There is a myth, and this was certainly true for me, that book publishers are eager to receive your completed manuscript. I mean, your manifesto is just so good, so compelling, and so well written that publishers will be lined up out the door begging you to let them publish it. NOT.
I was under the impression that book publishing happened in the following order.
- Author completes manuscript
- Author sends manuscript off to publishers for immediate (eager) acceptance
- Publisher is so thrilled by this action that they immediately write author a large advance check
- Publisher assigns editor to carry out author’s wishes
- Book goes to press
- Author is sent around the country on book signing tour with tons of eager buyers lined up just by virtue of author’s book being published
- Author deposits large checks in her account every month
And I have to tell you, I was SO wrong. This is actually a very naive view, and one I am here to help you change.
In reality, the following sequence of events is much more likely:
- Author indentifies audience. Who are the most likely buyers of this book?
- Author builds her platform around solving the immediate problems of this very targeted audience. This may actually take several years.
- Author submits book proposal to publishers. Among several other uses, this document is your way of telling your publisher how you intend to market your book. Yes, YOU must market your own book. This process may also take at least a year.
- Author begins writing the manifesto ONLY after book proposal has been accepted.
- Author continues to build platform, engaging the right audience while working extremely hard to complete manuscript.
- Author may deposit very small checks, all the while continuing to expand and reach out to the right audience.
- Author realizes that publishing a book is only one rung in the ladder of author’s platform, and not even usually the most lucrative.
The fact is, unless your name is Sarah Palin, J. K. Rowling, or Steven King, no publisher is going to give you even a glance unless you have developed an audience of likely buyers.
Even if you are planning to self-publish your book or use a subsidy press, you must have a market.
The first step is not writing your book. Start developing your niche now. We’ll be looking at how to do this in upcoming articles.
In the meantime, where are you in the publishing process? What questions do you have about getting your book published? Let me know, and I’ll answer your questions here.
{ 15 comments… read them below or add one }
From what little I have researched about publishers, the biggest message that comes across is that when it comes to publicizing your book you are very much on your own, unless you are a big name. Oh, and the tiny cut you get. On the other hand is the vanity press with its poor reputation.
I look forward to find out if there is a happy middle ground, or an alternative way.
Judy, there are definitely other alternatives, and we’ll be discussing them here. Personally, I like the alternative where the author maintains control of their work. Stay tuned…..
Helpful post. I really hadn’t thought much about the process. I’m looking forward to learning about the process. I hadn’t considered the idea that you would have to develop not only your idea but a marketing plan as well!
I’ll stay tuned…
Oh, yes, the very large mountain that is book publishing.
I had the opportunity to work for a non-profit writers organization and learned how difficult it is to get a book from idea to shelf. It’s pretty daunting.
But we do live in the 21st Century, now, don’t we… I suspect you will have some interesting things to share, Carole.
And apropos of nothing, I heard a great nugget from David Kent, President and CEO of Harper-Collins Canada, regarding books and eReaders. He said something like, “we had books before we had forks.” He isn’t terribly concerned about the demise of books. I only caught the end of the interview, but I got the impression he sees a variety of options, too.
.-= Stacey Cornelius´s last blog ..The ins and outs of your first impression (part 2 – look outward) =-.
Yolanda: traditional publishers are only looking for authors who already have a platform. You’ve got about 5 weeks after your book is released to prove that it will sell. That’s way too short unless you already have a market.
Stacey: it’s interesting that for the first time ever Amazon sold more ebooks than paper books in 2009. However, I think we are a very long way from the demise of traditional publishing. Even so, we do have alternatives in the paper book methods.
Great content here Carole! How true, we really get the modern publishing process backwards. If there is no market for your book, no one will buy it and you will get discouraged in the process. So many creative endeavors are like this.
.-= Marlene Hielema´s last blog ..Finding your online voice, your style, your personality =-.
Carole, that statistic from Amazon.com seems to have been widely misquoted/misunderstood. I understand that the real statistic refers to the fact that there were more E-books sold on Christmas Day than there were conventional books, or maybe it was Kindle books rather than E-books. In any case, it was just on that one day, when not many were likely to be buying conventional books. I was shocked when I heard it until I heard the real story.
Good post – I learned stuff I certainly didn’t know already. You’re a publishing mythbuster now!!!
Marlene, so true, we need to find a way to base creative endeavors in reality, but hopefully that will never stop us from creative pursuits!
Alison, thank you so much for setting me straight about the myth of ebooks on Amazon! I thought that statistic was surprising, but now I find it’s only true for that one day. Mea culpa! Thanks for helping me be a mythbuster.
Great start, Carole. I look forward to learning all about your experiences with the book publishing world.
I love the success stories one reads about authors being discovered in the slush piles. But the reality is that publishing is traditionally a publishers game. But recently, technology has began to even out the playing field.
I know many writers who, when faced with the reality that they had to actually write the entire book, not just a treatment or proposal, decided to self-publish.
And that decision, when made carefully and with plenty of research to identify the best choices, is a more realistic choice for writers than ever before. There remains a stigma about self publishing for many writers, one that I admit I sometimes share. Yet I also believe that the writer needs to take the route to publication that fits his or her needs and goals.
Traditional publishers are no longer the only venue to publication. And isn’t that a great world to belong to as a writer!
.-= CaZ´s last blog ..2 Chicks at Home Business Information Series: Ruling the Roost =-.
Hi Carole,
Good article. I think the self-published stigma is vanishing already (heck, even e-books are helping to reduce the stigma), and it will vanish completely once we don’t even know a book is self-published. Example: I saw a book the other day on Amazon that looked just like any of the other 75 zillion books they sell. Turns out that the book was a print on demand (POD) book. I knew this from an outside source but would never have known it just from what I saw on Amazon.
As a reader, I frankly don’t care how/where it is published as long as it is good quality.
Any good advice when picking a service for self publishing, or information as to which companies/services are good? I’ve heard some good things about http://www.booksurge.com (owned my Amazon), but I have no personal experience with them.
Thanks!
It’s a new frontier, isn’t it? Publishing has changed dramatically, and I’m glad this site will be here to guide all of us through the new world of book publishing.
I know you have lots more to share: I’m looking forward to reading it!
.-= Pamela Wilson´s last blog ..Design 101 | How to Daydream Your Way to Marketing Success =-.
Hi Carole, great post and great looking blog. Keep it up!
Carole:
Great conversation to have. Having gone the self-publishing route for 9 books I can appreciate exactly what you’re talking about. And there is the emotional aspect that ways heavy.
Keep it going. We need more conversations like this.
Mike (Jumpstart)
Hi Carole -
Great article. My eyes have been opened to the difficult battle authors face in the fact that they are mostly in charge of marketing their books. I’ve been working with a lot of authors who never expected to be marketers. It will be interesting to see how everything shakes out with the Kindle too. Thanks for this great post!
Thank you all for your support! It’s a shame that “marketing” is such a “dirty word.” But we can all learn how to promote ourselves/books in ways that don’t seem so sleazy.
@Mike it’s amazing that Amazon has become the great leveller, isn’t it. Now it’s time to learn to use that to our advantage.
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