Self vs Traditional Publishing
Whether you self-publish or go the traditional route, the decision will affect how your book is received in academia, its dissemination, and the benefits to your long-term career. By contrast, knowing about these trade-offs enables academic authors to map their publishing decisions accordingly to serve their professional objectives.
Traditional Publishing Advantages
Academic Credibility and Institutional Recognition
Traditional academic publishers offer
institutional imprimatur which is essential for tenure review, promotion
review, and the construction of a scholarly reputation (Baverstock et al.,
2015; Hviid et al., 2019). University presses and major academic publishers are
automatically credible in academic circles.
Professional Support Systems
Traditional publishers provide full editorial, production, and marketing services that are particularly designed to support academic markets (Matulionyte et al., 2017; Pecoskie & Hill, 2015; Thompson, 2013). This involves peer review management, copyediting by qualified professionals, and dedicated online and print design and production, as well as access to well-developed distribution capabilities to library and retail markets.
Financial Investment and Risk Management
Traditional publishers take the cost of production, marketing and financial risk of putting a book out (Waldfogel & Reimers, 2015). Writers get advances and royalties and don’t pay to get published.
Self-Publishing Benefits for Scholars
Creative and Content Control
Self-published authors retain all control over their content and presentation, and have the freedom to set their prices and develop their own publishing strategy (Baverstock et al., 2015; Hviid et al., 2019). This control is particularly important for interdisciplinary work or innovative projects that do not fit into the constraints of traditional academic publishing.
Accelerated Publication Timeline
Self-publishing drastically reduces time-to-market of the work, enabling authors to publish time-sensitive findings or respond rapidly to the ongoing academic discourse (Hviid et al., 2019). The typical time-lag between acceptance and publication in established academic venues lies roughly between 2 and 3 years.
Enhanced Royalty Rates and Pricing Flexibility
Self-published academic authors can earn 35-70% royalties, compared to the 10-15% you can expect from a traditional publisher. Pricing is also determined by the authors themselves and they can set student or international prices.
Making the Strategic Choice
You should take into account your career stage, the needs of your institution, your audience and long-term academic objectives when making a decision about which model of publishing to follow. Junior and senior faculty may find different uses for self-publishing, with junior faculty continuing to prioritize traditional publishing as they seek tenure while senior faculty members may self-publish as a venue for specialized projects.
Learn more in Edited Volume
Explore more insights on Open-Access vs Traditional
See the Royalty Rates for more resources
Further Reading: Predatory Publishers
References:
Baverstock, A., Blackburn, R., & Iskandarova, M. (2015). How the role of The Independent editor is changing in relation to traditional and self‐publishing. Learned Publishing, 28(2), 123-131.
Hviid, M., Izquierdo-Sanchez, S., & Jacques, S. (2019). From publishers to self-publishing: Disruptive effects in the book industry. International Journal of the Economics of Business, 26(3), 355-381.
Matulionyte, R., Paton, E., McIntyre, P., & Gleadhill, D. (2017). The system of book creation: Intellectual property and the self-publishing sector of the creative industries. Creative Industries Journal, 10(3), 191-210.
Pecoskie, J., & Hill, H. (2015). Beyond traditional publishing models: An examination of the relationships between authors, readers, and publishers. Journal of Documentation, 71(3), 609-626.
Thompson, J. B. (2013). Merchants of culture: the publishing business in the twenty-first century. John Wiley & Sons.
Waldfogel, J., & Reimers, I. (2015). Storming the gatekeepers: Digital disintermediation in the market for books. Information economics and policy, 31, 47-58.