Decide between traditional publishing and self-publishing my novel
A clear comparison of traditional publishing, self-publishing, and small presses based on your goals, budget, and timeline, with next steps.
The prompt
Help me decide how to publish my novel. This is step 6 of writing my novel.
Manuscript status (from step 5, if I have it): [e.g. "revised after beta readers, 90,000 words"]
Genre: [GENRE - it affects which path works best]
My goals: [rank: bookstore presence, creative control, income, speed, prestige, reaching readers, a long-term career]
Budget I could invest: [AMOUNT for editing, cover, marketing]
Time I can spend on marketing: [HOURS PER WEEK]
Platform or audience I already have: [newsletter, social following, none]
Timeline: [when I'd like the book out]
Do this:
1. Compare traditional publishing (with an agent), small or independent presses, and self-publishing on: upfront costs, who pays for editing, cover, and marketing, typical time to publication, creative control, rights, how and when I get paid, and bookstore and library reach. Mark any figures as typical ranges, not promises.
2. Explain how my genre affects the choice.
3. Warn me about vanity presses and "hybrid" publishers that charge authors large fees, with a checklist to vet any publisher or service (legitimate agents don't charge reading fees).
4. Recommend a path, or a sequence (e.g. query agents for 6-12 months, then self-publish), with the reasoning.
5. Give me the next 5 concrete steps for the path I choose and a rough budget.
This is general information; have a qualified professional, such as a publishing attorney or the Authors Guild, review any contract before I sign.
Highlighted [brackets] are blanks to replace with your own details.
Fill in the blanks and use this promptMore Thinking & Decisions prompts
What to fill in
- e.g. "revised after beta readers, 90,000 words"
- GENRE - it affects which path works best
- AMOUNT for editing, cover, marketing
- HOURS PER WEEK
- newsletter, social following, none
- when I'd like the book out
How this prompt is built
This prompt follows the Few-Shot structure (Few-shot prompting). A few-shot prompt includes one or more worked examples of the input and the output you want, so the model can copy the pattern instead of guessing it.
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