Can Traditional and Indie Publication Live as Friendly Neighbors?

 

 By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund

This year in 2016, I have FOUR books slated for publication. Three of them are being published through three different publishers:

Undaunted Hope, a historical romance through Bethany House Publishers (Jan. 1)

A Daring Sacrifice, a young adult medieval romance through Harper Collins (Mar. 1)

Newton and Polly: A Novel of Amazing Grace, a historical through Random House (Oct. 1)

I’m super thrilled about all three of the books. While each of them targets a slightly different audience, my readers seem to be enjoying them regardless of the differences.

So far, I’ve had a very positive experience working with traditional publishers. I’ve learned a LOT about the ins and outs of how the whole process of publication works and varies between houses.

Since I’m in a super busy life stage (raising 5 kids), having a traditional publisher’s help with cover designing, editing, and marketing has really freed up my time to focus on writing. To be completely honest, I appreciate being able to hand something over to my publishers and know that the project is in good hands. It takes a great deal of stress off me.

Not only that, but working with a variety of traditional publishers has helped to get my books in front of different readers. Each of my publishers has different marketing strategies which has allowed my books a wider audience than if I’d attempted to publish them on my own. I’ve also appreciated the relative ease of getting into brick and mortar stores, libraries/library conferences, foreign print, large print editions, wide-scale blogger and reviewer programs, and many other venues.

However, as beneficial as traditional publication has been for my writing career, I’ve been itching to try my hand at indie publishing. I’ve heard so many positive things about it, that I wanted to experience it for myself.

So, this year, I’m dipping my toes into the self-publishing waters. I’m releasing a historical romance, Forever Safe, on June 1. This particular book is the fourth book in my Beacons of Hope lighthouse series published by Bethany House. When I originally brought up the idea of doing a fourth book to my publisher, they wanted me to move in a different direction with another series.

Since I already had an idea for a fourth lighthouse book, I brainstormed with my agent and decided that this might be a good opportunity for me to do something independently. So over the past months, I’ve been able to experience “the other side of the fence” as I’ve been preparing my book for indie publication. It’s been interesting and I still have a lot to learn.

Obviously, I want this fourth book in the series to be of the same quality and caliber as the first three. Fortunately I found a fantastic cover designer (Lynnette Bonner of Indie Cover Design) who was able to match the quality of my previous books (even down to the font). I also put the book through the same rigorous editing process—having content, line, and copy edits.

Even with all of the top-notch help, I have to admit, I haven’t particularly liked the feeling that everything now rests on my shoulders, and that I’m responsible for every tiny detail—things I never had to worry about before. In fact, it stresses me out to think about disappointing my readers in any way.

Friends who have been indie publishing for a while and who are pros at it, have reassured me that the process does get easier and less stressful. So I take hope in that! But for now, it’s been a lot of work and has caused me some sleepless nights.

Will I indie publish again? Probably. I love that I got to write a story that I really wanted to tell and now get to share it with readers. And yes, indie publishing has lots of financial and control benefits.

But going through the do-it-yourself process also reminds me not to forget all of the good things that traditional publication can still offer authors. All too often traditional publication gets blamed and bashed and bad-mouthed. No, it’s not always rosy. I’ve experienced my share of frustrations and problems with traditional publication too.

But there are definite downsides with indie publishing as well, stress, costs, details, and pressure that come with the package. And if I were a newer author without an established readership, I'd wonder how I'd ever get noticed among all of the other new authors out there. The competition is fierce and it's difficult to stand out among the ever-growing population of indie authors. It can be done (we've all seen indie authors who've risen to the top). But often (not always!) debut authors can benefit from having a publisher give them a boost.

From one who has experienced both sides of the fence, I see that there is definitely a place for both and that they can live as friendly, helpful neighbors.

How about YOU?  Is the grass greener on the other side of the fence (or your side)? Or do you think that there is a place for both indie and traditional publication?

Why I Accepted Two More Traditional Book Deals

By Jody Hedlund, @JodyHedlund

These days, indie authors everywhere are singing the praises of self-publishing. In fact, lately I've heard a LOT of positives from those going indie.

The latest issue of the Romance Writers Report through RWA had an article titled, "On the Hunt: A Look into Indie Publishing." At least twice (if not more) the article stated something similar to this: "In all these discussions about indie publishing, not one author said she regrets her decision."

From what I can surmise, most writers who try indie publishing seem to be very satisfied with that option. Some have even gone on to be very successful, hit best seller lists, and make a good living from it.

However, for each indie best seller, there are many self-published writers who have a difficult time making headway with sales. We usually don't hear as much (if anything) about those authors. Why aren't they as vocal about their experiences (compared to those who make it big)?

Perhaps their optimism is still high. After all, the indie movement is young and the possibilities are limitless. Or perhaps those writers are less inclined to open up about failure. It's always easy to share good news. But who wants to stand up and talk about how their efforts were unfruitful?

Whatever the case, indie publishing is spoken of so highly nowadays that as a traditionally published author, sometimes I can't help second-guessing what I'm doing.

But I hesitate only for a minute, then I remind myself there aren't any perfect methods publication. There are always drawbacks to any decision. Ultimately, I have to make the choice that seems right for me personally.

All that to say, over the past five months, I've been offered and accepted publishing deals with two other traditional houses (in addition to Bethany House, the publisher I've been working with over the past few years and will continue to work with). (Many thanks to my new agent, Natasha Kern, for her hard work making it all happen!)

One of my new deals is with Harper-Collins Publishing (Zondervan division) for three young adult(YA) books. As a historical writer, I've always adored the age of daring knights, daunting castles, and the beautiful but courageous ladies who not only fought against evil but also fought to find their true love.

I'm delighted that I have the opportunity to write these exciting and adventurous "fairytale-like" stories that both teens and adults will enjoy. The first book, An Uncertain Choice, releases next spring, March 2015. Here's a sneak peek! Be looking for the full gorgeous cover reveal soon!!

The second deal I'm thrilled to announce is with Penguin Random House (Waterbrook division) for a book very dear to my heart. It's a historical that I wrote about six years ago. However, for a variety of reasons, the book just sat collecting dust.

Finally after all this time, my dream of seeing it in print is coming true! The book will release next fall, Sept. 2015. While I can't share much information about it yet, I guarantee that you'll find it fascinating (especially if you've liked my other stories inspired by real life people from history).

You might be wondering why I've chosen to continue with traditional publication, especially when so many writers are lauding self-publication. Here are a few reasons:

1. With my busy life stage raising five kids, traditional publication frees me up to focus more on my writing output. I don't have to concern myself with everything involved in publication like getting an ISBN number, writing blurbs, contracting editors or formatters or cover designers, etc. I can focus the majority of my limited work time on writing.

2. I value the input of editors within the traditional publishing industry who've been in the business for years and who have a pulse on their specific markets. Such editors are able to give big-picture/content edits that are invaluable.

3. I appreciate having the guarantee of high quality covers and books without any worry on my part. My publisher is as invested as I am in seeing that the book has an excellent cover, is formatted to perfection, and has no errors.

4. I like having my books in a physical store. Even though shelf space is shrinking, it's satisfying to know readers can browse and pick up my book from a real shelf.

5. While some libraries are opening up to self-published books, it's still not a completely open door for indies yet. Not all traditionally published books make it in to libraries either, but most libraries are willing to take requests for traditionally published books if they aren't already there.

5. Traditional publication still offers the possibility of getting reviews by major reviewers like Publishers Weekly, Booklist, Library Journal, Romantic Times, etc.

6. Although all writers whether self or traditionally published must market, I appreciate having the creative help of a publicist and marketing specialist along with publishing house dollars.

7. It wasn't too long ago that self-publishing contained a stigma. Even though the stigma is decreasing, unfortunately it still exists to a degree (probably because of the few who self-publish poor quality writing before they're truly ready). I like having the validation that a traditional publisher still gives.

So there you have it! That's why I accepted two more traditional publication book deals and why I'm super excited about them both!

What are your thoughts about indie versus traditional publication? What is your preference and why?

P.S. If you'd like the chance to win a copy of my newest release, make sure to check out my "Behind the Scenes of Captured by Love" blog tour happening the rest of July!