Charlie Hoehn shares his standard advice to aspiring authors regarding whether to seek a traditional publishing deal or self-publish.
Opinion
Hoehn: Traditional publishing prevents authors from iterating on their books
“One of the reasons that I am reluctant to advocate for the traditional publishing process is, Like, your book is set in stone there. You might, if you're lucky, get a ten-year update, you know, the ten-year anniversary, but you're not going to touch that book …”
Insight
Authors Should Reject Traditional Publishing Deals Under $100,000
“If you can get a publisher to give you a 100,000 dollar advance or more, you should probably do it. I mean, if you have millions of followers, a hundred thousand's not enough, but, like, you get the general concept. You want them to have enough skin in the gam…”
What-if
James Clear Lost Roughly 3x Per Copy Traditionally Publishing 'Atomic Habits'
“I remember talking to James Clear and we were talking about how much he would have made had he gone the self-publishing route with Atomic Habits, and I did the math, and it was like, ah, it's about three X more per copy.”
Insight
Hoehn: Inexperienced first-time authors face higher risks self-publishing
“If it's your first go-round as an author and you don't know what you're doing, the likelihood that you'll step on a landmine that hurts your book during the self-publishing process is even higher than if you're working with a traditional publisher.”
Insight
Hoehn: Cheap Generalist Designers Always Produce Unremarkable Book Covers
“A lot of self-published authors are like, I'll go to Upwork, or I'll hit up my designer friend who puts together PowerPoints, and I'll pay them 500 bucks. And it always results in something unremarkable. You have to pay an artist, a book-covered designer speci…”
Insight
Hoehn: Authors should not write prose before solidifying table of contents
“You should not write a word Until you have solidified your table of contents. And your table of contents is the thing. It is the structure, the makeup, the foundation of your book.”