Top 10 Traditional Publishing Myths Debunked

Traditional publishing can seem mysterious and exciting at first glance to new authors and it can even seem exclusive to people who only have experience with self-publishing or have never tried traditional publishing.

There is this aura to traditional publishing that is not really factually correct and along with that there are few myths about traditional publishing that are not at all true.

We are here to help you understand what are the most widely circulated myths about traditional publishing and we will also help you understand why they are not true.

Some of these myths will actually be very helpful to people who are just starting out in the publishing industry and want to get their first book on the shelves.

However, they remain undecided on what kind of publishing to choose and they usually waste a lot of time with traditional publishing.

These myths surrounding traditional publishing need to be broken so that authors finally understand what’s best for them.

So, let us look at some of the most common myths about the traditional publishing industry so that we can break them.

Top 10 Traditional Publishing Industry Myths

No Barrier to Entry

One of the biggest myths surrounding the traditional publishing industry is that there is no barrier to entry in this industry and that anyone can simply get in whenever they want and be successful.

However, that is far from the truth because, in reality, the traditional publishing industry is much more competitive than the hybrid publishing industry or even the self-publishing industry.

This is an industry where publishers and authors compete with each other for market relevance and there are very limited places for anyone to enter the industry.

If you consider that with the idea that the publishing industry is going to be worth all the effort then you are wrong in that regard.

You can get an equal level of benefits or even better benefits in the self-publishing industry if you truly work out a good deal with a good self-publisher.

No Investment Risks

Authors new to the publishing industry have this idea that traditional publishing is completely free and while that is true to some degree but it is also far from the reality.

An author needs investment in the traditional publishing industry just like they need investments in the self-publishing industry.

The investments in the traditional publishing industry are not as open or as simple to understand as in the self-publishing industry.

In the traditional publishing industry, the author needs to spend money on their agent because without an agent they are simply not going to get access to the publisher.

Apart from that they must also sometimes spend their own money on hiring professionals for different aspects of the project from book cover design to other areas.

In addition to that, you must also understand that some traditional book publishers do not take care of the marketing at the promotion by themselves and that is where the author must step in with their own funds.

So, in this arrangement which guarantees no investments, the author is also investing indirectly.

Freedom Is Guaranteed

New authors believe in the idea that the only way to become relevant and popular in the publishing industry is with the help of traditional publishing because it ensures freedom and authority but that is quite far from the truth.

The truth is that if you want to be controlled by the publishers and if you do not like the idea of creative freedom then you should choose traditional publishing.

Traditional publishing is all about contracts where the majority stakeholder is the publisher and the largest investor is the publisher and that is why the contracts regarding traditional publishing are also like that, geared towards a publisher’s benefit.

This means that while you can enjoy a certain degree of freedom if you become popular enough or relevant enough but as someone new you cannot expect that.

We are talking about every area of creative freedom from editing to other important creative decisions regarding the publishing of the book.

Fast Process

Since traditional publishing is so organised, authors have the idea that it is also a very fast process where all you need to do is have your manuscript selected and you will have your book out in no time.

This is also a very popular myth and the reality is that it takes at least twice as long on average than self-publishing.

You must understand that traditional publishing is a business for the publisher to get the best kind of product out to the customers and the book is the product.

They are always going to choose something that will get them their best Return On Investment in the best way possible and if that does not align with your book then your book can be shelved for a long time.

For example, let’s say you submit a manuscript regarding Christmas and the traditional publisher happily accepts it and also approves the project and you know that your book is going to come out around Christmas time.

Let’s say now that the publisher gets their hands on something even better for Christmas for example a story about magic and a story about something that is trending quite a lot in the book publishing market.

They also have their own budgets and it simply does not make sense to invest in a project that they can also launch next year like your Christmas book and expect more success and it is for things like this that you can expect delays.

Great Royalty Rates

The reason why this is a misconception and a myth is simply that authors have the idea that they do not need to invest anything and they are going to get a cut of profits from every book sold.

That sounds really good stand-alone but if you think about everything surrounding this contract then it does not simply make sense or even hold a light next to self-publishing.

In traditional publishing, the publisher is the biggest investor or the only investor who owns the rights to create the contract regarding profit sharing.

They do the printing and they do the distribution and everything else regarding the book and while your role is also important but they have a stronger position.

This is the reason why you cannot expect very high royalty rates in a traditional publishing agreement. We are looking at something in the ballpark of at the most 20% of the profit proceeds.

This is quite low if you compare it to self-publishing where you can expect over 80% royalty because you are the investor.

No Marketing Needs

One of the misconceptions quite popular in the market is that traditional publishing needs no marketing on behalf of the author and that is simply not true.

Every kind of publishing needs marketing and that is also the case with traditional publishing because gone at the days when traditional publishers did all the promotion and marketing.

Nowadays traditional publishers expect the author to be actively engaging in promoting the book.

This is whether they want to do the promotion on social media or physically through bookstores and going on book tours.

This is just how things are these days and it is also a myth that is just broken.

No Need for an Agent

Access to traditional publishing is actually quite more difficult than people understand and it is just something that authors need to accept and move on.

Yes, there are public channels open for you to submit your manuscript to traditional publishers but if you do that then you are probably never going to hear back from them.

This is because traditional publishers get a lot of book proposals every day and every month and they can only select a few to read.

In a situation like that if you approach them through regular sources without any influence or authority then you simply cannot expect them to look at your manuscript with certainty.

If you truly want them to look at your work then you need to approach them with the help of a known source such as an agent.

These agents have close relationships with publishing companies and especially traditional publishers and they will be the ones to read your book and accept it so that they can forward it to publishers.

However, agents charge heavily and this might not be something feasible for everyone.

Market Conditions Don’t Matter

New and upcoming authors have this sense of the idea that publishing traditionally means they are immune to market forces and that they simply need to write what they want to and submit it and get the book published.

That is very far from the truth simply because market forces are going to affect an author publishing traditionally as well as an author publishing through self-publishing.

You need to understand the simple fact that it might be your life’s work and it might be your passion and something very meaningful to you but for the traditional publisher, it is much more, it is an investment and product.

That is why only that product is going to work better in the market is that product with better demand for that product.

This means if you do not study the market and if you write a book about anything you like then it is going to have a hard time being accepted by traditional publishers because they are just not going to see profits and an ROI in your work.

And if you come up with an idea that is going to be much more popular in the market then it will improve your chances of that book being sold.

That is while traditional publishing is also affected by the same forces of the market that self-publishing is affected by.

It Is a Free Process

Traditional publishing does not have any upfront costs but it is not at all a free process because there are some significant costs associated with traditional publishing.

You can include all the regular costs such as travelling, agent and editorial services costs before you add the manuscript book cover design costs and much more.

Then you need to factor in the marketing cost because some traditional publishers do not market the book and it is up to the author to do it.

If you include marketing then you need to think of social media promotion and also influencer engagement costs and self-branding costs and things will start to look very expensive.

Apart from that you are spending effort and materials and investing real time in a project like that and time is money that could have been spent doing something else.

If you factor in all of the important elements then traditional publishing is not really free.

It’s Better Than Self-Publishing

Finally, we have the most significant point and the most common myth in the entire blog and it is that traditional publishing is better than self-publishing.

That is the farthest thing from the truth possible because self-publishing is better than traditional publishing in all aspects.

Traditional publishing guarantees the best levels of freedom because you are the primary investor in that equation.

In addition to that, there is no barrier to entry as such and you have to do your own research before you select a self-publisher and the roles of authority have just been reversed.

Apart from that you can expect much higher rates of royalty and we are talking about something at least four times higher on average when it comes to any self-publishing contract.

It is also much easier and faster to publish your book through self-publishing than traditional publishing.

If you add up all of these factors then traditional publishing simply does not stand close to self-publishing.

We hope this blog helps you understand the realities behind some of the most popular myths regarding traditional publishing.

If you are someone who is willing to publish your first book and you do not want to choose traditional publishing then we are here for you with something that combines the authority of traditional publishing with the convenience of self-publishing.

We are Orange Publishers and we present you the world’s first hybrid publishing model. We are a legacy traditional publishing company with the convenience of self-publishing.

All you need to do is approach us with your manuscript and we will take care of the rest of the process whether it is printing, publishing, promotion or even the copyright, marketing and distribution.

We bring you the best of both worlds and we welcome you to visit our website and check out everything we do.