How to Get Published
Try traditional publishing., Consider publishing through a partnership., Understand how to publish through a service provider., Use a distributor., Weigh the pros and cons of self publishing.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Try traditional publishing.
When you go the traditional publishing route, the publisher pays you for the right to publish your work.
Traditional publishers assume all costs and pay the author an advance and royalties on all sales of the work.To get a traditional publisher, you will need to persuade a publisher to accept your work and offer you a contract.
A traditional publisher takes on the financial risk of publishing the work.
They can also offer you marketing and publicity expertise.
Going the traditional route gives you access to mainstream exposure.
But it is competitive in the traditional publishing world.
Sometimes successful DIY or self published authors can negotiate better deals without a publisher. -
Step 2: Consider publishing through a partnership.
In this option, the author partners with a literary agent, a publisher, or an author collective.The author does not have to pay a fee to the partner, but usually does not get an advance.
As well, the partner will need to select the author and be able to offer marketing savvy and industry expertise to the author.
A partnership is beneficial because it is less risky than self publishing.
The author also gets better royalties in a partnership.
It also frees up the author from having to deal with the administrative side of publishing.
This then gives the author more time to focus on creative work.
Not all partners will offer the same thing to an author, so shop around.
Always have a legal representative look over a partnership contract before signing it.
Examples of partnership publishers includes:
Rogue Reader, Diversion Books, and Cool Gus Publishing. , This means the author pays upfront for a package of services and the service provider only does the work the author pays for.
As well, all work is usually accepted by the service provider, as long as the author can pay for the service.Usually, an author can make more royalties if they go through a service provider.
Examples of service providers include:
Author Solutions, Infinity Publishing, and Outskirts Publishing.
But, you get what you pay for, so you may get a published product that does not have much commercial value.
Your book may be available for order through bookstores, but rarely stocked on the shelves in the store.
These books are usually considered of lower quality in the publishing world.
Most self published success stories do not originate from publishing through these service providers. , If you publish your work through a distributor, you will have to do the majority of the administrative work on your own.
You will need to hire a book designer, find a good copy editor, and do all the administrative work.
You would then provide the distributor with the final files of the book and they would proceed with the publication.The distributor may charge an upfront fee and/or take a cut of the sales, but they are responsible for paying the authors.
Using a distributor can also save you the headache of managing many retailers (or book sellers).
The author is also not bound by a contract to the distributor, so they are not giving up their royalty rights.
Use distribution service providers.
Such as:
Smashwords (e-books), BabyBook (e-books), eBookPartnership.com, and Blurb (full color books). , Self publishing, or DIY direct, means the author does all the work on their own.
They then hire any outside help like a book designer or an editor.
Self publishers will also need to provide retailers (book sellers) with finished, ready to go files or books.Keep in mind the retailer will take a cut of the sales, but the author is not exclusive to a publisher.
This means the author can deal with each retailer on an individual basis.
Self publishing allows the author to maximize their earnings from the sale of the books.
This also allows the author to get the highest percentage of sales.
The author retains complete freedom over the work so they can adjust or edit it on the fly, and can control the pricing of the book.
But, self publishing can become a full time job if the author is aiming for high profit and high quality.
As well, Amazon and Apple need you to be exclusive to them if you are going to use their services to self publish. -
Step 3: Understand how to publish through a service provider.
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Step 4: Use a distributor.
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Step 5: Weigh the pros and cons of self publishing.
Detailed Guide
When you go the traditional publishing route, the publisher pays you for the right to publish your work.
Traditional publishers assume all costs and pay the author an advance and royalties on all sales of the work.To get a traditional publisher, you will need to persuade a publisher to accept your work and offer you a contract.
A traditional publisher takes on the financial risk of publishing the work.
They can also offer you marketing and publicity expertise.
Going the traditional route gives you access to mainstream exposure.
But it is competitive in the traditional publishing world.
Sometimes successful DIY or self published authors can negotiate better deals without a publisher.
In this option, the author partners with a literary agent, a publisher, or an author collective.The author does not have to pay a fee to the partner, but usually does not get an advance.
As well, the partner will need to select the author and be able to offer marketing savvy and industry expertise to the author.
A partnership is beneficial because it is less risky than self publishing.
The author also gets better royalties in a partnership.
It also frees up the author from having to deal with the administrative side of publishing.
This then gives the author more time to focus on creative work.
Not all partners will offer the same thing to an author, so shop around.
Always have a legal representative look over a partnership contract before signing it.
Examples of partnership publishers includes:
Rogue Reader, Diversion Books, and Cool Gus Publishing. , This means the author pays upfront for a package of services and the service provider only does the work the author pays for.
As well, all work is usually accepted by the service provider, as long as the author can pay for the service.Usually, an author can make more royalties if they go through a service provider.
Examples of service providers include:
Author Solutions, Infinity Publishing, and Outskirts Publishing.
But, you get what you pay for, so you may get a published product that does not have much commercial value.
Your book may be available for order through bookstores, but rarely stocked on the shelves in the store.
These books are usually considered of lower quality in the publishing world.
Most self published success stories do not originate from publishing through these service providers. , If you publish your work through a distributor, you will have to do the majority of the administrative work on your own.
You will need to hire a book designer, find a good copy editor, and do all the administrative work.
You would then provide the distributor with the final files of the book and they would proceed with the publication.The distributor may charge an upfront fee and/or take a cut of the sales, but they are responsible for paying the authors.
Using a distributor can also save you the headache of managing many retailers (or book sellers).
The author is also not bound by a contract to the distributor, so they are not giving up their royalty rights.
Use distribution service providers.
Such as:
Smashwords (e-books), BabyBook (e-books), eBookPartnership.com, and Blurb (full color books). , Self publishing, or DIY direct, means the author does all the work on their own.
They then hire any outside help like a book designer or an editor.
Self publishers will also need to provide retailers (book sellers) with finished, ready to go files or books.Keep in mind the retailer will take a cut of the sales, but the author is not exclusive to a publisher.
This means the author can deal with each retailer on an individual basis.
Self publishing allows the author to maximize their earnings from the sale of the books.
This also allows the author to get the highest percentage of sales.
The author retains complete freedom over the work so they can adjust or edit it on the fly, and can control the pricing of the book.
But, self publishing can become a full time job if the author is aiming for high profit and high quality.
As well, Amazon and Apple need you to be exclusive to them if you are going to use their services to self publish.
About the Author
Frances Lopez
Specializes in breaking down complex DIY projects topics into simple steps.
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