Self-publishing vs. traditional publishing: which is better? Honestly, that’s up to you and your goals. But whichever one you choose, it’s important to note that these are two very different options, especially as it relates to book marketing. 

If you’re torn between self-publishing and traditional publishing, consider factors like creative control, exposure, and difficulty. They make a big impact on your marketing method and results.

How Traditional Publishers Market Books

How hard is it to get a book deal? It’s damn near impossible, depending on who you ask. But sources say you stand a 1% to 2% chance of getting published traditionally. Or 1 in 1,000. Either way, yikes. 

However, if you do strike gold and land a traditional publisher, there are perks to marketing your book.

Publicity and PR connections

We love a dark romance that’s flying under the radar as much as the next voracious reader, but let’s be honest: the general public doesn’t know about self-published books as much as they know about the last bestseller they saw at Target.

Marketing your book with a publisher can be easier simply because they have more connections and access to opportunities to promote your books. And they have the experience doing that for all their authors, from navigating BookTok to setting up author events to writing book launch content.

As a self-published author, you’ll need to start from scratch if it’s your first book. You’ll need to do the research, find those opportunities and network within the industry.

Physical book distribution

You might not be concerned about having print copies of books, but who knows? Physical copies of your books might be a future goal of yours down the road. So keep in mind that it’s much easier to distribute and sell print copies through a traditional publisher.

Self-pubbed authors: You can still connect with your local bookstore owners and talk to them about putting your book on the shelves. Check your favorite bookshop and you’ll see some self-published authors in the “Local Authors” or “Local Favorites” section.

Marketing materials

Promoting a book requires a lot of materials. A publisher will print a number of ARCs, or advance reader copies, to send out for review. Take it from a former bookstagrammer: ARCs are pretty dang close in format and design to the finished copy of a book, so you can imagine how much it costs to print them.

Publishers also handle all of the printed materials that typically accompany books. Think bookmarks, postcards, flyers, and more. They can be used for press kits or to accompany books at events like book tours, author meet-and-greets and conventions.

Sales teams

Traditional publishers have entire dedicated sales teams that take care of pitching and promoting your book for you. They’ll get book clubs to consider yours for an upcoming monthly pick. They’ll get your book included in book catalogs and flyers. They’ll negotiate with retailers to display your book on special tables or choice spots on bookshelves.

The publishing team can also work with you to write and collect promotional content, like:

• Your author bio
• The book summary
• Reviews and endorsements from other authors
• Suggested interview questions

These are some of the essential elements included in an author press kit, BTW.

Marketing money 💰 

Last but not least, traditional publishers have much bigger budgets to do all of these things. That’s a huge perk. They have the budget to cover all the book marketing costs that we just covered:

• Designing and distributing promotional materials
• Pitching books to retailers, libraries, and book clubs
• Setting up author events, interviews, book tours
• Managing social media campaigns and ad campaigns

Don’t let the thought of big budgets and someone else taking the lead on your book marketing discourage you. Keep in mind that traditional publishers call the shots. They not only decide how to market your book, but also how involved they’ll be in said marketing. 

If you’re the next Leigh Bardugo or Emily Henry or SJM, traditional publishers will happily spend marketing resources to promote your book. If you’re not, they may just…do nothing. Tell you to take the lead. Keep doing what you’re doing. That’s what this author experienced.

So with that in mind… let’s talk about how you can market your book yourself. Because who needs those publishing houses anyway?

How Self-Published Authors Need to Market Their Books

About a third of all ebooks published are self-published. Hot damn! More readers than ever are accessing self-published books — and more self-pubbed authors are selling their books more than ever. 

It is possible to find success with your self-published book, and you can do it. We believe in you, boo. Now let’s talk about how you can market your self-published books.

Connect with people 

You don’t need a big ass PR team to make your own marketing connections! Think about the people you talk to when buying a book, borrowing a book, or getting book recommendations. These are the people you need to talk to about your new book, like:

• Local bookstore owners
• Local book club hosts
• Librarians
• Bookstagrammers, BookTokkers, and BookTubers near you
• Your friends, family, colleagues, and acquaintances

Think outside of the box when brainstorming connections, too. Someone doesn’t have to directly work in the book industry to be a good connection. 

For example, we know of an author who sells their tarot book on consignment in local plant and mystic shops! Pretty cool, right? So check out your local cafes, meeting spaces, coffee shops, record stores, and other local businesses who’d be interested in carrying your book.

Don’t forget events!

Book fairs, major city book festivals, or even national book conventions are available to you as a self-published author. So are pop culture events like Fan Expo and Comic-Cons, too. 

These events are wonderful for making new connections and promoting your book on the spot. Even better if you can land a booth or a seat in an author section. Here’s a list from Book Reporter to help you find events near you.

Market your book online

Self-pubbed authors, meet your book marketing BFF: online marketing. We love the internet for book marketing because we have so much direct access to readers more than ever. The opportunities are there; it’s on you to take advantage of them.

Like email marketing, for example. Email marketing can help you speak directly to your fans and readers through written content, not just Instagram Stories and TikToks. Nothing wrong with social content, but you don’t own it. And we love that emails let you build strong relationships with subscribers over time.

We’re definitely not bashing using social media as an author because it is a wealth of information about your target audience. On social media, you can learn who your readers are, what they’re interested in, what they’re reading now, and how they can be influenced to pick up your book.

Dive deeper into social media, too. Check out the niche bookfluencer communities on Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. There are passionate communities of readers there who are willing to read and review your book at length, post about it on their blogs, and promote it on their feeds.

And lastly, consider listing your book on review sites like NetGalley and Edelweiss. Platforms like these help authors (traditional and self-published) promote their books to influencers, booksellers, and professional reviewers. People can request to read your book in advance in exchange for a review on the platform, but also on sites like Goodreads and Amazon.

Successful book marketing requires strategy

The takeaway from this post? 

Traditional publishing isn’t “better,” nor are you guaranteed to sell more books with a traditional marketing strategy. Self-publishing may be more accessible and give you more control, but keep in mind that you’ll have to market your book on your own. It takes hard work, but the payoff is well worth it.

But if you’re like “Uncanny Unedited, I am still overwhelmed AF,” we got you! Marketing your self-published book is certainly doable, but audience research, content creation, and promotion all require a lot of time and energy. 

That’s why we created our One Bed Inn(tensives). These one-quarter book marketing strategy intensives can help you get started with a plan, so you can ditch that overwhelm and begin marketing your book with confidence.
You’ll get three months of prompts to help you prep for a new book release — or simply sell more of the book(s) already on your roster. Ready to hop into bed with us?