Romance Writers & Readers discussion

So, for 5 years I've been indie and proud.
But I have this strange idea of going trad pub with my WIP.

Am I crazy?
Has anyone else successfully done this?

I'm aware I'll probably have to get an agent then a publisher.
Is it a lot of work with little reward?
Or can it actually be good to be a hybrid author?

I'd love to hear about your experience.

xx

I personally don't have any experience in this, but those who have done it ended up moving more into the indie. There is a seven to ten year period where you don't own your own work. It belongs to the publisher. What the one fairly well-known writer did was to take her first series and rework them before publishing them again as an indie. She has also done several more and one big joint venture with a major group for a Christmas package.

Her comment was that she was doing all the work and getting very little of the profits. Since going indie, she loves that she has full control of her works. Also, she was doing all her own marketing, so there was no changes in that portion of the business.

She does have some books which are being published by an established publisher, but she is doing more on her own and getting a lot more money. Enough that she quit her day job to write full time. Her advice, if you can get a publishing deal, go for it and market like crazy to get a good following. Make sure you are doing your own website and getting your list of readers built up then go indie. If you continue to market, your name will pull in readers who like your work. Either way, you are the one who is going to be doing most of the work of getting people to read your books.

B.A. wrote: "I personally don't have any experience in this, but those who have done it ended up moving more into the indie. There is a seven to ten year period where you don't own your own work. It belongs to ..."

Thank you for this feedback. It confirms what I have always felt.

I have been indie 5 years & have 7 books out.
I've always been proud of my indie status.
Not sure why tgis little voice inside me is saying to go for a big publisher now.

I do know I'm fed up with doors being slammed in my face. Big magazines/papers/reviewers etc. won't give me the time of day because I'm indie :(

Still struggling for expoaure & traction :-/
Must be SOMETHING more I can do.

Part of the puzzle is the marketing and getting that list of readers who want to hear from you. I'm starting from scratch but am doing my best to learn as much as I can in as little time as possible. Things like keywords, tags, newsletters, blogs, capturing emails, a decent website, etc.

I just published my second book, so I still have a long way to go but with some work on my part, I'll get there.

B.A. wrote: "Part of the puzzle is the marketing and getting that list of readers who want to hear from you. I'm starting from scratch but am doing my best to learn as much as I can in as little time as possibl..."

Yeah, I've done all that :-/
I've learned so much over these past five years. And I do try to share some of my pearls of wisdom on my blog.

Still waving my arms trying to get notcied.
So many books, so few avenues for indies to get their voices heard. :-/

Hey ho. We keep on keeping on. xx

Good luck.

I know this thread is over a year old, but I thought I'd chime in anyway.

I'm traditionally published (with a Big 5) and my books are digital-first (and print on demand). I'm so grateful for the experience and I learned a lot - including enough to know that unless I got a print contract for the next book (which I did not), I'd be doing it myself.

If you want to be traditionally published, go for it. You can always back away if you don't like the contract. The sticky part will come if you have an agent. Mine worked on my book with me. Since I did end up going traditional, I don't know what that would have meant in regards to her commission if I had self published (the contract didn't cover that).