YA LGBT Books discussion

Part of the reason I'm excited to be this month's featured author is because it gives me a chance to talk about writing, and my process in particular.

So this thread is for any questions you might have about writing, publishing, me, or whatever. If I can answer it, I'm happy to.

Alex wrote: "Why does publishing cost soooo much? I looked into getting one of my stories done and it was, for the cheapest option on one site, around £750.00!!! :O So, do you know of any free or at least cheap..."

Okay, I'm not Jo, but I don't think she'll mind if I steal this question. There's a saying in the publishing world - "Money flows to the author." If a publisher is charging you money, run for the hills. No respectable publisher will ever charge you.

Publishers that charge an author are called "vanity publishers." They should be avoided like the plague. They're basically a glorified printer. They'll make you pay for the printing costs, the cover art, the editing, and probably other fees. These publishers are the bottom of the barrel.

Some places won't consider self-publishing a real publishing credit, but no one considers vanity publishing to be a publishing credit. Look for a real publishing house. It doesn't have to be a Big 6 New York house, but it should be respectable. When in doubt, check places like Predators and Editors.

You can self-pub for free if you only want an ebook. I've done it. I think it might have been a mistake not to pay for a better cover and a proofreader, but those things don't have to cost a lot. You might even find free volunteers to do it for you. (I did my own covers and proofed my own work, so all the mistakes were my own LOL.) You can ask me about this process if you like.

If you don't want to charge for your book, just have people read it, then self-pub is a great option. If you want to charge, then I think you can still do it but you need to be careful to put out as quality a product as you can. (And Ralph above is an editor for a real publisher that does print work by young writers so do talk to him.)

Thanks, Ralph, you said exactly what I would have said! I'm going to repeat it, though, just because I'm difficult like that...

Alex, getting published PAYS YOU! Like Ralph said, companies that charge you to publish your book are called vanity presses. The problem with having a book done by one of them is that they have no quality control at all; they'll publish anything an author pays them to publish. And unfortunately some of them pretend they are royalty-paying publishers, and the author gets screwed. And many vanity publishers only pay authors a percentage of sales, and keep the rest of the money for themselves on top of what the author has already paid.

Like Kaje said, you can self-publish--self publishing and vanity publishing are not the same. In self-publishing, an author pays to have a cover done (maybe), pays to have the book *printed* (maybe), and might hire a professional editor, but the author is in total control of everything that's done and keeps all the profits from all sales of the books. But the problem with self-publishing, and the reason it has a bad name in some circles, is that as with vanity publishing, there's no quality control. An author can self-publish anything, edited or not, well-written or not, which is why some places don't consider it a true publishing credit. (The process and quality are improving now that more authors are self-publishing, but there's still a way to go.)

If you want a true publishing credit, from a company that will go through your book with a fine-tooth comb and make sure it's well-written and well-edited, you need to submit to a royalty-paying publisher. There are a lot of them, so do your research *before* you submit. Some companies go out of business within a year and leave their authors hanging; some are scams from the outset. But there are a lot of reputable companies out there. Places like Writer Beware, Preditors and Editors, and Absolute Write have lists of publishers and whether they're reputable or not, so you can do some research there. (Send me a private message if you want the links to any of those.)

The advantages of going with a royalty-paying publisher: It's considered a publishing credit by anyone you talk to; the editing, cover art, etc. will be professional; companies access to more distribution than individual authors often do, which means your book will be available more places (including sometimes in physical bookstores, which often refuse to carry self-published books and almost never carry vanity-published; and best of all, the publisher pays you! You don't give them a cent!

Sorry this is a long response. This is one of my hot-button issues. I've been a member of Absolute Write since 2005, and in that time I've seen far too many authors screwed over by vanity presses in "real" publisher clothing, or by small presses started by someone who didn't know what they were doing and went out of business, leaving their authors in the lurch and unpaid. So you asked the right person if you wanted a long answer; not so much if you wanted something quick and easy.

And the saying Ralph quoted is often known as Yog's Law, in honor of "Yog Sysop," a moderator on an online forum. "Money flows toward the author." Yog Sysop in real life is James D. MacDonald, a science fiction/fantasy author with more publications under his belt than I can count (and can ever hope to match), so he definitely knows what he's talking about when it comes to writing and publishing.

So no one else has any questions, huh? I scared you all off with my novel-length response about why being published shouldn't cost you anything? LOL

Do you send your work out to reviewers? Or does your publisher? And if so to YA sites, or GLBT sites?

I've sent my work out to a couple-few reviewers. The sites I've sent to have been either YA or fantasy-oriented, since most of my YA stuff is urban fantasy. My publishers also send out to reviewers. Jupiter Gardens sends to mostly YA and fantasy sites; I don't know about Featherweight because my first book with them has only been out a couple months and there haven't been any reviews of it yet that I'm aware of. That book, Cluing In, doesn't have a GLBT character (at least not one that the narrator's aware of), so I guess it would have to be sent to YA sites; GLBT sites wouldn't be likely to review it.