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When a book is finally
done, there are two major options that you can choose. There is the traditional
publishing, which is what I am talking about today, or self-publishing which I
will cover in a later post. Both are viable options but I will be going through
the pros and cons for both options.
Traditional publishing
takes time. Instead of being able to publish your book in a couple of hours on
Amazon, it can take years to get your book on the shelves. What is boils down
to, is that this way of publishing can be difficult at first but is easier in
the long run, whereas self-publishing is easy to accomplish but hard to get
successful with.
To go this route you
first have to get a literary agent. You have to send query letters with samples
of your writing and they have to choose to represent you. Different agents will
have different expectations and requirements. Some will want to work close with
you to perfection your book while another might just be interested in the
business side of it. But before they decide to represent your book, they have
to find it in the “slush pile” which is a term for the thousands of submissions
they probably receive weekly. After you send your submission it could take
anywhere from a couple of weeks to six months to hear back from them. Then they
might request a full manuscript and decide whether they like it. It then
becomes their job to sell your novel to a publishing house. Even after you sign
a deal with a publishing house you might have to wait another six months to a
year before it actually hits shelves. Therefore you could look at a couple
years after you’ve finished your book to finally get it published.
But once you get a deal
with a publishing house there will be a great team of professionals to help you
edit your book, design the cover, and all the other details associated with
getting a book ready. Even if you go the self-publishing route these are still
necessary to do before you publish your book. The only difference here is that
you now have to pay all the costs of getting a professional editor to take a
look at your book, and maybe buy a piece of art online as your cover.
On the other hand, when
the deal is made with a publishing house, you have lost some control of your
book. The editors might have creative licence to make changes to your book
whether it is to remove a character or theme, or add something else in.
Depending who you are working with this might depend, but for the most part they
own your book. It belongs to them for the full life of copyright which is the
lifetime of the author plus seventy years. You might be able to work out a deal
later to get it back but it will essentially no longer be yours.
The publishing house will
aid you in marketing to some respect but the vast majority of it will still be
up to you. They will give you benefits that you couldn’t get on your own such
as print distribution to bookstores, and national coverage. I have heard that
most libraries will not carry self-published books either, and schools won’t
encourage students to read them. There is a sense of validation that comes with
being traditionally published.
Finally, the most important
aspect of all of this is the money you will earn. An author will usually get an
advance once the book has been sold. For new authors this will be around ten
thousand dollars. Then they will earn royalties on the books sold. This can
range from seven to twenty five percent of cover price. But you won’t start
getting money for royalties until you have made more than your advance. So if you
were paid ten thousand dollars, you won’t begin to earn royalties until the
royalties you have already made has reached ten thousand dollars. Royalties are
only paid two times a year so you will have to wait six months between
paychecks.
I have heard that
sometimes deals will be made so an author will receive a lower advance in
return for higher royalties. None of these numbers are set in stone as
publishing deals will always vary depending on your book and your agent.
But one thing I want to
stress is that self-publishing is a valid option and you don’t need the
validation of a literary agent or a publishing house to prove that you have written
a real book. There are many people who have been successful going the
self-publishing route though it is rarer. But if your book is fantastic it won’t
matter how you publish it because people will love it in whatever form it is.
There are instances where people have self-published only to traditionally
publish that book after they have received a lot of success.
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