Which Route to Take to #Publishing? #authors

The traditional route.

You look for an agents and/or publishers.

• Write a blurb. (A short description of the book.) Think about this as your elevator pitch or the first few lines of your query letter. You have 50 words or less to describe your book. This is a skill that takes time to develop. Look for help from writing groups, check out the back of your favorite books. Play around with what to say. Search the Internet for help – (“writing a blurb”).

• Write a query letter. (This is a letter to the publisher or agent you hope to sell or represent your book.)  Again, this is a skill that takes practice to develop. Get help from writer groups, books, friends, and the Internet – (Do an Internet search on “query letter”.)

• Make sure the book is ready for publication: well edited, no grammatical errors or holes in the story line. (This is where having a critique partner is very valuable or paying an editor to find your mistakes .)

• Formatting the file. (Check to make sure you have the file in the format the publisher or agent requests.) The font is usually, Time Roman or Courier News 12pt.  The line spacing is usually double spaced. The author’s name, book title, and page numbers are usually required on each page, but might differ with each publisher and agent. Check out the submission guidelines on their website to see how they want the manuscript formatted. (Do an Internet search on “publishing companies” or “literary agents”.)

• Remember when you sign with a publishing company, or an agent, you are entering into a legal and binding contract. Make sure you know your rights going into the contract and what it might take to get out of the contract. Think of it as a pre-nup. If you are unsure, seek legal counsel. (If you want more information, do an Internet search on “reviewing literary contract”.) There are people who will review a contract for you and advise you of any potential heart aches.

- Self-publishing -

• Write a blurb. (A short description of the book.) Think of this as your pitch to potential readers of your book. You have 100 words or less to describe your book. This will be displayed on Amazon and other sites to help sell your book.

This is a skill that takes time to develop. Look for help from writing groups, check out the back of your favorite books to see how it is done. Play around with it, search the Internet for help. (Do an Internet search on “writing a book blurb”.)

• Make sure the book is ready for publication: well edited, no grammatical errors or holes in the story line. (This is where having a critique partner is very valuable. Also if you are looking at self-publishing this might be where you consider hiring a professional for help.) There are a number of companies and individuals out there that can help you.  Talk to other authors and ask for recommendations. Also if you are on social sites, seek out connections with people willing to help.

• Cover Art is the single most important marketing tool next to the quality of the book. If the company you plan to use does not provide cover art. Find a good cover artist to create your vision for the book.

• Formatting the file. (Each e-publishing company has their specific guidelines.) Smashword.com has a comprehensive free book that will take you through the various steps to prepare your file for publication.

• Choosing the company you want to publish your book. (E-book)

1.  Some of the companies will format your file and prepare your book for the different e-book readers (Nook, Kindle, iPad). They will charge you a percentage of your sales as payment or a flat rate.

Smashwords.com is a free site where you can sign up to publish your book or story. You will need to sign in and then fill out information about yourself. (You can do this as an author even if you don’t publish through them.)

You set the price and decide which distributors you want.  If you want you can opt out and publish directly with Amazon on your own. They also assign you an ISBN for free. (ISBN “International Standard Book Number” is a unique 13-digital numerical identifier given to your book that allows retailers to manage and track your book.)

2.  Amazon has detailed instructions on how to publish with them at kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing  or download their book “Build Your Book for Kindle.” You will need to sign in and fill out information about yourself. Also you need to agree to their terms and sign up with the Author Central. (Note: this is separate site from their publishing site. It allows you to write a bio, collect your books in one place and send your RSS feed from your blog into the Amazon site.) (A RSS - “Really Simple Syndication” allows information to flow from one website to another automatically.)

• Choosing the company you want to publish your book. (Paper) Usually a company will do what is called “print on demand,” meaning they do not print the book until someone orders it from their site.

- This requires a number of things to consider. Look at what you are getting and what control you are giving up before making a decision. (Do an Internet search on “comparing self-publishing companies.”)

• Other informational sites that can help you make a decision on where to publish your book. (Search “self-publishing an e-book” on the Internet)  Again talk to other authors. They can tell you the companies they don’t like or have had problems with – Check RWA and EPIC for a list of approved publishers.)

As you can see some things are the same. I hope this helps you decide what you want to do.

Best of luck in your publishing endeavors,

Tina