I enjoyed reading your thoughts on this, Sarah. Thanks for this post. I agree with a lot of what you said. I did wonder a little about where you got a couple of figures. The million copies seems kind of high to me but who knows. A friend who has traditionally published 26 books said most publishers invest at least $30k to produce one book, so that would require a lot of sales to break even. Also the $500,000 income potential figure would certainly be unusual for any writers. I have quite a few friends who have traditionally published. I think I heard once that the average writer maybe earns $8000 per year (and those are “successful authors”) so many writers teach writing courses, do coaching, speaking and have other sources of income. Not to be discouraging, but not that many writers are able to earn a prosperous living just writing. If people have other experiences, I’d love to hear about those. I have known some full time writers who do make good income but it’s not so common. Some of the writers who earn a lot have capitalized on the writing dreams of others and sold masterminds or other things to those wanting to be published. Anyway I am glad more options exist nowadays and I liked your lists of pros and cons. Take care and happy writing!
Hey Sarah, this is a great post! I love how you outlined the specific pros and cons of traditional vs. self publishing as most new writers may not know what direction to go in first hand. I published an ebook for a client recently and the creative control was much more important to him than a marketing plan he may not have control over. It’s important to set your own priorities when deciding which route to take. Thank you so much for posting this! Your newsletter is awesome by the way! Just subscribed! :)
Self-publishing is the best way to become a traditionally published author.
Publishers prefer to bet on writers that already have an audience. And when you have one, you have much more leverage.
And I think that outside of Amazon writers can have even higher margins. Gumroad for example takes only a 10% commission (granted Amazon has a way bigger potential reach).
I enjoyed reading your thoughts on this, Sarah. Thanks for this post. I agree with a lot of what you said. I did wonder a little about where you got a couple of figures. The million copies seems kind of high to me but who knows. A friend who has traditionally published 26 books said most publishers invest at least $30k to produce one book, so that would require a lot of sales to break even. Also the $500,000 income potential figure would certainly be unusual for any writers. I have quite a few friends who have traditionally published. I think I heard once that the average writer maybe earns $8000 per year (and those are “successful authors”) so many writers teach writing courses, do coaching, speaking and have other sources of income. Not to be discouraging, but not that many writers are able to earn a prosperous living just writing. If people have other experiences, I’d love to hear about those. I have known some full time writers who do make good income but it’s not so common. Some of the writers who earn a lot have capitalized on the writing dreams of others and sold masterminds or other things to those wanting to be published. Anyway I am glad more options exist nowadays and I liked your lists of pros and cons. Take care and happy writing!
Oh yes. These are rare figures for sure-the exception and not the rule. Thank you for reading!
Makes sense, Sarah.
Hey Sarah, this is a great post! I love how you outlined the specific pros and cons of traditional vs. self publishing as most new writers may not know what direction to go in first hand. I published an ebook for a client recently and the creative control was much more important to him than a marketing plan he may not have control over. It’s important to set your own priorities when deciding which route to take. Thank you so much for posting this! Your newsletter is awesome by the way! Just subscribed! :)
Thank you so much. I appreciate you subscribing!
You're very welcome Sarah! Keep up the great work! :)
Self-publishing is the best way to become a traditionally published author.
Publishers prefer to bet on writers that already have an audience. And when you have one, you have much more leverage.
And I think that outside of Amazon writers can have even higher margins. Gumroad for example takes only a 10% commission (granted Amazon has a way bigger potential reach).
Good to know! :) Thanks for reading!