I would argue that while both paths require an investment of time on the manuscript, self pub is gatekept by the additional time and money required from the author if they want the book to have similar reach as trad pub!
Replies
I've been selfpublishing since 2011. I've known NYTimes bestsellers on the selfpub and tradpub sides. The odds of that approach zero for both paths. I've watched many authors try both sides and the odds of moderate "pay the electric bill" success is massively higher on the selfpub side. 🤷♀️
aug 30, 2025, 7:00 pm • 0 0 • view
You're still implying that I can simply choose to have a manuscript published by a publisher if I want "more reach" — when the slots for publication are very few, that's simply not a choice. Yes, there's additional time/money for selfpub but that's more accessible for most.
aug 30, 2025, 6:57 pm • 1 0 • view
I'm a little confused what you mean by 'accessible' here. There's a binary approach-- that you can or cannot publish trad or self, but what would be best would really depend on one's goals. Publishers publish to make money, not to satisfy authors as customers or clients. Usually.
aug 30, 2025, 7:25 pm • 0 0 • view
By "accessible" I mean "how hard is it to access?" In theory selfpub is accessible to everyone. Tradpub is only accessible to a small number who land the publishing slots available (by defn not everyone). But even selfpub requires some $/time, which might be in very short supply for some folks.
aug 30, 2025, 7:28 pm • 0 0 • view
Yes, but why do they need to be equivalent to access?
aug 30, 2025, 7:30 pm • 0 0 • view
If the topic under discussion is the advantages/disadvantages of each path, the accessibility of each seems pretty relevant (and one that seems to get skated over a lot)
aug 30, 2025, 7:41 pm • 0 0 • view
Also: you *can* pursue both (although that's a lot of effort), both simultaneously or one-after-the-other. I've seen about a 1000 variants on this, and I'm just adding the perspective that odds of making "electric bill" money are much higher on the selfpub path.
aug 30, 2025, 7:47 pm • 0 0 • view
It might be more clear to frame it as 'what goal do I want as an author, and which avenue fulfils it?' Some people are satisfied with writing something, some people are satisfied with a living wage, some people are satisifed with tv interviews. Also vanity pubs, which are a (usually bad) choice.
aug 30, 2025, 7:25 pm • 0 0 • view
For sure, understanding your goals is vitally important. I just see a lot of framing about the indie vs. tradpub debate like it's a lifestyle choice (and it is!) without the context of the odds of success in reaching any of those goals being *very* different on those two paths.
aug 30, 2025, 7:29 pm • 0 0 • view
it really depends on the goals though? still? if your goal is to have published a book, obviously that is most easily reached by self-pub. there are no barriers whatsoever to producing a book shaped thing--you can skip paying for ANYTHING if you really want! that is one goal. there are many!
aug 30, 2025, 9:39 pm • 1 0 • view
Yes, there are many goals! You can have any one you like! I was specifically adding that the odds of reaching a monetary goal ("paying the electric bill") are much higher with indie... IF THAT'S YOUR GOAL. Which is one of the goals people have. I really shouldn't because convo always devolves.
aug 30, 2025, 11:03 pm • 0 0 • view
It's important to have those convos, though. It may seem like devolving, but it's also a filter for communication or changing minds. It's a massive field, and what may seem true in one may not in another. Thank you for working this out with me 💜
aug 30, 2025, 11:10 pm • 0 0 • view
That's a part I'm confused about, actually. When considering *all* the avenues of self-publishing, I've seen it to be the inverse. Self pub does mean it's more in your hands, but you only get two of them. You're limited not only by your product, but time and connections and luck and resources.
aug 30, 2025, 11:08 pm • 0 0 • view
I've been in this for 15+ years. I've coached lots of writers (indie & trad) on how to run their business. I've paid close attention to people's full career trajectory. Do I have perfect knowledge? No. But I have a big database. And my database says...
aug 30, 2025, 11:15 pm • 0 0 • view
People who take the tradpub path: 1-in-100 odds of making any money at all, often one-book-contract-and-done, v. seldom NYT-level People who take the indie path: 1-in-25 odds of making any money at all, most often coffee-money, pretty often electric bill money, ~10% make substantial income.
aug 30, 2025, 11:19 pm • 0 0 • view
I think that's probably overstating the odds positively for tradpub. I'm being generous there because people often don't even get on the path... they quit before even querying. Self-pub has a much bigger success rate of people actually going through the whole process (putting the book out there).
aug 30, 2025, 11:21 pm • 1 0 • view
Yep! Though I will say it's a lot harder to pay my electric bill with indie in this economy than it used to be. 😩
aug 30, 2025, 11:06 pm • 1 0 • view
some people have goals that can only be met in trad and to them, investing the time & trying to get a slot makes sense because they would simply not be happy in self-pub. some people would be miserable in trad pub. (I mean, I don't do great with it!) they should never, ever do it. it's complex!
aug 30, 2025, 9:41 pm • 2 1 • view
Exactly. I don't think dividing the discussion into one or the other is the most useful. When you boil it down, trad pub can have the prestige of desirability because it means *some* kind of exclusivity or appraisal, but becaue of that it has to draw a line. and for business that's profit.
aug 30, 2025, 10:45 pm • 0 0 • view
I'd much rather focus on the long-tail of smaller publishers, hybrid publishers, and something more inventive like a co-op or circle that can offer the strengths of industry and the flexibility and empathy of self-pub. Bringing that accessibility out, raise all ships.
aug 30, 2025, 10:45 pm • 0 0 • view
I'm from the comics side, which is a little pocket dimension of traditional mainstream and subversive underground, and all shades inbetween. It's manicured hedges and fungal networks, and they keep each other healthy, but the smaller scene is vastly more influential. Trees alone don't make a forest.
aug 30, 2025, 10:47 pm • 1 0 • view
My biggest pro to indie (especially right now) is that if you control your work you can pivot with the market and with the world in such chaos, there are a lot of times I've thought "man I could do so much if I had control of pricing/cover/____" about some of my trad books! I do with indie.
aug 30, 2025, 10:50 pm • 1 0 • view
Susan, I’m afraid you can’t make up what you wished I said and then claim I implied it. But thank you for the reminder to update my bio! ✌️
aug 30, 2025, 7:13 pm • 2 0 • view