While giving a workshop recently I opened the floor to question and answer and one of the writers asked what I thought about e publishing vs traditional publishing. I was so against it at first, it just seemed too “new school.” I wanted to crack the spine of a book and be extra cautious with the pages so I could sell the book back to Amazon, lol. However, over the years I’ve purchased quite a few eBooks and I have been surprised at what hidden little gems they are; both from a reader’s perspective and as a publisher. So I really wanted to read the experience of someone who had to make the decision of e publishing vs traditional publishing. Today’s guest post is by new author Synithia Williams who just released her debut eBook You Can’t Plan Love. Read how she went about the process of deciding between e publishing vs traditional publishing:

E Publishing vs Traditional Publishing – One Writer’s Experience

In 2010 when I decided to take my love of writing from off and on hobby to serious pursuit, I was firmly against e-books. Family members offered me an e-reader for Christmas and I promptly turned up my nose and said “no thanks.” I loved real books: the feel of the paper, the smell of the book, the mountains of books stuck in nooks and crannies of my house driving my husband crazy.

But after finishing my novel and researching e publishing vs traditional publishing, I learned about this girl named Amanda Hocking who became a millionaire with e-books. Curious to know what all the fuss was about, I went out immediately and purchased a Nook just to read her novel. (I do this often with books “everyone” is reading.) Despite my family’s dismay that only a few months before I was against e-books, as an up and coming writer, I had to see what was up.

I went on to buy more e-books and quickly realized how convenient they are. I can browse the various types, build my book collection without the space requirements and even check them out of the library! At the same time I was becoming a big e-book fan, I learned more about the e-book revolution. Not only were more people starting to buy e-books and e-readers, but also e-book authors had the potential to do better than authors with larger publishers. You get larger royalties with e-publishers and the turnaround time from book acceptance to book release is faster with an e-publisher than with a traditional publisher. All of these reasons while making a deciding between e publishing vs traditional publishing, made e-publishing seem the better choice for me.

I’d be remiss not to mention the self publishing movement. In fact, Amanda Hocking self-published her first books. I chose not to self publish for purely selfish reasons. I work in a demanding full time job (occasional nights and weekends), I have a husband and two boys ages 3 and 5. I work out with a trainer twice a week and I try to ensure I have time for other family events (flag football, birthday’s, vacations, etc.). I didn’t want to deal with finding a cover artist, formatting for e-books, learning the benefits of Lightning Source versus Create Space and everything else that comes with self publishing.

I began querying e-publishers in January 2012 and was thrilled when Crimson Romance (a new imprint of F&W Media) offered to publish my first novel, You Can’t Plan Love. My book was released on August 20, 2012 and so far I’ve been happy with the entire process.

E Publishing vs traditional publishing, which publishing option works best for you? Please share in the comment section below.

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