Insider secrets to publishing: Should I seek a publisher or self-publish? A quick guide.

Most authors who desire to publish their book are uncertain of the best process to do so and usually have misunderstandings about how it all works. There are so many things to learn! Thus, many authors would rather pay someone to handle the actual tasks of cover design, interior layout, marketing, etc. and focus their time and energy on writing. After all, there is only so much time in a day! Even if you fall into this category, it is still helpful to have an understanding about the mechanics of publishing a book, so you can make informed decisions, spend your money wisely, and not fall for one of the many scams aimed at authors.

Unfortunately, many companies have found ways to exploit first-time authors who long to be published. It has become a prolific and lucrative industry, as organizations take advantage of the anxious newcomers. Be VERY careful about companies which promote themselves as “self-publishing” companies. Make certain you know exactly what you are paying for and getting for any services you are purchasing.

Although there are always new methods companies use to cleverly trick hopeful authors, this article will help enlighten you on the various elements of publishing and how to spot the new approaches of scammers. Be aware, given the high-dollar potential that companies can glean from first-time authors, there are always new methods being devised to take advantage of people. Make sure to research, read reviews, and proceed with caution!

Publishing

Let’s investigate this concept further. The term publishing simply means to make your manuscript available for the public to view, this can be print, eBook, or audio. ANYONE can publish their own book! With the ease of today’s technology, it is not difficult to make your book available to the public and it can be done affordably with places like Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing or Smashwords.

Regardless of the type of publishing (i.e. traditional, self, vanity) there are costs associated with getting your book off the computer and into the published market. There will also be costs for editing and/or design. Additional expenses include: marketing costs, shipping, distribution, and commissions. Each publisher or author will have to pay these in some manner regardless of the publishing method.

Traditional Publishing

So, what is the difference between self-publishing vs traditional publishing? Traditional publishers are willing to take a financial risk with a manuscript they have chosen. They will never ask for any financial contribution from the author. Traditional publishers pay YOU for the rights for the intellectual property, in other words, your book. Getting a book properly designed, laid out, printed, and effectively marketed requires large sums of money, with the largest expense being marketing. This is also why it is incredibly difficult for a first-time author to get a book deal with a major company. The publisher must believe their risk is worth the investment and the book will sell in large enough quantities to make a profit.

How does one go about getting traditionally published? First, you must first submit a query letter with your manuscript. However, it is quite difficult to get the attention from a traditional publisher via an unsolicited manuscript. Less than one percent of these submissions will ever see a real agent, since a majority of them will be reviewed by an intern-level employee. If your manuscript actually gets to the next level, it will be reviewed by an editor and he/she will determine if the company plans to offer you a deal.

The publisher will likely buy the rights to your book, and you will receive royalties on its sales, as well as an advance on anticipated sales. Every publishing house has different approaches to determining the royalty percentages. They will assume all the responsibilities (and costs) with the cover and interior design/layout, the printing, distribution, and marketing of your book.

Unfortunately, you will no longer have control of your book. It “belongs” to the publisher, as they have purchased the intellectual rights to your manuscript. Since the publishing company has an interest in the success of the book, they are going to make every effort to get a profitable return on their investment. Often, they will make changes to your book so it will sell to the masses. The publishing house may have someone rewrite portions of it and make any other modifications to the writing they deem necessary. They will also determine its cover design, price, layout, etc.

Another consideration with this method, is time. Traditional publishing is very time-consuming. It may be several years before your book will be put on a shelf. The publisher will wait for the right timing to release new books. Also, authors typically do not know how many books they have even sold. This can be discouraging! It is important to know how many books you have sold and how wide of an audience you have reached.

Additionally, new authors will see very little royalties from their book. The publisher must overcome all their expenses before they are able to send any percentage back to you. New authors are just making themselves known to their readers, thus sales won’t be as high as those who are well-known.

This method is quite difficult to get published, because very few writers will get accepted. On the other hand, you will not have the financial responsibility of design, printing, or marketing and distribution. These elements are often very costly and time consuming. Additionally, publishing houses already have a massive network of distributors and established marketing, so you will likely sell more copies of your book than you would by publishing it yourself.

Vanity Publishing

Vanity publishing companies are very clever and find ways to appeal to those longing to get notoriety and success from their work. Frequently, they will also refer to themselves a custom publishing company. However, many will refer to their services as self-publishing companies. One should note, a self-publishing company is not the same as an author self-publishing their own work!

Many new authors will receive notifications from “self-publishing companies” which state something to the effect that they are very particular about what authors/books they choose, but they have decided to “publish” YOUR book. In reality, these companies are not that choosy. They are simply trying to flatter you and entice you to use their services. If you have money you’re willing to give them, they will publish your book.

In this scenario, you will sign a contract with the company. This feels flattering because the writer feels they are now under contract – and is what you would do with a traditional publisher, right? On the contrary. Instead, the author PAYS the company for à la carte services. The primary one is to print so many copies of their book or convert it to an eBook and post it online. The companies may bundle different services (such as cover design and/or editing and layout) in a variety of plans, as well as, offer individual ones to be purchased separately. Often, charging the hopeful writer thousands of dollars upfront. Additionally, the contract may also require the author to purchase a certain number of their own printed books from the company, within a set time frame.  Another trick these companies use is to sweeten the deal by offering to promote/market your work, but it is usually just a simple push of a button to submit your book’s listing to Amazon, Ingram, etc. In other words, your book is added to the product list online, but there is NO marketing/advertising done on behalf of your book. They are not establishing book signings, or promotions, or performing any marketing that would occur in traditional publishing. This is because they have taken no actual financial risk, since the author has already paid in advance for them to print the book. Hence, they have no need to spend the money to market it, the company has already been paid to print it, etc.  In reality, they will likely publish (print) anyone’s book, if they are given the money.

I know an author who chose this publishing approach. According to the contract she signed, she was obligated to redo her existing website. Apparently, the self-publishing company didn’t feel the website had the criteria they wanted and required the author to find a designer, and pay for its revamping. In the end, she spent tens of thousands of dollars for a few printed books and updated web design, and zero marketing. To this day, she does not know how many, if any, of her books have sold. The author has never had a book signing or any other marketing done for her book. Why? Because she got what she purchased. She did not realize this was a vanity publishing model, not traditional publishing. The company never pays for anything out of their own pocket, you as the author pay for it all. Whereas a traditional publishing model necessitates the company to hook into their resources, to design, print and heavily market the book. Without adequate sales, they do not get good return on their investment. 

I am not implying all self-publishing companies are wolves in sheep’s clothing, however, the number grows daily. It is easy to prey on first-time authors longing to get their beloved work published. After all, we want to see our hard work printed and feel it in our hands!

Self-Publishing

By self-publishing or being an Indy author, means you have taken on all responsibilities involved with getting your book to the market. First you will need it edited. Do not rely on your own eyes! Our brain will often self-correct mistakes because we know what we are trying to say. Even an objective editor’s eyes can deceive them! The editing should include more than simply grammar and misspelling. It should also look at whether your content is accomplishing its purpose for the reader, if it flows logically, and it should have good structure and organization. This will make it more interesting and enjoyable to the reader and ensure you are meeting your objective, whether it be entertaining, informing, etc.

After the editing is complete, you will need to decide if your book will be printed, an eBook, or both. A printed book is more specific in its requirements. You will need to decide on the size the book will be. This not only determines your page numbers, but it is also important for your layout and cover. An eBook has a reflowable format. This means that depending on the device size, it will autofill the text based on the available area. In other words, an iPhone will display less text on a page than an iPad, due to its size. On the other hand, a printed book is static. The text cannot move like it does on a digital device. The text will need to be professionally laid out so that it properly fits the size of the page, be appealing visually, and the chapters start at appropriate places. Your editor may be able to format the layout of your book for print, if not, you will also need to find someone to do that for you.

Next, you will need an eye catching cover. Yes, cover does matter, it is what sells your book! It is the first impression potential readers have of your book and what entices them to pick it up for further inspection. It needs to GRAB their attention! If the cover looks amateurish, the reader may assume it is not written well either.

For example, when Karen Barbee (the author of The 406 Table), would ONLY show the cover of her book, people would be excited to see what was inside. She found this to be the case every time. People thought the cover was beautiful and it made them curious about the rest of the book.

There is some debate over how critical a professional looking cover is for eBooks vs a printed book. For eBooks, the main criteria is the legibility of the title text, and an image that will look good as a thumbnail size. People’s first impression of an eBook is reliant on the very small thumbnail image. Moreover, a printed book will have other variations such as an embossed title, matte or gloss laminate cover, etc. Additionally, the reader will be looking a much larger representation of the book, when they are viewing a printed cover. When you are searching for a company to design your cover, look at their samples of previous work. This will help you determine if their style is what you are seeking. All designers have a different style, just like authors and other artists!

After you have everything ready, your book will need printed, unless you are only offering it as in eBook. It is important to note that a printing company is different than a publishing company! A printing company will usually only provide the service to print and bind your book, while a publishing company offers to do all of the necessary services you need to get your book to the market. However, be aware of the dangers of publishing companies that I have referred to earlier in this article.

I have seen that printing can be the most financially risky aspect of self-publishing. The printer has very little liability for your printed book. I have known authors who have spent thousands of dollars to get their books printed, only to discover the printer bound them too early – causing the pages to warp, or the books weren’t packed well and were damaged at delivery. Getting reimbursed for damaged books is not easy. The company doesn’t want to be out of the money to reprint books on their dime, so they try to find ways to blame the author or shirk responsibility. In the end, the author is stuck with books he/she can’t sell because they give a poor representation of their product. The best advice is to research the printing company you plan on using and read reviews. This isn’t fool proof, but may provide some helpful information to guide your decision.

In addition to the overall printing company review, it is essential you carefully investigate what each company is offering; the cost to print, their paper choices (for certain books like coffee table books, this is vital), shipping and handling costs, and print time. Numerous printing services offer free price calculators so you can get an idea of the paper they have available and their print sizes. The calculator will give you a ballpark of the cost. Just remember this won’t include shipping, or other additional costs.

Once your book is printed or submitted online, you officially have a product to sell, hence a business. Yet, the most vital and difficult step, aside from writing your book, is marketing it! People cannot buy what they do not know exists. Hence, marketing is the most important step to getting your book out to the masses yet, it is also one of the most challenging. If you are a self-published author and handle all the marketing/branding yourself, you are essentially an entrepreneur establishing your own brand and it is vital you have an audience. This may be one in which you’ve grown organically or will pay for through advertising.

Unfortunately, in order to effectively market to the public, it takes a lot of money. After all, you are competing to get people’s attention. The cheapest method to marketing is to grow your audience. This enables you to gain readership and interest in you as a “brand” and what you have to offer. If you have worked to grow your audience prior to your book launch, you will have a head start on exposure. You will have a built in group of people you can invite to your book launch and you can also post your own notifications in social media which will be seen by those in your circle. By having a large audience, you may be able to quickly gain momentum for sales, giving you more money to reinvest in additional advertising.

You can also hire a marketing company. Today, most marketing is done through digital advertising via social media networks. The marketing companies create ad campaign and will monitor/manage the social media for your product, to gain sales and awareness. Investopedia defines social media marketing as, “… the process of creating tailored content for each social media platform to drive engagement and promote your business.” Every platform is unique, including its audience and advertising requirements.

Social media advertising isn’t just about creating advertising copy, but also providing free, helpful, relevant content to your audience. Providing potential customers free information they can use, gives them a positive experience with you (your company) and they are more likely to buy product from you, as well as, recommend it to their friends. Hence, giving away free products or services is one of the primary ways to gain customers, because people have a hard time refusing something for FREE! This can be seen in many large corporations, such as Facebook, Google, etc., which have offered free services, while also providing paid ones. Don’t be afraid to try it!

Conclusion

As you can see, no publishing method is without its pitfalls. There are risks which ever decision you choose to make. Be sure to do your own investigative research so you can make an informed decision. Publishing is a challenging endeavor but it can also be incredibly fulfilling. There is nothing more rewarding than seeing a happy customer, hug your book to their chest and exclaim how they couldn’t put it down!