So You’re Thinking About Publishing

A Cautionary Tale With Two Doors

I queried my first novel 86 times. Another book? 30 more tries. A few nibbles, no bites. Eventually, I realized the Big Five weren’t going to slide into my inbox with confetti and a book deal.

So I self-published Effacement. I hired an editor. I designed the cover myself (which, let’s be honest, deserves its own separate cautionary tale about first impressions and the tyranny of font choices). It worked out: 166 reviews and a 4.3 on Amazon, 454 ratings and a 4.2 on Goodreads. Not bad for a debut from a guy who once used ‘he ejaculated’ as a dialogue tag without irony.

That was enough to qualify me for the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers Association based solely on indie sales. That felt like success. Real, earned, scrappy success.

Now, let’s talk about those two doors.

Traditional Publishing:
Yes, it’s still the gold star for many writers. But it’s also harder to break into than ever. Without an agent, you’re not even getting past the velvet rope at most major houses. And getting an agent? Picture an Olympic sport involving spreadsheets, soul-searching, and interpretive dance performed in rejection letters.

And if you do make it? You might get a small advance, broken up into neat little chunks: one when you sign, one when you turn in revisions, and one when the book hits shelves. No royalties until the advance earns out. And depending on your contract, you might get zero input on your cover, your title, or your marketing plan (which may or may not involve your dog and a ring light).

Self-Publishing:
You are the captain. The navigator. The over-caffeinated deckhand muttering about metadata. You control the timeline, the cover, the pricing. You also control the budget, the typos, and the existential crises at 3 a.m.

But the upside? You get to make the thing your way. You learn. You build. You connect directly with readers. There’s a certain joy in skipping the gatekeepers and finding the people who actually want your time-traveling haunted cookbook memoir.

What No One Tells You

Traditional success doesn’t always mean big money. Advances are shrinking. Midlist authors are often on their own for promo. You still need to hustle.

Indie success doesn’t mean overnight fame. It takes time, effort, and consistency. But if you do the work, you can build a solid audience. Yeah, Hugh Howey got a trad book deal and a tv series but he’s an outlier, not a roadmap.

Stigma around self-publishing has faded significantly in recent years, especially in sci-fi, fantasy, romance, and thriller. Some of the biggest names started (and stayed) indie.

So which is better?
Neither. Both. Depends on the story. Depends on you. What kind of writer are you? How much control do you want? How quickly do you want (or need) to publish?

Traditional publishing means fitting into someone else’s schedule. Self-publishing moves at the speed of your own caffeine tolerance and deadline panic.

But here’s the truth—there are no guarantees either way. No sure path to success, no magical formula. Just work, persistence, and a little bit of stubborn optimism.

So maybe the better question is what does success look like to you?
Is it money? A book deal and a launch party with a chocolate fountain and someone playing the theremin while reading your blurbs aloud? A glowing review from someone you admire? A quiet reputation for telling unforgettable stories?
Knowing that might help you decide which path is right for you.

Whatever road you take, just know this, you’re not alone. There’s no wrong door. Just different hallways. And if you wander through both for a while before finding where you belong? That’s okay too.

How about you? Have you braved the query trenches, launched your own indie release, or done a bit of both? I’d love to hear your experience, what worked, what didn’t, and what surprised you.

Drop it in the comments. Let’s compare hallway maps.