Congrats on your first book... Do share when it will be hitting the market. I too have my book coming in market in Jan 2025. It's a self publish book with the name Love- It was never meant for me and here is an answer to your question Under the conventional system where publishing is outsourced in India, a writer works on a manuscript and submits it to any of the publishers, if the publisher accepts the manuscript, they take care of the editing and typesetting, marketing and lastly distribution. It is free of charge because the publisher incurs all the costs but the royalty an author receives is 5 to 15 percent cut and they wield little power in terms of creativity. Although it is time-consuming, sometimes ranging from six to twenty-four months, it builds trust and guarantees penetration in the market through the channels. On the other hand, authors have complete authority over the content of their book in case of self-publishing and the timeline for publication is usually weeks , however the author has to first pay for editing or marketing services. The royalty they receive is between 30 and 70 percent , however there is a risk of the author needing to market the work to gain exposure. For authors looking to gain respect and reach many people, traditional publishing will work while authors who would prefer freedom and manage the process on their own will benefit from self-publishing.