The 2014 Digital Book World and Writer’s Digest conducted a survey to determine how self-published authors differ from traditionally published authors and hybrid writers. The results are here, and reveal some interesting points.

–Self-pub authors and hybrid authors thought a book’s quality will be the same no matter what route they took, while traditionally published writers felt it much more likely to happen with a heritage publisher. The reality is that self-pub authors can achieve the same quality if they put together a team of editors and designers that are professionals.

–Distribution was thought to be much broader across the board from traditional publishers. This still reflects the inability of self-pub books to achieve widespread print distribution through bookstores.

–Authors felt it equally likely that marketing efforts could be at least equal to publishing houses, that it was somewhat more likely to be better with a heritage house, and that it might be the same either way. This reflects the necessity of self-pub authors and traditionally published books to be marketed by the authors themselves. Finances are the real issue here, and often self-pub books don’t have the same numbers behind them. Keep in mind that creative efforts can trump investments with digital efforts.