030 Pros and Cons of Indie Publishing

Is Independent Publishing Right for You?

If you’re exploring your publishing options, it’s important to understand the key differences between traditional and independent publishing. In the first part of this series, we looked at traditional publishing, including its benefits, drawbacks, and how it works. In this article, we’ll turn our attention to independent publishing, also known as self-publishing. We’ll examine the advantages it offers, the challenges it presents, and how to determine whether it’s the right path for you and your book.

A Bit of Background

I used to be a literary agent. For over a decade, I worked with traditionally published authors in marketing, even serving as a marketing director at a publishing company. I know that world well.

What you may not know is that I’m also an independently published author. When I wrote Courtship in Crisis (affiliate link), based on my viral blog post, I had offers to publish traditionally and could have signed a contract within 30 days. But I chose the indie path, and I’ve worked closely with both successful and disillusioned indie authors ever since.

I don’t see myself as a partisan in the indie versus traditional debate. I’ve seen the benefits and frustrations of both sides.

The Pros of Indie Publishing

1. You Say Yes to Yourself

Indie publishing removes the gatekeepers. If no one else believes in your work, that’s okay. You can still get your book into the world and find readers who connect with it.

Mary DeMuth is a great example. She was rejected by many traditional publishers but chose to say yes to herself. Now, her indie book is making a real impact.

2. Full Creative Control

With indie publishing, you control the cover, the title, the release date, the formatting, and many elements of your book. This can be empowering, but it also requires good judgment. If you make poor decisions or skip the necessary education, your book will suffer.

There’s a difference between self-publishing and indie publishing. Self-publishing implies doing everything yourself. Indie publishing means you act like a publisher, hiring professional editors, cover designers, and proofreaders so you’re not doing it all alone.

You are the project manager. That’s empowering but also demanding.

I once consulted with a successful indie author who was struggling with cover design simply because they didn’t know how to communicate with their designer. That kind of decision-making falls entirely on your shoulders as an indie author.

To learn how to communicate with a designer, check out our episode on How to Create a Design Brief for Your Book Cover.

3. Higher Royalties

Indie authors typically earn between $2.00 to $9.00 per book, depending on pricing. This allows you to make a solid income with a relatively small audience. If 2,000 readers buy your $10 book, that’s potentially $20,000 in revenue.

By comparison, traditionally published authors often make between 5% to 15% of a book’s retail price while indies earn 30% to 70%. The pie might be smaller, but your slice is much larger.

Some indie authors make so much money this way that they can’t afford to go traditional. If they did, they’d be taking a pay cut.

4. Access to Marketing Data

Having access to your marketing data a huge advantage, especially in fast-moving markets. Indie authors have real-time access to sales and advertising data, allowing them to tweak their strategies quickly. This agility has allowed indie authors to dominate genres like military science fiction, and romance.

Marketing data also enables effective advertising. We recently interviewed Chris Fox about Advertising for Authors Who Don’t Like Math– with Chris Fox. He emphasized that indies are the ones with the margins and the data needed to advertise profitably.

Traditional authors often can’t advertise on their own, and publishers may choose not to advertise at all.

5. Speed

This was the deciding factor for me. When I released Courtship in Crisis, there was a cultural moment. The conservative homeschool community was re-evaluating its approach to relationships, and I had something to say.

That moment didn’t last. But because I published quickly, my book joined the conversation while people were still paying attention. Traditional publishing simply couldn’t have moved fast enough.

The Cons of Indie Publishing

1. It Can Be Expensive

It cost me about $10,000 to publish my book, and $5,000 to $6,000 of that on editors alone. But I crowdfunded the entire amount through Kickstarter. If you don’t have a platform or don’t know how to crowdfund, this could be a serious obstacle.

Some companies offer full-service publishing for a flat fee, but they’re often five to ten times more expensive than hiring freelancers yourself. They’re called hybrid publishers. I rarely recommend hybrid publishers, but if I do, it’s only for one type of very rare author.

2. You Must Find Your Own Professionals

This can be challenging unless you already have industry connections. The Christian Writers Market Guide is a great resource. it lists reputable editors, designers, and service providers. If you go this route, always verify that your chosen professionals have happy clients beyond just their testimonials.

3. You Have to Learn… A Lot

Indie authors need to know more than just how to write. You’ll need a basic grasp of editing, cover design, marketing, pricing, distribution, and more.

Think of it like business school. You may be majoring in marketing, but you still have to learn accounting. Similarly, an author needs to understand the basics of all parts of publishing, even if writing is your specialty.

Traditional authors often rely on agents to bridge those knowledge gaps, but Indies have to fill them on their own.

4. There’s No Gatekeeper to Protect Your Reputation

This is a double-edged sword. Without an experienced editor or publisher to act as quality control, it’s easy to release a book that’s not ready. And no one wants to be the person who has to tell you that your book is no good.

If you want to write a good book, write what people want to read. Serve your audience, not your ego. Don’t try to force a book into the market just because you wrote it. And make sure your book has been seen by someone with the guts to tell you the truth.

5. Limited Distribution

Most indie books won’t be placed in physical bookstores. Yes, you may be listed in Ingram’s catalog, but that’s not the same as actual shelf space. If retail placement matters to you, that’s something to consider.

That said, for genres like romance where readers are voracious and ebooks are preferred, physical bookstores are less important than ever. Most power readers now buy ebooks or audiobooks.

6. Fewer Awards and Bestseller Lists

Most literary awards don’t accept indie books, and most bestseller lists exclude them as well. The New York Times list, for example, is curated by a committee. Even books that top Amazon’s charts may not be recognized, especially if their politics don’t align with the committee’s.

USA Today has historically been more indie-friendly, which is why you’ll see many indie authors using that credential.

When Indie Publishing Makes Sense

Indie publishing works especially well for:

Genre fiction writers (e.g., military sci-fi, romance, Amish fiction)
Fast writers (book a month or several per year)
Entrepreneurial authors who enjoy managing a team
Non-fiction authors in niche markets or with speaking platforms

Indie publishing can also be a great fit for memoirs intended for family. There’s no learning curve. You can just write it, format it, and print a few dozen copies.

It doesn’t work as well for:

Authors who dislike the business side of publishing
Artistic authors who don’t want to manage a team or think about spreadsheets
Non-fiction writers who rely on broad bookstore visibility or institutional sales

Final Thoughts

Traditional publishing isn’t the enemy. Indie publishing isn’t a shortcut. They are simply different paths with different challenges and rewards. Follow the path that fits your calling, your personality, and your goals.

Related Episodes

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How to Get Published (1 hour)
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The SMART Indie: Find your readers (1 hour)
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The SMART Indie: Technical how-to’s (>1 hour)
The SMART Indie: Subsidiary Rights (1 hour)

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