So, you just finished writing your book. Getting there is a real accomplishment that not a lot of people meet. Now comes the part that will determine who sees your book and how it gets into their hands: how to get a book published. There are four real paths you can take to get your book published: traditional publishing, self-publishing, hybrid publishing, and small press.

The right one for you is going to depend on budget, timeline, and how much control you want to keep over your own work. There’s not a single right answer here. This guide of ours walks you through the different publishing paths so you can publish your book with confidence. Start your project today!

What is Traditional Publishing?

Traditional publishing is where you send your book or book proposal to a publisher, usually through a literary agent. If the publisher likes your book, the publishing house typically buys the rights and offers you a contract, and in most cases an advance. That advance is a payment based on how much the publisher thinks your book will sell, and in exchange the publisher covers all the costs for editing, design, printing, and distribution.

The trade-off is that you won’t see any more money until that advance earns out. If it never earns out, that can make it harder to get a second book deal, even with a different publisher. If you don’t mind a slower, more competitive process to get your book out there without taking on any of the financial risk yourself, traditional publishing is the route built for that.

You’ll more than likely still have to invest in some of your own marketing after the deal is signed. Right now, there are five big, massive trade publishing companies for the English market, and more than likely you’ve heard of at least one:

• Penguin Random House
• HarperCollins
• Simon & Schuster
• Hachette Book Group
• Macmillan Publishers

What is Self-Publishing?

The turnaround time and process are going to be a lot quicker. There are many platforms that assist with self-publishing, specifically the distribution part. Platforms like Amazon KDP and Ingram Spark are the most popular and easiest way to start. KDP mainly gets your book onto Amazon itself. However, if you want your book stocked where other retailers and libraries are available, that’s where Ingram Spark or Draft2Digital work a bit better. They sell at wholesale pricing to a much wider network, which is why, if you’re chasing bookstore library placement, go that route instead. The biggest thing about self-publishing is that it’s entirely out of your pocket.

What is Hybrid Publishing?

Hybrid publishing sits between traditional and self-publishing. The author typically pays some, if not all, of the production costs, and the publisher handles editing, design, marketing, and distribution. Hybrid publishers pay a much higher royalty rate than a traditional contract, and the author keeps more creative control over the final book.

Hybrid publishers are very selective, like traditional publishers. The Independent Book Publishers Association introduced a set of criteria to define what a reputable hybrid publisher looks like. A lot of companies are calling themselves hybrid or just vanity presses using a term that sounds better. If a hybrid publisher takes on any manuscript as long as you pay, that’s a red flag.

What is a Small Press?

A small press is a publisher with annual sales under 50 million, or one that publishes 10 or fewer titles a year. For example, Penguin Random House, one of the five major houses, pulls in roughly 3.3 billion annually. A small press at the top end of the range isn’t even going to be operating anywhere near that same level.

Small presses don’t typically pay advances, which means they’re not taking on the same financial risk as a major publishing house. Contracts tend to be more flexible, and royalty rates are often higher than what big publishers would offer. They tend to work more closely with authors than a major publisher would, since they’re managing a much smaller list of titles at one time.

With small presses, there’s an even smaller category called a micro press, usually run by just one or two people, releasing only one title a year and with very limited print runs.

How to Get a Literary Agent

If you want to move forward with traditional publishing, almost every traditional publishing deal starts with a literary agent, not a publisher. The major publishing houses only accept submissions that come through an agent, so if you’re an author wanting to go this route, this is the first natural step.

Agents are going to pitch your manuscript to editors at publishing houses, negotiate your contract, and protect your rights along the way. They end up taking a commission, typically 15% on U.S. sales and 20% on foreign sales. Legitimate agents never charge a fee to represent you. You only get paid when they sell your book. If you find somebody that asks for money before that, that should be an immediate red flag.

Before you reach out to anyone, finish your full manuscript. It can be kind of enticing to start reaching out to agents as soon as you have your first few strong chapters, but if they respond and ask for the rest of the book, you don’t want to be caught without it. Start with research and only talk with agents who represent your genre. A lot of people do mention referrals to get noticed, but you don’t need one. Agents do read cold emails, and plenty of authors still get representation that way.

Once you’ve gathered your list of people you want to reach out to make a query letter as your pitch. The query letter should just be a short one-page introduction to you and your book that asks the agent to read more. Most agents post their submission preferences on their website. Go through that and follow them exactly so you don’t waste your time, and you can get noticed properly. Think of it as a resume. Once you’ve set your queries, expect to wait. Most agents respond to an initial query within two to eight weeks, and if they request your full manuscript, it can take another one to two months, sometimes longer, before you hear back. It’s normal to still be waiting for some queries, while others can come back quickly as rejections, and that’s just how the process works. Account for about one to four months of waiting. Patience is key.

What is a Book Advance?

A book advance is the money a publisher pays you up front before your book earns royalty. It’s an advance against future royalties, meaning your book must sell enough copies to earn that advance before you see another dollar.

According to Writer’s Digest, advances range anywhere from a few hundred dollars to millions, depending on the publisher, the genre, and how much they expect the book to sell. Advances are guaranteed, so even if your book doesn’t sell enough to get it back, you don’t have to return the difference.

It’s also rarely paid all at once. Advances are typically split into installments:

• When you sign the contract
• When you deliver the finished manuscript
• Sometimes a final piece on publication

How Long Does It Take To Get a Book Published?

Traditional publishing is going to take time and moves very slowly. From when you sign a book deal to seeing your book on a shelf, expect somewhere between 18 months and two to three years. That timeline covers:

• contract negotiation
• editing with your publisher’s team
• cover design
• typesetting
• printing

All before marketing kicks in. That’s just the production timeline. It doesn’t include the time spent finding agents and waiting to land the deal in the first place, which can easily add on another eight months to a year on top of that.

What Publishing Path Pays More?

Self-publishing will pay more for each book sold, but traditional publishing pays you up front. Traditional royalties are calculated after advances are earned out. They land in the high single digits to mid-20% range, depending on the publisher and format of the book.

For self-publishing, your listing price ends up being the biggest factor in what you take home, since it decides what royalty tier, you’re in. For example, with Amazon KDP, eBooks earn either 35% or 70% of the listing price, depending on how the book is priced. Print books earn 60% of list price minus the printing cost. The trade-off is that you are the one funding everything up front, which traditional publishing doesn’t require you at all.

Do You Lose Creative Control with a Traditional Publisher?

You can lose some creative control with traditional publishers. They typically design the cover design and title, but both are counted as marketing decisions, not creative ones. Most authors get a tiny bit more than just a “here’s your cover” email once it’s done. Established authors can sometimes negotiate a cover approval clause into their contract, but that’s rare for a debut author.

What you do to keep control over is the actual manuscript itself. Editors will push for changes, notes, and line edits, but the story and the writing stay yours. Self-publishing puts it all in your hands. You can still hire an editor or cover designer, but every final call is yours to make.

Which is Faster, Self-Publishing or Traditional Publishing?

Self-publishing is faster than traditional publishing. Once your manuscript is ready, most authors can realistically self-publish in about 3 to 6 months. Some move even faster than that, depending on the cover design, editing, and formatting.

Traditional publishing doesn’t work on a schedule you control. For example, best-selling author Brandon Sanderson wrote 13 novels that were rejected before his sixth book, Elantris. When that book got accepted, the process took about eight years. That’s before the production time and before the deal was signed.

Realistically, there’s no shortcut around that waiting time. A referral to an agent can help you get noticed faster, but it doesn’t guarantee a faster yes. For most authors, that kind of connection isn’t something that they have access to.

Do Publishers Market Your Book?

The author and the publisher work together to handle marketing. Publishers handle the industry side, like getting your book into catalogs, arranging the wholesale distribution, and lining up advanced reviews. What they typically don’t handle is the audience-facing side, like social media, building your audience, and staying visible as an author, and that part falls on you, even with a traditional deal. You can ask your agent to negotiate specific marketing support into your contract before you sign. Some publishers agree to it if you ask, but it’s rarely offered up front. Self-published authors must do it all.

Can Self-published Books Get into Bookstores?

Self-published books can get into bookstores, but it’s a much harder process than traditional publishing. Bookstores buy through wholesalers and expect a wholesale discount, plus the ability to return unsold copies. Self-published authors can access that same wholesale network through platforms like Ingram Spark, which means any bookstore could technically order your book, but being orderable isn’t the same as being physically stocked on the shelves.

Traditional publishers have sales teams pitching bookstores their new books months before they are released. Self-published authors must do that themselves, which is why national placement is mainly out of reach without a publisher with you. The easiest route to go would be local independent bookstores.

Does a Publisher Own the Rights to Your Book?

A publisher owns the rights to your book for a while. Traditional publishers typically take ownership of your book rights as part of the deal as well as:

• print rights
• eBook
• audiobook
• translation
• movie or TV adaptation rights

A literary agent will try to keep as many of those rights in your hands as possible, but for a debut author, most of them usually go to the publisher. The ownership isn’t permanent. Rights typically come back to you once the book goes out of print, usually around five years, depending on the contract. Self-published authors keep everything from the start, since you’re the publisher. There are no transfer rights to negotiate, and you can sell individual rights, like audio and translation, to other companies later if the opportunity comes along.

What is the Right Publishing Path for My Book?

Traditional publishing might be the better fit if you:

• Have one standalone book you want in advance
• Have no money to invest upfront
• Want the best shot at national bookstore shelf space
• Can handle a slower timeline and the rejection process

Self-Publishing might be the better fit for you if you:

• Want your book up quickly
• Want full control over the process
• Can invest in a professional editor and cover designer
• Have written something that is niche or might be a hard sell to a traditional publisher
• Are comfortable being both the writer and the marketer

Hybrid publishing might be the better fit for you if you

• Want professional editing, design, and distribution support without a year-long wait
• Can invest money upfront in exchange for a higher royalty share
• Want more say in your book’s final look and direction than a traditional deal

Small press might be the better fit for you if you:

• Write in a niche genre a big publisher might pass on
• Want a closer, more hands-on relationship with your publisher and don’t need an advance
• Are comfortable with a smaller reach in exchange for flexible terms

Frequently Asked Questions

Is publishing a book hard?
It depends on the path. Traditional publishing is competitive and slow, often taking a year or more just to land a deal. Self-publishing is more accessible, but it requires you to handle or hire out every part of the process yourself.

Is self-publishing worth it?
For most first-time authors, yes. You keep a much larger share of your royalties and move faster than the traditional route. The trade-off is that all the marketing and production work falls on you.

Do I need a literary agent to publish a book?
Only if you’re pursuing traditional publishing with a major or mid-size publisher. Self-publishing, hybrid publishing, and many small presses don’t require an agent at all.

What is a hybrid author?
A hybrid author is a writer who has both self-published and traditionally published books, choosing whichever path fits each individual project rather than sticking to one route for everything.

Can you switch from self-publishing to traditional publishing?
Yes. The old idea that self-publishing closes the door on traditional publishing forever isn’t true anymore. Authors move between paths in both directions regularly. The one catch is that most agents who’ll consider a previously self-published author want to see it on a new project, not a pitch to re-publish the same book.

Wrapping Up How to Get a Book Published

Self-publishing a book can feel like a big investment, and honestly, it is. But when you break it down step by step, it’s a lot more manageable. The key is figuring out what matters most to you and prioritizing those areas. There’s no one-size-fits-all answer.

PrintingCenterUSA makes it easy to bring your projects to life with the quality it deserves:

• Free Online Design Tool
• Free Adobe Templates
• Free File Review
• Find a Designer
• Free Sample Pack
• Canva Editable Templates

The good news? You don’t have to do it all at once. Start small, test the waters, and adjust as you go. Every choice you make is one step closer to putting your book into readers’ hands, and that’s what it’s all about!

Please share, follow and like us: