Are Self-Published Books Inferior to Professionally Published Books?
A bit of rational thinking is enough to answer this question. The average traditionally published book is vastly superior to the average self-published book, but the best self-published books are probably on-par with the best traditionally published books. Read on to understand why.
The Importance of Gate-keeping
The most important difference between traditional publishing and self-publishing can be summed up in one word: gate-keeping. If you wrote a book, you cannot just decide to traditionally publish it. A lot of experienced publishing professionals have to first agree that your book is worth publishing, and they need to believe it is worth the investment in both money and time. Before even being seen by a publisher, you first need to convince a literary agent to represent you, a challenge in itself. Only a small fraction of the total books written can go through this gauntlet.
The Standard of Self-Published Books
Self-published books are held to no such standard. Anyone, including a person with poor writing skills, can publish a book on Amazon or other platforms. This explains why the average traditionally published book is vastly superior to the average self-published book; the sheer volume of terrible self-published books pulls down the average. However, it’s not a complete picture.
Nuanced Considerations
Professional Help and Feedback
Narrative analysis often involves multiple stages, with writing the first draft being just one of them. Editing is the other crucial part that significantly improves the quality of a book. Writers can do some editing, but professional help and feedback are immensely valuable, especially after being offered a publishing contract. This professional assistance, combined with the demands of traditional publishers to conform to market expectations, ultimately makes traditionally published books better quality.
Gate-keeping Risks and Masterpieces Excluded
The gate-keeping process, while it ensures a certain quality standard, sometimes excludes masterpieces. Literary agents and publishers operate under a "venture capitalist" model, investing time and money in books that have a high chance of success. While they can take risks, the incentive is typically to play it safe. This means offering contracts only for books that seem similar to already successful books, fit genre expectations, and appear on store shelves easily. As a result, many exceptional but unconventional works get excluded.
Effect of Rejection
When querying for an agent, only the most compelling beginnings get attention. Even masterful manuscripts may be rejected if the beginning is not compelling enough. This system, while fair from an economic perspective, can mean that many books with great potential never see the light of day because they don't meet the superficial standards set by publishers. If these authors were given the chance to work with professional editors after being picked by a publisher, they could enhance their manuscripts significantly.
Emphasizing the final factor, self-publishing requires not just a good book but also significant exposure and marketing. Unless the book is a true masterpiece, the readers can't easily distinguish it from the vast number of self-published books available. Success in self-publishing requires a combination of dumb luck and excellent marketing by the author, which is not everyone's forte.
Conclusion
For readers seeking a book of decent quality, traditionally published books are the best bet. However, these books often come with a ceiling on originality and quality. If you’re adventurous and want to discover hidden gems, self-published books offer unique opportunities. Just keep in mind that while the best self-published books can be as good as the best traditionally published ones, average self-published books might not meet the same quality standards.