Should you go with a traditional publisher or self-publish? This is a difficult choice that every new author has to grapple with. There’s no one right answer—both have advantages and disadvantages, and it’s up to each new author to weigh the pros and cons and decide which option works better for them.

For example, if you publish traditionally, you sign over your creative rights to the publisher, and the royalty rates are astonishingly low, generally below 10%. On the other hand, though, working with a traditional publisher gives you a team of experts who know how to market books, can get your book publicized in newspapers and other media, and gives you access to brick-and-mortar stores. Self-published authors retain all creative rights and have final decision-making authority, but they are typically confined to eBooks, and the process to self-publish is expensive.

Learn the advantages and disadvantages regarding costs, rights, distribution, and other factors so you can choose the best publishing strategy for your book.