Being a writer can lead you down so many paths and especially in today’s digital age there are more paths than ever to choose from when it comes to publication. But each path has its pros and cons and many writers have fallen in the hidden pot holes along the way. So this article is to look at just a few of the roads to publishing for a writer, road blocks and all, from my own experience and opinions…

TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING 

This is the one that most dream of, that will lead them to six figure deals and film deals … But is it really that simple? The answer is no. For some this is the case but not all and for many traditional publishing may not have been exactly what they were dreaming of.

The first and most important thing to remember about traditional publishing, is that they will not ask you for money. If a company claiming to be a traditional publisher asks you to contribute run for the hills in my opinion because they are not being transparent.

Traditional publishers come in all shapes and sizes from the big power houses that publish world wide right down to the smaller independent (or indie) presses. None of these will ask you for money to publish your book. In years gone by your publisher would pay you an advance to take your book which you would get in several payments, one on signing, one upon delivery of the book (after edits etc) and one upon release, then once enough books were sold (you earned out your advance) you would begin to earn royalties. Not all publishers do this any more, some do not pay advances but may offer better royalty terms, some offer a one off payment (more common in picture books, sometimes referred to as commissioning) and others will pay an advance which can range from as little as £500 right up to that dream six digit figure. But remember you still have to pay tax, and your agents commission (if you have an agent) To get to a lot of the bigger publishers you will need an agent (but that’s a whole different article!)

Different writers have varying opinions on what sort of traditional publisher to go with. The bigger publishers have access to the supermarkets and bigger marketing budgets, but the smaller presses are known to dedicate more time to each individual author and invest more support and ongoing help. So it’s often personal preference of which is better, what many agree on though is regardless of the size of the publisher, the author still has to make the book sell. More and more writers are needing to be more inventive and business minded to ensure their books are selling, from author visits, to social media there are lots of way’s for authors to connect with their reads but all involve getting themselves out there which can be quite hard for those who cherish their time hidden away writing.

SELF PUBLISHING 

Years ago self publishing was frowned upon as substandard and only done by those who couldn’t get a traditional publishing deal, but with the rise of the digital age and especially e-books and amazon the industry has shifted considerably, in fact many traditionally published authors have now become HYBRID authors choosing to publish both traditionally and self publish. That being said the range of quality does vary drastically and there are several ways to self publish.

The first way to self publish is to hire a company to assist you in this, there are many companies especially over the last decade that have been set up to guide you through the process and assist you with everything from editing, to design, the legal side of registering your book and even services for marketing and distribution, these services can range drastically in price and you will need to sell a lot of books before you break even and start to see a return on your investment. But these companies are transparent about the services they offer and the costs involved and you retain the copyright to your work.

The second way is through digital. Companies like Createspace, Lulu, KDP and Ingram have set up easy to use systems to help you publish your books which you retain the copyright for but not the ISBN (barcode), often free or on special offer using Print on demand so no need to buy books in large bulk (however you do pay more per book than buying in large quantities from a physical printing company). However, they do not edit, or quality control your work and to make your book stand out, it needs to be able to sit on the shelf next to any traditionally published book and hold its own. So whether it’s print on demand or e-book this is often the cheapest option with little investment, but can result in often rushed or incomplete work being put out there if you’re not careful. If you follow this route ensure you have done everything you can to ensure the quality of your work before releasing it. This can include beta readers, critique partners, advanced/sensitivity readers etc.

The third way is independent self publishing – This path requires a lot of time effort and research from the writer as well as knowledge of the industry and the market. You are essentially your own publisher, you take 100% of the cost and 100% of the risk. You wear all the hats and are in control of everything from ensuring it is professionally edited, designed, registered etc. You are in charge of quality control, marketing, distribution, everything a traditional publisher or publishing company would do for you is now on your shoulders and with all that investment you want it to work. A lot of people enter into this path unprepared. You have lots of choices whether you pay people to edit, design, market for you but you are responsible for ensuring you hire the right people and if you decide to do most of it yourself it can be incredibly time and energy consuming, but you do retain all control, all profits and it is all yours!  My advice if you enter down this route, don’t rush it, ensure it is the best it can be and that you have taken your time to do it right and have a book you can be proud of.

VANITY PUBLISHING 

This is the last one on my list and often one that is a cause of concern for me personally. A vanity publisher in my personal opinion is a printing company or self publishing company that pretends it is a traditional publisher. Remember anyone who offers you a contract that requires financial contribution from you is NOT a traditional publisher.

These companies are often not transparent, targetting inexperienced writers with very large promises, often none of which they fulfil. They have writers sign complex contracts which in some cases, leaves the writer owing large sums of money and loosing the copyright to their work.

They will often offer editing and design services of poor quality, marketing services which result in lack of sales and essentially overcharge for the supply of books (at a very high mark up) that the writer then has to try and sell to re-coup the costs.

Vanity publishers are in the business of printing books not selling them, that responsibility still lies with the writer and if the quality control has been poor, you are no better off than if you had done it all yourself at fraction of the cost.

The best piece of advice I can offer for anyone in doubt about a contract or offer – contact the Society of Authors, established in 1883 they are a union that support writers, illustrators and literary translators fighting for fair deals and protecting their rights https://www.societyofauthors.org