Getting Published: Know Your Options

It's the first question asked when you tell someone you're a writer.

"Have you been published?"

Because let's face it, the moment you say "no" you get that look that says "Oh, you're not a REAL writer then, you just do it for fun."

Unfortunately, getting published is at once extremely easy and incredibly difficult. It all depends on what you want out of the experience.

The publishing industry as the general public knows it is incredibly small. It's run by a handful of people and operates under very arcane practices. These factors combine to make it difficult to get your foot in the door. It's like Hollywood; you have to know someone or get really lucky.

The first way you can get published is the one most people seem the desire. That is, getting a major New York publishing house to buy your book.

There are several ways to go about this.

The first is by sending a unsolicited manuscript. This means that you print a copy of your novel, put it in an envelope and send it to the publisher yourself. Very few publishers still accept this sort of submission.

The second is to sell them a solicited manuscripts. This generally means you need an agent. Agents are the middlemen in the equation. They make publisher care about your work. They make money by selling your rights on the book to various people.

For example, you might sign with a New York publishing house, but the agent only sold your North American rights. You still have control of your rights in the rest of the world, as well as the optioning rights should anyone want to convert your book into a movie, video game, etc. The agent makes money by selling these rights off bit by bit to the interested parties.

And of course, you get a royalty on everything sold, so it behooves you to have someone do this for you unless you know the business in and out. I'll discuss agents in a bit more detail in a later post.

Another way to get published is to do it yourself. This does, of course, cost a considerable amount of money from you. The upside is that if you sell your book well, and people like it, you could get picked up by a major house. You also retain complete and total control of your work. No one can tell you what to do with it. I've met several authors who want just that. They have interest in agents or major publishing houses, and so this was the most ideal situation for them.
 
The downside this that this method is very time-consuming and very expensive. You're in charge of the whole thing. You do the promotion, traveling, everything. And it all comes out of your pocket. If this is the situation you think you'll find yourself in, consult a copy of Steven Weber's Plug Your Book. It's an invaluable tool to the author who is making a go of it on their own.

One word of warning, however. Self-publishing is rife with scams. There are many sites there to take your money. I've heard the most positive things about LightningSource but if you choose this avenue, be sure to do plenty of research before paying a dime.

There are many other options, including local publisher and University presses. Decide what works best for you and pursue it. It doesn't do you any good to have an amazing piece of work on your computer or your desk if no one every gets to see it!
Topics: Writing , Author , Novel , Authorship , Control , Self-Publishing , Publishing