COPYRIGHT 2014 AUTHORS PUBLISH MAGAZINE – ALL RIGHT RESERVED DO NOT DISTRIBUTE QUESTIONS? EMAIL [email protected] http://www.authorspublish.com/how-to-publish-your-book/ How to Publish Your Book! A Practical Guide to the Publishing World By M.J. Moores Authors Publish Introduction ............................................................................ 7 Informed Decision Making ...................................................... 9 TESTING THE WATERS ........................................................... 13 REady for Publication? .......................................................... 19 Literary Agents & Lawyers .................................................... 26 Traditional Publishers ........................................................... 33 Large Publishers .................................................................... 35 Small Publishers .................................................................... 39 Subsidy Publishing ................................................................ 43 Vanity Publishing .................................................................. 44 Assisted Publishing ............................................................... 46 Self-Publishing: DIY ............................................................... 52 Free Presses .......................................................................... 54 Owning Your Own Imprint .................................................... 59 TAKING THE PLUNGE ............................................................ 69 RESOURCES ........................................................................... 71 7 INTRODUCTION One of the most daunting decisions a new author can face is what to do with his or her manuscript once it is ready for publication. Knowing more about the publishing industry will help you create an effective plan and set realistic goals for your future writing career – be it full time, part time or occasional. Making the decision to publish is no easy feat. There are many factors to consider, the least of which being how much money you want to spend on this endeavour. Not everyone works well on a budget, but if you’re at least aware of when and why you’ll need to spend money on your journey to publication, then you’ll be prepared for the hurdles yet to come. One of the biggest hurdles to overcome is understanding 8 where to start: agent, small publisher, or self-publishing and learning whether or not your book is as ready as you hope it is in order to take that leap of faith. This eBook will introduce you to the various methods of publishing available for consideration. We will also help you reflect on your needs and desires as a writer, so you can match them to the right option for you. The “dream of publishing” is broken down into digestible portions to help you feel satisfied with the answer to your question, “Where do I go from here?” 9 INFORMED DECISION MAKING Once you have made the decision to publish, you need to decide why you want to be published: • For myself • For my friends & family • For fun • For profit • For the world For Myself Perhaps your manuscript or story is a memoir, an annotated cookbook of your grandmother’s favorite recipes, a book of poems you’ve been working on since high school, or any number of similar projects. Namely, the book is highly personal and you really only want to have a few copies printed. Essentially, this is a keep-sake item that is important to have preserved. 10 For my Friends & Family You feel proud of your manuscript and want to share it with others but this is not something you expect or anticipate going beyond those who love and care about you the most. You are not interested in making money or being famous or even having strangers read what you’ve written, but it is important to you to have it published. For Fun It doesn’t matter if you’re young, old, or somewhere in between, writing is fun and can be highly addictive. You may be an avid writer or have just finished your first novel. Either way, you want to celebrate this accomplishment and simply find a way to share it with others – no strings attached. For Profit You have created a book that you feel is a contender in today’s literary marketplace. Whether it is fiction or non- fiction, you either know for certain or feel it in your gut that people will want to buy your book as soon as they 11 learn about it. Now, it’s just a matter of figuring out the best way of making it available for mass production and reaching your target audience. For the World For you, the idea of getting your writing out there for anyone to enjoy and/or learn from is your driving force. It would be fantastic to make some money from sales of your book, but you know the realities of making a living writing and have a realistic opinion about quitting your day job for this new endeavour. As you learn about the different publishing options available, you’ll begin to see which ones make the most sense for your personal outlook and goals. Consider also the time commitment involved in each of the following publishing options. You may like the idea of one approach, but know that doing it on your own won’t work for your lifestyle. On the flip side, you may find that prestige is not your motivating factor but putting together a top product to honor your 12 writing and your work is, and having complete control over the publishing process fits perfectly with your ideals. No matter what, keep an open mind and weigh your choices as an informed writer. 13 TESTING THE WATERS Not everyone wants to be recognized as a novelist or non- fiction book writer right from the start. Many of us pick up a pen or begin typing because we have something to say or want to share. Often the idea of being published comes after a piece is written and you feel that rush of accomplishment. There are a number of resources available as alternative publication options for the casual writer, author in search of a larger community of support, or author looking to building a personal portfolio/platform: • Blogs (personal, guest, book) • Online Writing Communities • Crowd Funding Platforms 14 • Literary Journals & Magazines Blogs You might not naturally think about blogs this way, but blogging is often a form of self-publishing. When you submit an article, write a guest blog for someone, post one of your poems or short stories on your own or someone else’s website you are making your writing available to the public at large. The same goes for the ever popular blogging-a-book. This tends to happen more with non-fiction and memoir but many new and emerging writers are attracted to the idea of sharing their work as they develop it, getting “real time” feedback from the very people interested in eventually buying it and effectively testing the waters. But be forewarned – if you plan on submitting any content you’ve already posted online to a traditional publisher, literary journal or magazine they will likely not accept it unless you have a large following of readers and/or intend to put a new or additional spin on the work. You have 15 “published” it after all, and they need to be certain that you haven’t exhausted your niche market. Online Writing Communities If you like the idea of building a fan-base, interacting with other authors in your preferred genre(s), and getting feedback on your work as you develop it (and show it off when it’s done) then perhaps a writing community is the best fit for you. There are any number of online communities where you can share your work, get feedback, and submit final content for various considerations, so it’s really just a matter of doing a web search with your genre and “writing community” to see what’s out there. Some of the more frequented communities are Wattpad, ABCTales, Authonomy, and Figment. In these options you are usually able to complete a profile page (to various degrees), upload your WIP (works in progress), ask for and give feedback. If you participate on a regular basis you can really build your portfolio and that can sometimes help down the road if you decide to make the leap into a bigger publishing venue 16 – you already have a body of work you can refer to. Crowd Funding Platforms One way to get funding for your writing projects is to utilize crowd sourcing. I have seen authors set a modest goal of a few hundred dollars to help them with publicizing their soon-to-be launched self-published book, all the way up to thousands of dollars for graphic novels with authors committed to getting endorsements and contributions from well-known artists as well as needing money for the fundamentals of self-publishing. Kickstarter and Indiegogo are two of the biggest names out there for crowd sourcing on any platform: art, music, writing, inventions, gaming, etc. Basically, you build up a profile for your project, set different levels of monetary contribution, a total goal for your budget, what the money will go toward should you reach those goals, and how you will repay those who have donated to your campaign (usually a signed copy of the book and an acknowledgement in your book, among other things). Then you set a timeline to reach this goal, give your 17 prospective fan-base a taste or more of your work and see where it all takes you. CrowdScribed is a type of self-publisher that offers writers the benefits of a writing and reading community interested in helping new and emerging authors get the right start. You have two basic options to choose from: go through their program, hit your goals and be guaranteed a publishing contract (either by their imprint or a small publishing house), or go through their program, hit your goals, take your money and run (publish elsewhere). Literary Journals & Magazines If you’re interested in starting out small with your official publishing credentials, consider submitting short stories and poetry to various literary journals and magazines. This is not necessarily an easy market to break into, but if you’re passionate about writing shorter stories (fiction or non- fiction, poetic or not) and would like to build up your portfolio and/or author platform then this is a great place to start.