| >Self-publishing ... PRO: You have full control over all the process really. This is one of the best things I like about self publishing. I am not restricted by guidelines set by a publisher regarding chapter structure, images, exercises, etc. I can give away free copies, put up free web versions, share source code, etc. And recently I've tried sharing content chapter wise as I write the books. >Traditional publishing ... PRO: You have professional editors looking over your draft. I miss this aspect of traditional publishing the most. Also applies to quality of the ebook (formatting, cover, etc) produced. >The hard part is editing and revising it so that your draft becomes something that is good enough to share. I actually like the editing and revising part. It's somewhat like bug hunting and feels good to squash them. Creating the first draft has been more difficult for me, since it takes time to organize my thoughts about what I should put in, reading documents, researching ideas etc. When I'm editing, most things are already in place and easier to keep myself occupied with smaller list of tasks. |
Honestly, this is probably overstated. My experience is that, yes, you have professional editors but it's mostly about pushing the book into a certain house style. I'm admittedly an experienced writer but there weren't really a lot substantive changes/restructuring in my case. To be clear, the edits were helpful and things were certainly caught but it's nothing you can't hire for on your own.
IMO, perhaps the biggest benefit is that going with a known tech publisher provides, fairly or not, a certain "gravitas" that a self-published book doesn't.