◙☼◙ So Many Books, So Many Publishing Options! ◙☼◙

Perhaps the only thing more interesting and challenging than writing a book is the publishing process of it! There are so many options.

And I'll be featuring these diverse options in other articles and posts.

◙☼◙ Traditional Publishing ◙☼◙:

(Also called commercial or trade publishing) ◙☼◙: Here, a publishing company offers you a contract, with royalties and (usually) an advance. The company is 'investing' in your book, and covers costs of editing, design, production, distribution and often some publicity.

However, many trade publishers accept material only through an agent (an article in itself) – and in any case are highly selective about what they buy. You must be a really marketable investment for them.

Having said this, I suggest you might have some success with a smaller, regional or specialized publisher (I can describe my own successful experience, several years ago!)

Overall, a traditional publishing company also controls the project, with its own design dept. (sometimes using freelancers), marketing, etc.

There's also a long time-factor - they can take months to respond to an initial query or proposal package - and even if they do accept your book, it may be a year or more before it's "out there." ◙☼◙

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◙☼◙ Paid-Services Publishing ◙☼◙:

For a fee (and depending on which services you purchase), these companies edit, compile, design, print and distribute the book for you – all the steps.

Many do a great job (and some are run by former traditional publishers); some are not so concerned with quality. Overall, the "marketability" of a book is not their concern – you pay the money, they'll do it.

This may range from several hundred to several thousand dollars (even mid-5-figures). The company makes a profit upfront; it's their fees rather than book sales that keep them going.

In the old days of 'vanity publishers,' authors often had to deal with a minimum print run of 100s of books filling their garages. But with today's POD technology you don't have to be stuck with too many.

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◙☼◙ Hybrid Publishing ◙☼◙:

Not traditional publishing, or 'vanity' publishing, but a combo.

There may be a selection process, with the company often quite particular about which authors it accepts, but the author still must assist financially – e.g., create a crowd-funding campaign, to pre-sell so many books before the co. can produce the book.

Hybrid publishers make their money from both book sales and fees charged for their publishing services. So they are likely to offer authors genuine help, even as they invoice them. BTW, I've seen that several longtime traditional publishers have added a hybrid-book department to their co.

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◙☼◙ Self-Publishing ◙☼◙:

The fastest, easiest way to go! You are the 'publishing company.' You find and pay for the pros (editor, artist, designer, formatter, printer) – to produce your book and handle distribution.

You may get better quality rather than with a set bundle of services from a "paid publisher," but you have to manage it all yourself.

Many self-published authors release their books through Amazon, which takes a cut of each book. But, as with subsidy publishers, you don't have to be stuck with lots of copies. Print-on-demand equals efficiency and economy.

Self-publishing also gives you the author the most control – and allows you the highest royalties. (And why not, after you've spent a lot of money creating and producing your book?)

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◙☼◙ Limited Self-Print Run ◙☼◙:

Easy, with services like the Espresso Book Machine technology. With properly-formatted files, you can print a professionally-bound book in the time it takes to brew a cup of coffee!

I proposed this for a client whose book I wrote/coordinated, and which had to be done for a conference. With final manuscript done in InDesign by a great designer I knew, the EBM accepted the two formatted files – one for book interior, one for book cover.

Cost for instant production of 10 beautiful trade-paperback copies of the book was about $170 (in 2010).

Of course, the client had spent many thousands of $$ in writing, editing and design help – but he had what was important to him – a certain number of books for his conference.

BTW, the following year, he tweaked his book, and had it redesigned by a large paid-services co. I'd found, and who made it available for a general readership online.

◙☼◙ The Non-Book Approach ◙☼◙:

This is a book in itself, because today people are producing books in diverse and interesting ways!

That might mean releasing chapters through Instagram, or Tweeting, texting or blogging a short book or creating an interactive animated experience, or...? I've devoted more posts and articles to these alternatives, and will be revisiting the possibilities :) ◙☼◙

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