I got up early enough to write my blog today, after all. And I thought I’d share with you one of the premises I’ll, most likely, share in my talk this morning out in Apple Valley, California. Do you know what your publishing options are? Or have you just emerged from your writing room after months or years of working on your amazing book and you don’t know where to turn? I imagine hundreds and hundreds of hopeful authors running around madly in search of a secret entrance into the wide world of publishing.
Most will turn to the Internet. Type in “publishing,” or “book publishing” or “finding a publisher,” and what comes up? Generally, first listed, are the companies that pay for the top slots in a Google, Yahoo, etc. search—AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Trafford, PublishAmerica, and so forth. Does this mean these are your best choices? Is this some sort of omen indicating that you should publish with one of these pay-to-publish (self-publishing) companies? NO!
What you should do is take time to study the publishing industry so that you understand more about it, so that you know what your publishing options are, the possible ramifications of your choices and your responsibilities as a published author.
Have you ever gone into business before? Do you know anyone who has? Most likely you did not jump in with both feet until you knew something about the industry, your customers, the suppliers/distributors and your competition. Well, while writing is a craft, publishing is a serious business and, in order to experience some measure of success, you really need to approach it as such.
Read my book and others like it: The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. This book is on sale now as I am making room for the updated version to be released by Allworth Press in February. Is the current version still of value to authors? Oh my gosh, YES! It is exactly what you need in order to learn more about the publishing industry and how to navigate it, understand more about your publishing options and how to make the right choices for you and your particular project and how to plan your marketing strategy, for example. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html
If you plan to go the pay-to-publish route, PLEASE read Mark Levine’s book, The Fine Print of Self-Publishing. He rates and ranks the most popular “self-publishing” companies and explains the contracts to you will understand them. Get the ebook version FREE when you join or renew your membership with SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) http://www.spawn.org