Ramblings-n-Writings

Archive for March 13th, 2008

So far this week we have talked about the publishing process as well as the difficulties of self-publishing. I ended yesterday’s post with a question about other options besides self-publishing.

First, the obvious alternative to self-publishing is traditional publishing with a publishing house. Now, the major difficulty here is actually getting a foot in the door. An occasional self-publishing author will have the self-published book picked up by a publishing house or be contracted for another book as a result of the self-published book. However, those scenarios are often rare.

Many authors lament the rejection process of traditional publishing. Having never tried submitting a manuscript to a publisher, I really don’t know what it feels like to receive the rejection letter, but I can’t imagine I’d like it. So how do you get a foot in the door?

The best option is to attend and participate in writer’s conferences. (Side note: I’m experiencing a grammatical dilemma – is it writer’s or writers’ conference? Ack!) Publishers attend the conferences with the intent of finding new authors, so go prepared with query letters, manuscript samples, and a selling speech.

Now, in case the obvious isn’t obvious, attending a writer’s conference costs money, so wouldn’t the better option be investing the money in self-publishing? Not necessarily. At a writer’s conference, an author can take advantage of critique groups, become acquainted with various publishing houses, attend seminars, and essentially improve the existing manuscript as well as gain insight for new ideas and what publishers are looking for. The word that comes to mind is … networking!

The second alternative to self-publishing is hiring a literary agent. My knowledge in this area is quite vague, so this will be short. A literary agent will cost money if they sell your manuscript, but agents also have established contact with publishing houses. An agent will know the best houses to choose for querying about your manuscript. Think of the literary agent as an admissions counselor for a university. A review of the application (the query letter and manuscript) tells the admissions counselor (literary agent) if the student (author) is a good fit for the university (publishing house).

If you’d like to learn more about how a literary agent works, jump on over to Rants & Ramblings: On Life as a Literary Agent. Rachelle’s blog is an amazing resource for learning about publishing, what agents look for, and all things related to writing.

The third alternative is to contact smaller publishing houses. These publishers may not offer all of the features like a larger publisher, but they will manage the details that an author shouldn’t need to spend time focusing on. (In fact, this is the type of publisher I freelance for.) Some will pay the author royalties like a traditional publisher, while others work more like a one-stop self-publishing source where the author purchases the service.

What is the benefit of paying a smaller publisher for services vs. self-publishing? Remember the discussion yesterday about the details (basic marketing, editing, design, printing, ISBN, legalities)? The details are managed for the author and each service is considered an option.If the author feels that the manuscript is good without editing, there’s no need to pay for the editing. Or maybe the book is in its final form and just needs to be printed. Some authors that have out-of-print books with larger publishers end up reprinting with smaller publishers.

A publisher will have access to printers and discounts that a self-publishing author would not have available. Plus the publisher speaks the printer’s language and the author is guaranteed a quality product. (The publisher wants a top-notch product because the book has the potential to generate future contracts for the publisher.) In addition, authors gain the advantage of book promotion through the publisher’s catalog, advertising, website and conference attendance.

Overall, as I consider the options in publishing – traditional, self, literary agent, and small publisher – I would definitely place self-publishing at the bottom of the list after I had exhausted all other means. Of course, if somehow my manuscript wasn’t accepted by a traditional publisher, a literary agent, or a small publisher, I would wonder if my work was worthy of publication!

Do you have a question about publishing? Leave a comment and I’ll address your question next week!