At a Crossroads: Traditional or Self-Publishing

After two long years of working on The Keepers, I am about to see it published. While researching, writing, editing, and proofreading this novel, I've pushed almost everything else in the world aside. Of course, fear of Covid has also kept me chained to the desk.

I am now at a crossroads. I've got the chance to take the traditional-publishing route, but I wonder if I should turn towards self-publishing instead.

I've tried both.

With my young adult novels, I took the traditional-publishing route and found just as many potholes as smooth pavement along the way. Which was why with Moonshadow, my latest published work, I turned towards the self-publishing route.

The novel is doing well, better than I'd expected.

Amazon's wide distribution has been a big bonus. When someone in Italy, England, the States or wherever, has read the book and says it opened their eyes or meant something personal to them, it was gratifying. What I didn't like was the self-promotion involved in travelling down that highway. I'm sure people get sick of seeing the posts.

Enough already!

Yet without self-promotion, the book would've come to a screeching halt.

Authors must do some self-promotion even when they are with a traditional publisher. And after signing on the dotted line, some wait two years to see their beloved work in bookstores. Two years is a long, long time. Many things can happen then. During the last two years, Covid's sisters, brothers, and uncles came to visit and stuck around!

Authors, please help!

Please tell me some pros and cons of traditional and self-publishing.