Yesterday we presented the first in this publishing series. The topic was landing a major traditional publisher. Most authors today will not seek out agent representation or publication with a major. Most, in fact, will go the quick and easy route—hire a self-publishing (pay-to-publish) service.
Are you one of the thousands of authors who just want to get your book published as easily and quickly as possible and you fall for the sales pitch of the first friendly self-publishing company representative who contacts you? Or maybe you do your homework and carefully choose the company you want to work with.
If you decide to go the self-publishing route, please, please study your many options. There are no standards for these companies. Some offer straightforward contracts for a reasonable fee and do a good job. Others charge exorbitant fees and continue to gouge your pocketbook at every turn.
What some of you don’t know—because you didn’t bother to do your homework and study the publishing industry—is that there are other options. Besides the major publishers and the self-publishing companies, there are hundreds and hundreds of medium and small traditional publishing companies eager for a good project. Some of them specialize—they produce only young adult novels, science fiction, self-help books, or romance, for example. There are presses that publish only books on a particular malady, or books for pilots, parents, hikers, hunters, quilters, pug owners, etc. Many of these less-known publishers also accept manuscripts on a wide range of topics and in many genres.
What are the benefits of going with a small to medium-sized publishing house?
- Many of them accept queries and proposals from authors—no agent representation required.
- They don’t receive as many submissions as the larger companies, so your chances of publication are greater.
- The smaller companies are generally easy to work with.
- You still have the prestige of publishing with a traditional publisher at no cost to you.
Where can you find these publishers? There are numbers of publisher directories.
- Writer’s Market. Around $30 at most bookstores.
- Literary Market Place. Use the online directory for a fee.
- http://www.publishersglobal.com/directory
- http://www.publishersglobal.com/directory/media/book-publishers
- Locate additional directories by doing an Internet search.
Another good way to find an appropriate publisher for your book is to locate other books like yours and see who published them. Contact those publishers.
I also urge you to do an Internet search to check the reputation of any publisher you might choose. You should do this for agents, self-publishing companies, editors—anyone or any company you are considering. Here’s how to do a search: At the prompt, type in the name of the individual or company and “complaint,” “warning,” etc. If there are a lot of negative comments from a variety of people, reconsider working with this company.
For an understanding of the publishing industry and many tips, resources, and information, be sure to read Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author. Available in print here: http://www.matiljiapress.com. Also at Amazon in print, audio and formatted for Kindle.
In the next post, we’ll discuss how to choose the right publishing option.