problem.

The population is made up of more than just white, straight people with no disabilities or mental illnesses.

The more traditional publishers reject this and keep pumping out books like this, the more readers are going to turn to self-published authors who are doing this right, and well.

3. It takes forever, unnecessarily

There is a very, very long process involved in traditional publishing.

First you have to write the book. Then you have to query agents. Only if an agent finds your query interesting will they request the first few chapters. And if they find that intriguing, they'll request the manuscript.

Then they have to like that... and if they don't, you have to start this process all over again.

And that's just to get in the door of the traditional publishing market.

Most authors have to wait up to three years before their book is published, where self-published authors can do all the same in under a year, while earning more (which we'll cover below).

The longevity of the process is so off-putting.

You can publish more, write more, and make more self-publishing, and if the traditional publishing industry doesn't catch up soon, they'll only have their current authors to rely on in pulling in revenue.

4. Authors typically have to market themselves anyways

Unless you're one of those "overnight" successes (meaning, traditionally published authors who sold their book for really high numbers), you won't get much marketing value.

The biggest benefit of traditional publishing is getting your book in stores.

But many authors don't get those coveted spaces (like the booths in the front of the stores) unless they're a big hitter, because those spots cost money.

Which means your book is likely not to sell very well unless someone wanders down those aisles and finds it, which does happen, but not nearly as much.

Other marketing efforts for traditionally published books are very limited. You're often expected to pull your own weight and market the book yourself anyways.

And if that's the case, why not get paid fairly for that?

Which brings me to my next point...

5. The money is... light (unless you hit it big off the bat)

People rave about traditional publishing because of the "big advance you get!"

But the fact of the matter is, most authors get $10,000 as an advance, $15,000 if your agent is particularly skilled in negotiations.

You may hear of some authors getting offered half a million dollars as an advance, which can happen, but it's very, very rare and not likely for a first-time author.

And that's only the advance, which you're meant to live on until your book starts selling and you get royalties. And you only get those if your book sells enough to pay out your advance in the first place.

Ooof.

Check out this handy book royalties calculator if you want to visually see the difference between self-publishing and traditional publishing royalties. You'll thank me later.

6. If they choose not to keep selling, you have to buy your book back

This is the biggest struggle and issue I have. If your book isn't performing as well as they'd like (largely due to them putting more resources into other "popular" authors), they'll pull it.

And the book no longer belongs to you, remember; the publishing house has purchased your book rights.

You can't simply take the book and self-publish it if they decide not to print it anymore.

Now, there are ways to get out of a publishing contract and retain the rights to your books. But the process is often lengthy and requires a lot of legal jargon that can take forever.

Traditional publishing isn't dead just yet, but it's sick and slowly fading away. Unless some of these changes are made, I can see self-publishing becoming the forefront of publishing in the next five years.