A foot in both camps

Lilac Mills
Jul 22
4 min read

Wooden letter blocks spelling PUBLISH on a wood table, with scattered cubes around them in a clean, neutral layout.

One of the questions I'm asked quite often is whether I prefer being traditionally published or self-published.

The answer is... neither. Or perhaps more accurately, both.

I've been lucky enough to experience both sides of the publishing world, and I genuinely enjoy them for different reasons. They each have their own advantages, their own frustrations, and their own challenges. I don't see them as competitors. To me, they're simply two different ways of getting my stories into readers' hands.

Another question I’m asked is whether an author can be both indie and have a traditional publishing contract at the same time – and the answer is yes. And many authors do.

I began as an indie author and had self-published three uplifting romances before I made the decision to pitch to a trad publisher. Canelo gave me a contract and also took on my three backlist indie titles. They’ve now published over twenty of my books, with more to come.

Hand holds The Tanglewood Tea Shop by Lilac Mills, turquoise cover with striped awning, on a bed with purple pillows.

However, I had a great many stories itching to be told, so I made another executive decision, and that was to continue self-publishing alongside my trad titles, so I now write under three pen names, two of which are dedicated to self-published works.

There are advantages and disadvantages to both publishing models.

Traditional publishing gave me opportunities I wouldn't have had on my own. Working with experienced editors, talented cover designers, marketers and publicists has taught me a huge amount over the years. There's something very special about handing over a manuscript and watching a whole team transform it into a finished book. It still feels a bit magical.

Of course, there's also the waiting…

Publishing moves at its own pace. A book might be finished today but not reach readers for another year or even longer. Covers, titles, release dates and pricing are usually decisions made by the publisher. Most of the time I'm perfectly happy with that because they're experts at what they do.

But I'm also someone who likes to get on with things. Not only an I the Queen of Impatience, I like to be in control. And that's where indie publishing comes in.

When I publish independently, I'm responsible for everything. I design my own covers, arrange editing, format the files, upload the books, organise advertising and keep an eye on sales. If something needs changing, I can change it. If I want to release a book next month rather than next year, I can. It's wonderfully freeing. BUT, it's also a lot of work.

Notebook and pen beside a laptop and smartphone on a sunlit desk in a bright office workspace.

People sometimes imagine self-publishing means simply uploading a manuscript to Amazon and waiting for the royalties to roll in. I wish it were that easy. In reality, there's a great deal happening behind the scenes, and every decision rests with the author.

Sometimes that responsibility feels exciting, sometimes it feels exhausting, and often it feels quite scary. When you self-publish there is a very steep learning curve!

The financial side is very different too. With a traditional publisher, I receive a smaller royalty percentage on each book sold, and payments usually arrive only a couple of times a year, but I don't have to pay for editing, cover images (and cover design, if I wasn’t able to do this myself) production or distribution. As an indie author, the royalties are much higher and payments are generally monthly, but every cost comes out of my own pocket. Before a book earns anything, I've already invested in editing and marketing. And I continue to invest in advertising long after the book has hit the shelves. There's more potential reward with indie, but there's certainly more financial risk as well.

But the lovely thing about having a foot in both camps is that I don't have to choose one over the other. Some stories suit traditional publishing perfectly. Others are stories I'd like to bring directly to readers myself. Having both options means I can write the books I want to write rather than trying to make every story fit into a publishing model.

The two sides have taught me different lessons as well. Traditional publishing has shown me the value of teamwork. Indie publishing has made me far more aware of the business side of being an author. Together they've given me a much broader understanding of this slightly odd career I've somehow found myself in.

Occasionally people suggest that one route is somehow more ‘valid’ than the other, but I categorically don't agree! Readers don't buy a book because of the publishing route. They often don’t realise whether a book is indie or trad, anyway. They buy a book because the story appeals to them. If the characters make them laugh, cry, smile or stay up far too late turning pages, then the publishing logo on the spine doesn’t matter a jot.

Woman in a white sweater holds a colorful book titled Liz Davies The Not So Golden Oldies.

At the end of the day, I'm simply an author who loves telling stories. Sometimes those stories are published by my wonderful publishing houses and sometimes they're published by me. Either way, my hope is exactly the same every time I send a new book out into the world: that somewhere, someone curls up with it for a few happy hours and forgets everything else for a little while.

So, having a foot in both camps is possible, and it does work – for me. Whether it would work for you, is a question only you can answer.