The Gut Check Guide to Publishing: What Works, What Doesn't, and Why to Do It Your Way

by Ted Kluck, Zachary Bartels, Cliff Graham (Contributor)

It’s easy to publish a book these days. It’s also easy to do it really, really badly. Sure you can go for broke and just learn from your mistakes. But wouldn’t rather learn from someone else’s? Ted Kluck and Zach Bartels have seen it all. They’ve published with Traditional publishers large and small, started their own Indie micro press, had great success, and watched projects crash and burn. With the wisdom of grizzled old sages and the snark of jaded Gen Xers, they cut through the BS and show you how to • navigate the world of publishing gatekeepers • choose when to go Traditional or Indie • work well with editors, cover designers, and PR wonks • position your books for success • learn from failure and rejection • and much more Witty, honest, and practical, The Gut Check Guide to Publishing isn’t your ticket to instant fame and fortune. It’s the reality check you have to have before you decide to take the trip at all. It’s what’s going to keep you from looking like an amateur out there. It’s your white knight. Because if you think writing is hard work, you ain’t seen nothing yet.

180 pages, Paperback

Published December 18, 2015

About the author

Ted Kluck writes on topics ranging from Mike Tyson to the Emergent Church. Ted has played professional indoor football, coached high school football, trained as a professional wrestler, served as a missionary, and taught writing courses at the college level.

Reviews

[Pete · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enough ha-has to keep me hooked, enough advice to send me away prepared. I especially liked the times other people, such as Erin B. and Cliff G., used words.

[Rachel Schmoyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband got me this book for Christmas. He listens to the Happy Rant podcast which is how he heard of it. I’m in the midst of querying agents my book proposal so he thought I’d might like this book.

At first I wasn’t sure that I would. The Gut Check brand’s primary audience is snarky, tell-it-like-it-is, and cynical. I’m an almost middle aged woman trying to sell a devotional book. I didn’t get any cultural reference to any of the action movies since that’s not my style.

But after 20 pages in, I saw this book is perfect for this stage on my publishing journey. The authors explain the rationale for when they published traditional and when they went indie. It was encouraging to read about someone else’s journey to encourage me not to give up. It also reminded me that fame and fortune are never the goal in publishing so I need to focus on writing and using the method that makes sense to get my writing to right readers.

[David · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm not sure if gut-check is brilliant or verbose. I also know for sure that the word verbose doesn't really fit in that last sentence. Either way, I will choose to leave it in, because the word is fancy, and fancy words trick people into buying your books.

No, this isn't a book, this is a review on a website about books. However, the book is also about publishing books, so I now feel as though I have at least two levels of "meta" to work through before I can actually review the book. As with all hipsters, I have become lost somewhere in between being ironic, clever, meta, and 'authentic.'

I'm not sure why you're still reading this, but I will say that this book gave me encouragement as a future hopeful author, an understanding of an industry that is often confusing at best, and it was simply fun to read (if you have a sense of humor. If you don't have a sense of humor, then buy it anyway and enjoy getting mad at the authors).

It's good. Buy it.

[Will Dole · Rating 3 out of 5]

Probably not the best place to get advice on this subject. Definitely a good place to get some laughs in relation to it, though.

[Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Witty, interesting, and helpful. Great for some serious ha-ha's and real advice on how to publish your book. Read this.