Well, you have written your novel, collection of stories, or a sheath of poems. Now what?

Do you want to keep saying to friends and anyone that you are “writing a book?” Is it starting to annoy you as well as them? Now that you have decided you’re done, do you print a copy for all your relatives and call it quits? Do you publish? If you want to go through the rigors of publishing, have a concrete plan. Pie in the sky is just that.

What is your objective – cover publishing costs, make money, impress your partner or your old English teacher? If you have not gone through that process while pouring all your spare time and emotions into your manuscript, find a quiet place, open a beverage of your choice, and write down your answers to these questions and the others that pop into your head.

As writers, we may have friends who have gone down this road and can consult you, but likely not. So, you are alone (as a writer often is with his craft) to wallow through the issues. This musing intends to help you begin or take you through some final decisions regarding the publishing dilemmas. My comments are based on my experiences and my education. Take them as a primer, not a bible. Some of this will be old hat. But you are reading this because, despite your knowledge, you haven’t pulled the trigger. Mount up.

The Woo Hoo of Self-Publishing

Rather than list negatives for self-publishing, let’s begin with some positives you may lose if you work with a large or small publishing house. Let’s assume you have the emotional structure to endure the pitfalls of any publishing effort and the drive to take the risk.

Self-publishing has changed from a looked down upon enterprise to one thousands of writers now embrace as credible. When people pick up a book, do they look to see if Random House published it to determine if they are interested at all? Nay, I say. A reader in a bookstore usually heads for their favorite genre. They look at the front and back covers. They read the blurb on the inside flap and then decide whether to browse the pages.

When you self-publish, the control of the cover art and the summary on the inside flap are under your control. This issue of self-control defines the reason people choose to do it themselves.

The decisions for paper choices and interior appearance are all yours. Paperback or hardback, dust cover or not, and trim size or outer dimensions are all controlled by you. Your taste drives all of these and other printing decisions. They are extensions of your writing style.

Another positive is controlling the manner of printing—on-demand, digital, or off-set, among others. This choice is a matter of your book goals and your monetary intentions.

If you want to improve your manuscript and get a professional set of eyes to help elevate the quality of your writing, editors are available for hire. The revisions are in your control.

Getting your book into the marketplace may be a particular interest/challenge you accept. Amazon and Ingraham, for instance, can handle the storage, sales, and delivery. They get a piece. That cost is built into the price of your book. No sweat. If you want to take orders, package, and pay for the cost of mailing to your individual orders you may generate somehow, have at it. For me, that would be a huge negative.

Let’s say it is you recoup your costs at a clip that encourages you to reprint. Bingo, that is your choice. No one else decides if that can occur or not. Small and big publishers may become disenchanted with the level of sales, and you are out. Now, what do you do? You want to continue, but you may not own the rights to your book. You may not be allowed to reprint and market it yourself—end of the road, buster.

You may decide a writer’s website will elevate your stature in the eyes of the public or retailer and help them see you are for real. Besides, there is a certain amount of fun in designing one yourself. For the best result, you might feel a professional is warranted. Either way, the pride of having an attractive website that promotes you as a writer is immeasurable.

The negatives are self-funding the project, finding the best way to market, convincing local brick-and-mortar retailers to carry the book, and the time to do all these activities.

I have recommendations for an editor, marketer, website creator, and book designer

Click here for that information on Twin Feathers Ink.

 

Whoops. What Happened to My Darling One?

There are significant positives and negatives if you choose not to self-publish.

Small publishers are flourishing at the moment. They have the means to market, distribute, and promote your book, but their financial resources limit them. Does your book fit their focus, or will you fall through the cracks with few sales, and nothing will happen? Then, they lose interest. Small houses are more approachable than big ones, so you should be able to talk with someone about your concerns.

Your small publisher choice may need to be more credible in the marketplace. Sure, they are friendly folks and gaga for your book, but they have limited reach with stores and online retailers. Another issue at this publisher level is solvency, which affects fulfilling their promises.

On the other hand, when publishing with a large publisher, some dilemmas that may occur include:

Large publishers may be the apple of your eye, but good luck getting their attention without an agent. Oh, yeah, then there’s that. The large houses control your book’s editorial and design decisions and may not match your artistic vision. Oops. You’re a small fish in a huge pond filled with writers and titles. So, the chances of getting lost in the shuffle are significant, and contract terms may not be favorable regarding royalties, rights, and other considerations. And there is pressure to perform. Big houses have high sales expectations, which can put pressure and stress on the author.

Then, there is something called hybrid publishing. Egads.

Deciding the publishing approach that fits your goals is critical. Self-publishing gives the writer total control. Small publishing houses give the writer various levels of control. The big houses have all the control.