Publishing in 2025
Things Are Always Changing
Just last week, Jane Friedman came out with her 2025 “Key Book Publishing Paths” graphic. She permits sharing so here’s the link, and you can see the image of page 1 below (it’s now a two-page pdf). It’s a useful tool and she’s expanded it this year with even more information on the options open to authors.
What’s struck me is how many new paths there are out there that authors can take, that may (or may not) be more lucrative or self-satisfying than traditional publishing: hybrid, for example, which is gaining traction.
The attractive draw of traditional publishing has always been two-fold: status and/or cache; and, done-for-you. Your mom/friend/neighbor has probably heard of Penguin, or Simon & Schuster (oh, the luster!), and they will be able to find your book in the neighborhood bookstore (oh, the fun!). Your cover art, interior layout, editing, copyediting, distribution, marketing (to a point) are all taken care of by the publishing house.
But from personal experience, traditional publishing is not a path to wealth. For a traditionally published author to truly make any money you must:
Write a lot of books (I’ve written 13 and it’s not making me rich)
Win big awards and/or write a bestseller (one in a million)
And if your books don’t sell well, why, the trad publishers will back away – even when the fault lies with poor marketing/publicity on their end, which is, sadly, becoming common.
The Author’s Dilemma
Further muddying the waters is what happens when trends die before you can finish the book you think will hit the mark, and especially when you publish traditionally which takes forever. Right now, middle grade is in a sales slump. Two months ago, YA romantasy was hot as a firecracker.
Who knows what will happen in 2026, 2027, etc.?
So the First Rule of Author Club is: write the book of your heart and pay no attention to trends.
The Second Rule is to pay attention to alternatives to publishing paths you think you know, and find the best path for you in your publishing journey.
And in that vein I recommend reading this post by Brooke Warner on hybrid publishing.
Maybe traditional publishing is the way you want to go. It’s what I’ve done (so far) because it was really the only option open to me when I began this weird career. But I am looking hard at taking my next slightly out-of-the-box and genre romance book indie. Even harder because I saw a fellow author’s recent stats that showed clearly how much more income can be made on an indie-published genre book than on a traditionally published genre book (or on any book at all, honestly).
Here's the Thought
First, decide whether what you are writing fits better in a traditional format, or an indie format, or... If you are writing genre fiction (fantasy, science fiction, and especially romance), indie might be better than trad. Even younger readers, as long as they can get their hands on a hard copy, are a target for indie.
Second, decide whether the clout you gain from traditional publishing is worth the lower revenue.
Third, decide whether you have what it takes to do your own marketing, distribution, possibly even printing should you decide to go indie.
Fourth, hybrid is up-front expensive, but will give you the done-for-you thing if you so desire, and a better ROI than trad, and so is an option to consider.
There’s no one right way any longer, and I encourage all you writers out there to look at all the options carefully. And as always - be wary of fast fixes, look under the hood, don’t be bullied into any one “best way”.
Coming This Month!
Starting very soon…I’ll be posting my new craft/publishing for young readers book bit by bit behind a paywall here. I’ll let you know more as soon as the hammer drops! Of course, I’ll also still provide you with tidbits up front and for free cause that’s the way I roll.
I do hope you’ll pick up a copy of MYSTERY OF MYSTIC MOUNTAIN here ….or here. A super fun mystery/treasure hunt/friendship/family/ghostly story set in Yellowstone Country, perfect for your middle grade reader and up.
As always…write on!!
I laughed when this post dinged at 2 AM EST, apparently you and my dog were both up and busy! Everything about this post was helpful to me. I’d seen Jane’s post and that was helpful too. As a first timer, after years of writing and studying craft—but only dipping my toe in the querying waters, I’ve been stuck. I know I can promote my MG book, I’ve traveled and taught teachers, kids and their parents about writing. But I felt guilty considering the indie path. Now it doesn’t seem like a cop out—most of my writing partners are doing so successfully. You reinforced that for me—and with such clarity. Thank you!