What Do You Gain (and Lose) With a Traditional Book Deal?

Apr 21, 2025

Dear Sir:

I’m delighted to present my 294,000-word novel about my life in Asheville, North Carolina. Please have patience with the first 22,000 words as they contain vital background material about my father and the Battle of Gettysburg but, trust me, it’ll get good soon.

Yours truly,

T. Wolfe

Imagine an agent or editor receiving the above letter. It’d be rejected before you could say, “Look Homeward, Angel.” Author Thomas Wolfe didn’t write that letter, but he could have. That was the length of his original 1929 manuscript, and it began with a lengthy and dull backstory that legendary editor Maxwell Perkins cut.

Boy, has traditional publishing changed. Even in the last twenty years, it’s a very different animal than it used to be due to consolidation, Covid, and increased competition.

Now that writers have more options, many are wondering if publishing with a big publisher is still a good fit. Over the next three weeks, we’ll be exploring the three modes of publishing: trad publishing (big), trad publishing (medium to small) and self-publishing and hybrid. First let’s take a look at big trad publishing:

PROS

They deliver the dream

Is there anyone more excited than debut authors after they get a book deal? So many fun rituals: posting a screenshot of the Publishers Marketplace deal on social media, sharing your success story on Querytracker, mentioning your editor in casual conversation, hosting a cover reveal, videotaping yourself opening a box of advance reader copies, seeing your book in a store, and attending your first signing.

Large publishers deliver big on the above dreams, and those experiences are a powerful incentive.

They pay book advances

Advances for authors vary widely but looking at the data, advances for debut authors fall between $5,000 to $50,000 depending on the demand for the book. I’ve gotten advances as low as $15,000, as high as $40,000 and also in-between ($25,000)

Also remember that fifteen percent of the advance goes to your agent, and your advance may be paid out in three or four installments. Even if you get a $100,000 advance, your first check on signing could be as low as $20,000. If you don’t earn that money back in sales—and only about thirty percent of authors do—the money is still yours, but you may not get another book deal.

You’re more likely to get earnings from translations, audio, and film rights

I know a debut author who earned a high six-figure deal and when her book came out it sold about 2,000 copies. But the publisher sold oodles of translation rights, some at auction, so the book was far from a failure.

If you’re with a Big 5 publisher, an audio deal is a given, and you’re more visible to film agents.

They prepare the book for publication

The publisher also pays for the book package. For my first novel, an artist was hired to render a charming small town for my cover—one that wasn’t used—but it was impressive. The interior design was adorable with a different icon at the beginning of each chapter. Three different types of editors combed it for mistakes, although a couple still slipped through.

They offer prestige and open doors

When people find out you write books, they almost always ask, “Who is your publisher?” There was a time when I couldn’t wait to say, “Simon and Schuster.” Who doesn’t enjoy a little ego massage?

If you’re a Big 5 author, you’re more likely to be invited to book festivals and other speaking gigs. Your book might be submitted to Jenna or Reese. It could also be selected for a white box mailing to all the indie bookstores or submitted for literary prizes.

You’ll get marketing support

Imagine a flash mob gathering on the steps of the New York Public Library, all holding copies of your novel. That’s what happened when Jason Mott’s The Returned came out

If the publisher is throwing marketing muscle behind your book, you might not get a flash mob, but you’ll get a taste of stardom. Likely you’ll be invited to a dog-and-pony show where you’re paraded before a host of key book buyers. And most of us wouldn’t mind a glamorous author tour, coverage in prominent magazines and newspapers, television appearances, flowers on your pub day, and much more.

But if you’re the average first-time author, the marketing is much more modest. The publisher will send your book out to trade reviewers like Kirkus and Publishers Weekly. They’ll also send out advance readers copies, and some press releases. Maybe they’ll spring for a Goodreads Giveaway. The rest of the marketing duties will fall on the author’s shoulders. Even some established authors are paying for their own book tours and publicists.

They handle retail placement and library buys

It’s thrilling when someone across the country spots your book “in the wild” and shares the photo with you, and if you’re traveling, you can visit bookstores and offer to sign the books they have in stock. And who doesn’t get a little swoony when they spot their book on the shelf at their local library?

It’s hard to beat the Big 5’s distribution team. Your books will appear in all the online book retail sites and, depending on the efforts of the publisher’s sales team, in bookstores across the nation.

But sometimes distribution can be disappointing. I’ve always been an enthusiastic marketer, and I remember discussing my big plans to visit bookstores with my editor. She was awfully quiet during our chat and finally at the end of the call, I found out why: Barnes and Noble was “skipping” my novel, which meant they were ordering very few copies.

CONS

Giving up control

My very first pub day I woke up to see that my Amazon page was missing the book cover. I emailed my editor in a panic, and she said she was working on it, but it took three days to appear. I’ve also gotten some truly ugly covers in my career, and while authors can push back on the cover, it’s a battle they often lose.

Royalties statements only come out once or twice a year so it can take a while for you to know how well your book is doing. To their credit, some publishers now have sales portals which has helped with that situation.

Atmosphere of Fear

“Please pre-order my book or it might be my last!”

“My agent says if this book tanks she’s done with me.”

“My whole career is riding on this novel!”

Can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard one of the above statements from an author. A published novelist can be a fearful novelist. If your books don’t meet sales expectations, you might get one more chance or you might not. Three chances? Probably not.

What’s more, your sales record follows you everywhere. As literary agent Danielle Bukowski wrote in a recent substack: “… an author’s track record really matters to publishers. There are always exceptions, and a fantastic book at the right time can cancel out previous misgivings. But a publication history of low sales at multiple imprints can be difficult to overcome.”

Poor sales are typically out of an author’s control. Sometimes an author is orphaned, meaning the acquiring editor, who is the champion for the book, has switched to another publishing company or they’ve quit. Sometimes world events affect sales. Ask any author who published during Covid. I once had a pub date on Nov. 9, 2016. You can imagine how that worked out.

Also, publishers and agents sometimes treat authors like children, withholding bad news, discouraging their questions, and exploiting the power divide between them.

I belong to several online writer groups, and several times a week, a member will ask the group a question because, “I’m afraid to bug my agent for the answer.” Or they’ll complain about a nonresponsive editor or agent.

Limited Creative Freedom

Sara Gruen wrote a mega-selling book about an elephant. Suddenly, she was branded as a writer who writes about animals and, sure enough, her next book was about apes.

If you deviate from your brand, you usually have to take on a pen name. Also, if you’re a fast writer who can pen more than one novel a year, your publisher won’t be able to accommodate you, and a non-compete clause will likely keep you from publishing anywhere else.

It’s slower than it’s ever been

When I went on submission the first time in 2002, we heard back from every editor within two weeks. (All rejections except for one which was a revise-and-resubmit which led to a book deal.)

The last time I was on submission, it was 2023, and it took a year to hear back from two editors. The rest we never heard from. Admittedly, that’s a worse-case scenario, but I’d about dozens of authors being on-sub for a year or more.

Once the deal is made, it might take anywhere from a year to eighteen months before your pub date. Factor in the time it takes to get an agent and the whole process of submission to publication might take you three or more years.

Price point and royalties

Writers have no say-so on the price of their books, and readers who are used to Book Bub deals and other online discounters, often turn their noses up at publisher’s inflated ebook prices. (Around $14.99)

What’s more, the author’s piece of pie is typically paltry: 25% on ebooks, 10% on hardcovers and 7.5 % on paperbacks.

Bar to entry is extremely high

Anna Napolitano author of Hello Beautiful is a major success story but her road to that success was extremely rocky. Look into the past of most any bestselling author and you’re going to see many deep scratch marks on the way to the lofty heights.

Every year it gets a little harder to get a book deal because the competition increases, and the playing field is always in flux. One year, everyone is clamoring for middle-school novels for boys, the next year, the market is completely flat. To write the right novel at the right time is often a matter of luck.

Even name brand authors writing in non-trending genres are having a hard time selling as many novels as they used to. It’s sobering to see veterans charting in the middle of USA Today Bestselling lists and only moving from three to five thousand units during their first week.

How to swim with the sharks

So what does all this mean for a pre-pubbed writer? Publishing with a larger publisher certainly has its perks, but if you want to thrive in that environment, you’ll need several things in your favor.

First, a great literary agent helps enormously. Some agents will drop you at the first wobble, and some will fiercely advocate for you. Some simply don’t have enough influence with editors and can forever ruin your book’s chances on submission. Many of my author friends who’ve endured in this business have great agents, and they’re worth every dime of their 15 percent commission. When researching agents, look for those who tend to have long-term relationships with clients.

The ability to pivot is also a key to success. Bestselling author Lisa Jewell used to write chicklit and when that market dried up, she switched to domestic thrillers. Sarah Pekkanen wrote women’s fiction and later teamed up with her editor to Greer Hendricks to write domestic thrillers.

Marketing isn’t optional. Many authors use part of their advances to invest in your future and develop relationships with readers. Keep nurturing those relationships in-between releases.

Continue to perfect your craft and always push yourself. Cultivate relationships with people who will give you honest advice. Read your reviews even the bad ones. Readers are often astute at identifying weaknesses. Three-star reviews are typically telling.

Most importantly, try not to let the inevitable disappointments decimate you. Know that most everyone experiences them. I stumbled around in a cloud of shame for years over perceived failures, and that defeatist attitude, more than anything, hurt my career.

Predictions for the future

I’m seeing a move to a creator-driven model. My analysis of recent Publishers Marketplace deals showed that platform is a big driver of fiction deals. More and more gatekeepers are tapping authors who have already found success in self-publishing, and those partnerships are typically more advantageous for the author. Publishers like Bloom and Entangled are handling paperback sales for bestselling authors. Authors Equity is designed to put established authors at the top of the pyramid.

Questions or comments? I love hearing from you.

What Do You Gain (and Lose) With a Traditional Book Deal?

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