So You Want to Find A Publisher

Young Writer Writes: I would like to try to get my books published eventually and so was wondering does it cost anything to publish a book? Do you need to get your own editor or does the company provide one?

Young Writer,

Cool that you're making plans for publication. The very first thing to do is to make sure your manuscript is as strong as it possibly can be. Many writers (including me, at the beginning) tend to rush to the business of publication before their manuscripts are really ready. Many writers write several novels before they write one that is ready for publication.

Most successful writers revise numerous times and also submit their work for critique so that other readers can read it and offer suggestions. Those readers will usually be other writers. 

You’ll find posts on finding critique partners here. http://cindachima.livejournal.com/tag/critique

You may find a number of other posts on my blog helpful, including this one called "What to Do with That Diamond in the Rough." 

http://cindachima.livejournal.com/8400.html

To read all my writing-related posts, go to my LiveJournal and use the tag, Young Writer Q&A. You'll find my writing-related posts here. http://cindachima.livejournal.com/tag/young%20writer%20q%20%26%20a

On my website, follow this link

http://cindachima.com/Resources/tips.htm

and read all of the documents on there, including Getting Started in Writing, which has many links to useful information. 

In my opinion, anyone who is seeking to publish a novel will benefit from having representation from a literary agent. A literary agent sells your work to publishers and collects a commission of 15% for domestic sales and 20% for overseas sales. Many publishers—my own included—accept submissions only from literary agents. Without an agent, you will be shut off from the largest publishers.

Finding an agent isn’t easy, though. I have a number of posts on my website relating to finding an agent.

http://cindachima.com/Resources/tips.htm

To answer your question, a commercial or traditional publisher does not charge to publish your book and will provide an editor for you. A commercial publisher is one who makes money through selling your books through an established distribution network. Remember--money flows from the publisher to the writer and not the other way around. 

Some people are choosing to self-publish these days; in that case you pay the cost of publishing your book. There are many new ways to self-publish, including digital editions that do not cost much to make available online.

However, because anybody can self-publish a book, many of the books published are of very poor quality. Even if your book is great, it can be difficult for readers to find it. While there are notable exceptions, most self-published books never sell more than a few hundred copies, mostly to family and friends.

There are a few situations in which self-publishing makes sense, e.g. in some non-fiction categories, or where you have a "platform" or opportunity to promote your books.

For example, let's say you travel the country teaching seminars on making money in publishing. You might self-publish a handbook and sell it at your seminars. Otherwise, I still think it's best to pursue commercial or traditional publishing, especially for fiction. 

What To Do With That Diamond in the Rough

Q: I’m just about to finish my book. Now what? I want to be published. What do I do next?

A: Congratulations on finishing your book. There are many people who “want to be writers” but most of them just want to have written.

Many new writers want to rush immediately to finding an agent, approaching a publisher, etc., but I encourage you to make sure your writing is as good as it can be first. Focus on craft.

A young writer once asked me if it’s harder to get published if you’re young, and I replied that all things being equal it’s not harder to be published (maybe even easier). But things are usually not equal because it’s harder to be good when you’re young—just because the more you write the better you become. That’s the way to hone natural talent.

Even if you’ve already taken some steps to make your work better, I suspect you probably could still benefit from critique from other writers who are serious about craft. You may want to link up with other writers in your area. If you’re writing for teens, you may want to join SCBWI (Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators). You can visit their national website here http://www.scbwi.org/ and look under Regions to see if there is a chapter near you. They often have local critique groups and may sponsor a local writing conference where you can learn a lot about craft and the business of publishing.

You didn’t mention whether you’d read and applied any books on craft. I have a number posted on my Website. Self Editing for Fiction Writers is an excellent choice.

Once you’re convinced your work is as good as it can be, consider looking for an agent. You can search for agents who rep what you write at http://www.agentquery.com/. Literary agent Nathan Bransford has lots of basic tips on his site, here. http://nathanbransford.blogspot.com/. Look for the basics (Before You Query) posts.

There is info on how to find an agent on my site and what to watch out for. You also might want to check out the Writer Beware blog sponsored by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America here http://accrispin.blogspot.com/
to make sure the person you are querying is legit. Use the Preditors and Editors link on the right hand side. One way to meet agents and editors from publishing houses is to attend writing conferences.

Finally, I often post answers to writers’ questions on my blog. On my LiveJournal site, http://cindachima.livejournal.com/ look under the tag Young Writer Q&A.

Self Publishing

Q: I’m thinking of self-publishing my book. I hear that if you publish through a traditional publisher, you have to pay back your advance if you don’t sell enough within a certain amount of time. Plus you only get about a dollar a book in royalties—you’d never earn your advance back at that rate. And you might have trouble getting your rights back.
What do you think?

A: Breaking into traditional publishing can be a frustrating business. I marketed The Warrior Heir for five years on my own before I found an agent who sold it for me. I never considered self-publishing because I didn’t think it was right for me and my project. I had a day job and had trouble finding time for writing, let alone intensive promotion.

What’s right for you depends on your individual situation. There are pros and cons to both self publishing and traditional publishing. I’m not an expert on self publishing. I can tell you that traditional publishing opens a lot of doors in terms of distribution and availability in brick and mortar book stores, as well as access to reviews.

Some writers self-publish because they want complete control of their final product and they don’t want to make the changes demanded by editors. But a good editor is your partner—she can make your book better. While we’ve all seen poorly written and minimally edited books from mainstream publishers, it’s less likely than in self-published books, where there are fewer quality control mechanisms in place. Your book may be fabulously written and edited—it’s just harder to get reviewers and bookstores and readers to take a chance on it because there’s a lot of bad stuff out there.

If you self-publish, it’s especially helpful to have what is called a "platform"--visibility and a ready means of accessing your audience. That’s why there are so many celebrity books out there. Let's say, for example, you are a well-known quilter and you publish a novel about quilters. You could market your book at quilting conventions and through quilting newsletters. Or maybe you’re a well-known motivational speaker who’s written a book about that topic. Every time you speak, you have an opportunity to push your book.

Regarding advances from mainstream publishers--you don't get any more money in royalties until the advance is earned out. But you typically keep the advance, even if you don't earn out, as long as you met your contractual obligation in terms of delivering an acceptable manuscript, etc. Of course, if you don't earn out your advance, it makes it less likely the publisher will publish a second book with you.

The issue of if and when you get your rights back is a contractual one. If you’re a new author without an agent, you don’t have as much leverage in terms of negotiating with a publisher. But if you have an offer from a publisher, it’s much easier to get an agent!

One thing I like about traditional publishing is the fact that the publisher is the one taking the risk and fronting the money for design, editing, and printing—not me. Many authors wish their publishers would do more in terms of marketing, but at least they’ll do something, particularly if they’ve invested a lot in an advance and production. I work hard to market my books, but I’ve really benefited from my publisher’s support. If you self-publish, it’s all up to you.

Good luck with your decision. It would be a good idea to talk with some authors who have self-published. We’ve all read about self-publishing success stories. Most of those authors have worked very hard. The important thing is to go into it knowing that in addition to writing a great book, you’ll need to be an expert in book promotion and networking.

There was just a big debate on a writer’s email list I’m on about author visits. The question was, If I write for children and teens, do I have to do school, bookstore, and library visits?

Some authors love to meet the public, and others don’t. Either way, the potential for humiliation is great. I’ve heard a story about an author who came into a classroom and was asked if she was the substitute teacher. Clearly, the class had not been prepped for her visit!

The travel thing can be grueling and difficult to coordinate with other responsibilities. The hardest thing for me is when I'm being hosted by someone who is embarrassed about a small turnout. They keep apologizing and I'm like, Who can predict these things? I've spoken to groups that consist of the librarian and her sister and others where there are 150 kids (school visit or joint school-library program.)

I’ve had unexpected blessings. I once did a school and library program in this tiny town in southern Ohio. It was so small I had to stay across the river. The town was run by these six powerful sisters-one was a librarian at the county library, one was a librarian at the middle school, one was married to the high school principal, one was the English teacher, the sister in law was the library director. They were the literary and educational aristocracy in that town, and they were powerful. These women pre-sold scads of books, and the entire 6th grade had read my book when I arrived.

I did a writing workshop at a school in San Antonio, and those 6th graders could hardly stay in their seats, they were so excited about writing and sharing what they’d written. And I spoke at a library in Youngstown for Teen Reads Week to a huge crowd of students brought in for the occasion. The library staff made me feel like a celebrity. At a teen book club I spoke to a boy who was so excited about the new fantasy book he’d just read that he wanted to give me his copy so I could read it.

I did a bookstore visit in a nearby small town and a few of my friends showed up and a couple people I didn't even know who saw it in the paper. The store clerk seemed really pleased, so I asked how many people usually show for a booksigning, and she said, "None."

I was a reading nerd when I was a teenager, but I never got to meet an author. I didn’t know where all the authors lived, but I was sure it was nowhere near me. So I do like meeting kids who love books, and who want to write books of their own, because I see my 14-year-old self in every one of them.