Aspiring Authors Beware
When I meet people and they find out I’m an author, they sometimes respond with, “I/my husband/my child/my sister/my friend wants to write a book!” There are a lot of aspiring authors out there, which is wonderful. Only a small percentage of the people who want to write a book will complete a book. But for those . . . . What to do with it once the book is finished? How to get it published and make it available to readers?
In this post, I’m providing an overview of the three routes to publication I’d recommend. And the one route I advise aspiring authors to AVOID.
I recommend:
Traditional Publisher
In this case, a large publishing house enters into a contract with you to publish your book. They pay you an advance once the contract is signed. After the book is published you will hopefully “earn out” your advance through royalties. If so, they’ll then pay you via royalty checks based on the sales of your book.
Pros: They handle a lot of the heavy lifting–editing, cover design, formatting, distribution, marketing, etc. They take on the expense of those things. They’re experienced and will guide you through the process. They distribute your book widely–bookstores, libraries, and more.
Cons: You sign over the rights. It is hard to break into traditional publishing and challenging to understand the process of breaking in. The process involves querying literary agents and then, once you find one of those, your agent will submit your work to editors. If you’re offered a contract you’ll likely not have much control over the cover, the marketing plan, or how much of a “push” (or lack thereof) they give your book. The percentage you earn on every book sold is small. [For a real-life example of that, check out this post I wrote.]
Small Press
In this case, a small publisher enters into a contract with you to publish your book. They may pay you a modest advance or they may not. Same as above regarding royalties.
Pros: They also handle a lot of the heavy lifting and take on the expense of publishing your book. They’re experienced and will guide you through the process.
Cons: You sign over the rights. It’s easier to secure a contract with a small press than a traditional publisher, but the process of breaking in is still challenging to understand. Their budget is less than that of a traditional publisher so they’ll be spending less on your cover, distribution, marketing, etc. You may not have much control. The percentage you earn on every book sold might not be as small as with a traditional publisher, but profit will still be divided between you and the publisher. Your book may not be distributed as widely as with a traditional publisher, so you many not sell many copies (or end up making much money).
Independent Publishing
In this case, you publish your book yourself.
Pros: You keep the rights to your book. You keep all the profit. You have full control over every aspect of publishing.
Cons: You spend your own money on editing, cover, formatting, etc. It’s challenging to learn the process of indie publishing. You won’t have a publisher to guide you through the process or to assist you in getting your book noticed, finding readers, and making sales.
I advise you to avoid:
Vanity Press
In this case, a publisher charges you at the start to publish your book.
Pros: The process is not challenging to understand. They will help guide you through the process.
Cons: You sign over the rights. It’s expensive, in some cases very expensive (thousands and thousands of dollars). You may not have much control. You might never earn back in royalties the amount you paid them.
In the past month, I’ve been in communication with one author who is publishing with a vanity press. And one who reached out to me while in conversation with a vanity press about her book.
Based on all my years of conversations with fellow writers I know that a lot of authors are intimidated by the traditional or small press publishing routes because they come with a learning curve and because it’s difficult to receive a contract. Other authors are intimidated by indie publishing because it, too, comes with a learning curve. And if they publish independently they won’t have a partner to support them.
I get it! I do. These things are intimidating. But as someone who has persisted through both the traditional and independent publishing routes, I’m here to tell you (and/or your loved ones who dream of publishing a book) that IT CAN BE DONE. It can!
Like anything, you start out as a beginner. And you gradually learn.
If you go with a vanity press, please don’t go that route because you’re daunted by the other routes or because you don’t know about the other routes available to you.
If you’re drawn toward traditional or small press publishing, here’s a post I wrote containing some suggestions. If you’re drawn toward independent publishing, the Kindlepreneur site it full of resources and is a great place to begin educating yourself. If you have specific questions, feel free to email me here! Or leave a question below. I want the best for all those who dream of writing and publishing a book.
Authors/readers, do you have anything to add? Additional experiences or information or insights to share?
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Fabulous post! Maybe it’s because I’m finally at this stage-tons of rewrites, professionally edited …. And shocked to learn most of the authors I love to read are indie. Oddly drawn to it now BUT rapid release seems to be the way. Many short stories published to build reputation, then shorter books that can come out in consistent frequency, THEN the large duology seems to be the best process for gaining a following. It’s because of authors like YOU that aspiring ones have confidence to carry on. God bless you.
God bless YOU, Susan! And congrats on the hard work you’ve put in that has brought you to this stage. You mentioned that “rapid release seems to be the way” and my answer is this…. It very well could be for some. Just like there’s no one right way to write a book, I believe there’s no one right way to publish or market a book. Instead, what’s important is to find the way that works for you. In my case, I do not rapid release. I write one book a year like I always have. Would getting books out closer together (whether traditionally published or indie published) result in more income per year? Yes, most likely. But that way is not for me.
It would be easier if there WAS one best path because figuring out the answer to “How should I launch my indie author career?” is very tricky. It will likely require trial and error. Mistakes. Course-corrections. Research. Trying something different. Trying something else. Continuing to write and publish. Attempting advertising. Measuring the results of different marketing tactics. And on and on. The good news with indie is that the release period isn’t the first month or two. It’s the first year or two. So, if at first a book doesn’t gain traction right away, you still have lots of time in which to try new strategies. And if you write in series, you can expect good things once all the books in the series are available.
All my encouragement to you!
Great advice, Becky. One thing I’ll add about vanity publishers is that they can be wolves in sheep’s clothing. They flatter authors about their submissions and make big promises about what they will provide. Many authors who are weary from rejections feel like they’ve finally found the right publisher. My own mother recently had such an experience, but thankfully, she read her contract very carefully and noticed several red flags. When she came to me, I strongly advised her against signing and we dodged that bullet. Authors are dreamers, and when someone seems to be supporting that dream it can be so easy to be swept up in the emotion of the moment and not examine the fine print.
I agree with the above 100%! Thanks for sharing that, Karen.
For anyone who is writing for the Christian market and wants to consider a traditional publishing route, https://writersedgeservice.com/ offers a review process that costs $99. For that payment, they will review information you provide about your book. If they accept it, they will include a blurb about it in a monthly newsletter they provide to Christian publishers. If they don’t accept it, they will give you an honest critique which can help you improve your project. I went through this process several years ago for the ONE book I had published. Writer’s Edge Service accepted my project and I ended up with three inquiries and two contract offers. My book was a nonfiction devotional, but they also offer this service for fiction.
I advise all new authors to make sure you have an author Bookbub account, an author Goodreads account as well as a website so readers as well as email the website Ereaderiq.com (a free price tracker website for kindle books in the Us and UK)to make sure your book is listed in the website so you can be followed by readers when your book has a sale. Set all this up when you have a firm release date.
Thanks for those suggestions!
Becky
You are absolutely right that any publisher who takes your rights AND makes you pay for publishing is best avoided. However, you’ve missed another option; publishers who allow you to keep your rights in full, partner you through the self-publishing process, provide the key services as a single-point-of-payment package, and give you the benefit of a publisher’s imprint and ISBN on your book.These publishers are selective – i.e. they don’t just take your money, but only want to work with you and publish the book under their imprint if they think it is (or can be brought up to) their quality standard.
These are not vanity publishers, but provide exactly the kind of support a first-time indy author can really benefit from, and because they have experience and contacts, can often save new authors time and money by avoiding potential mistakes.
Jonathan
I’m interested to learn more about this route! How does this publisher make money? Via the single point-of-payment package? Or also via a percentage of royalties? Can you please provide the names of a few of these publishers?
I actually run a company that works on the model I have described. You are correct; we make money by adding a small commission to the services like editing, cover design, formatting, proofing etc, and also by a small commission on the royalties. The service commission covers our time – for example briefing a cover designer and curating design proposals so the author gets the benefit of our expertise. The commission on royalties gives us ‘skin in the game’, so we have an interest in helping the author market the book. We pay royalties monthly less commission, with a full breakdown of sales made in the previous month, and as we work on the self-publishing model, the author has final approval on all creative elements of the publication.
My company is Winter & Drew Publishing Ltd, and other publishers in this space are such as Cranthorpe Millner, Rowanvale Books, The Self-Publishing Partnership and Swatt Books.
I really appreciate that information! Seeing as how the income from a book flows through your company on the way to the author, does the author have access to her book’s KDP dashboard (and the author platforms at the other booksellers)?
No – only the publisher has the access to the book’s stats on the KDP dashboard. I know from my own book sales how important it is for an author to get up-to-date stats, so I make sure the authors get sales statements and royalty payments on their book’s eBook, print and KU sales (and any Ingram Spark retail sales) every month. Given that Amazon pays on 60 days and Ingram on 90 days, I realise I am funding the author’s payments ahead of receiving the money in from the platforms! But I feel that’s worth it to provide the authors with as close to a self-publishing experience as possible.
Great post, Becky. I receive similar comments/questions from people I meet as well. Will send them to this post in the future!