The most common question I get at my live events is “how do you publish a book?“ This is a more complicated question than it seems on the surface and deserves a long answer.
First of all, what do we mean by “publish”?
You may roll you eyes at this, but after being a professional graphic designer for years, publishing is just printing and binding some papers together. Then you try to get someone to buy it. That’s it.
But if course, we want a nice to look at product that can sit beautifully on a bookshelf and be worth buying. Most people also are looking for a company who can validate that their writing is good and can help them sell their books. This then requires an experienced editor, a good graphic designer/illustrator, and high quality printing equipment. So most people are not asking how to publish a book, but how do I get someone to publish it for me.
There are multiple paths you can choose from. Most people will want to pursue traditional publishing for for many good reasons.
First, traditional publishing has a reputation for choosing books of good writing (not always the best or most adventurous, but definitely not the poorest quality). Their approval of a book means something and make people willing to risk reading it.
Secondly, that reputation comes from having a system of good editors, good designers, and good marketers who have had hundreds of books in their careers. They know what sells.
Finally, in today’s world, traditional publishing means you get an advance of royalties. So rather than paying for the process of publishing a book, you get a check. The lower royalty percentage is balanced out by the advance for most people.
So, today, the way you get a book traditionally published is by submitting your book to agents who will then do the leg work of submitting to publishers. You can easily search the internet and find long lists of agents to submit to. Each one will want a different combination of things such as a cover letter, sample pages or chapter, summary of the book, outline, synopsis, your publishing history. Some agents are fine with you submitting to multiple people at the same time; many don’t like it. Then expect every inquiry to take months for a response. This by far the slowest method of publishing.
Is it worth it?
For many people who want a career in writing this very much worth it. If you just want to print a single title, it may not be worth the effort.
The next method of publishing is the vanity press and hybrid publishing. Both of these are considered self-publishing because you pay for it, but you are still getting a professional to publish your book. With this method, you research a company, pick a publishing package, pay them, and then send them your book. They typically include around 200 copies of your book in physical form in the fee. Almost all of them advertise that they get your book into the same stores as traditionally published books. This is mostly true. You still can’t be part of the various fairs or author events that a traditionally published author can do, but most authors don’t do those either way. Also, your book will not be in Barnes and Noble or wherever the A-listers are, but many traditionally published books are not either. Additionally, you take care of your own marketing, which traditionally published authors should do if they want to get enough sales to get published again. So, in summary, this is an expensive, but alright option, especially if you just want to publish a single title.
The final option is to do all the publishing for yourself. This has a steep learning curve and also takes some money. If you are a graphic designer or have graphic designing experience, you can do much of it yourself. I do believe everyone needs an editor who is not yourself. If you know a professional editor who is willing to do it for less, that is great. Be willing to spend money on good editing. Secondly, you must have a professional looking cover. Again, if you are a professional or know a professional, that can save you some money. Your sales will depend on how your cover looks more than anything else. Finally, once you have your manuscript edited and a good cover, find the company you will get your books printed with. I use Amazon’s KDP because it has the best upfront cost (nothing) for uploading your manuscript and good cost for author copies of small runs (less than 1000 books). Once you find your printer, format you book according to their guidelines, upload, and order prints. You control all marketing and most of the distribution, depending on your printer.
With all these publishing options, you will not be able to quit your day job. Traditional published books typically sell less than 2000 books. The advance you get ( about $10000) is supposed to be slightly more than the royalties the publisher expats you to earn so that they never have to write out a royalties check… unless it becomes a blockbuster (everyone would be happy with that), but that is unusual.
Self-published books typically sell less than 200 copies in its lifetime. The authors of these books get a bigger percentage of the royalties, but you are still looking at less than a thousand dollars.
So, is it only to big name authors who make a living at it?
No. Anyone can make a living being an author, but it is much more than getting a single book published. Often writers are promoting their books at in-person event, publishing shorter prices, going on speaking engagements, and even teaching classes. Some authors are able to promote their books well enough to make a steady income from their writing.
So, Pursue your dream of publishing, but don’t expect it to make you rich. Also, just having your book on Amazon does not guarantee any sales at all. Getting your book published and getting your book read are too very different things. I will cover marketing your book in a future post. If you have any questions or any advice to add, please comment below.
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