Publishing a Book 101: Self-Publishing and or Traditional Publishing Money Ideas and Profits

I can almost hear you on this one, self-publishing??? Self-publishing? you? Why would you want to self-publish? Think of it this way if you were to say self-publish with a company such as Lulu or Lightening Source or CreateSpace your are self-publishing. If you go with say any of the AuthorSolutions companies (AuthorHouse, IUniverse, you are not self-publishing per say but being fleeced-- these companies are vanity presses who are in the customer business, not in the publishing business.

I have had many a conversation about both the value of publishing and the value of self-publishing. For some, going the route of self-publishing is a great thing, These days if you have something important to write, you can go many more routes, but there are pitfalls to everything. After all, we all want to publish and make money and a profit.

Traditional publishing books has its good points as well, but you need to be aware that for your book to be a traditional success you'll have to spend a bit of money even then, there is no such thing as staying within budget-- at least when you are promoting a book.

This is professional business and everyone needs to follow instructions... this is vital to any one's business.

My experience with self-publishing says this:

Self-Publishing:

Don't: When it is a first draft, don't slef-publish a book, I now we all want to get published, but an unedited draft isn't the time to self-publish. It looks unprofessional and is the direct reason for rejection by traditional publishers.

Do: When you have edited it and made a target market plan and a business plan for your book.

Don't: When you've done a marketing plan and it looks as if, either this won't work, meaning there isn't a market, or there is a market in a small press. This means no thinking the book will sell better than what most places do. You can check this on amazon by doing a bestseller list. You will need to think of how much money to spend and what will make you a profit ( this is after expenses)

Do: When you don't need to spend untold thousands of dollars on marketing the book to make what you spend. Hence working with true self-publishing companies is a bonus-- you can spend the money where you need it not based upon a package.

Do: When it's a family history, or a book of short stories, or something that most traditional publishers will say no to. ( Poems, family stories, short story anthologies, unless you can find a small publisher.)

Don't: Get talked into a "package" that is too expensive. It's your money and if you don't think you'll make it back think a hundred times. If it's "free" look deeper, there is nothing which is free.

Do: Your homework, know which companies sell the best average number of books. (You can find this anywhere, on google or on yahoo, or on MSN, but generally not on the companies websites.)

I will recommend one book which has been of value to me, get it even if you don't intend to self-publish The Fine Print, by Mark Levine. He goes though tons of contracts and ranks most of the self-publishing companies. It's a great read.

Tradional Publishing: Small Presses:

Don't: Go to them with a first or second draft, or any draft that hasn't been edited by an editor. End of discussion.

Don't: Automatically assume that you need a literary agent for every publishing houses, some small presses will allow for un-agented manuscripts, not many but some.

Do: Get an editor and a reader, and get some reading done on traditional publishing companies. Some give information about contracts on their websites, others won't. You need to do your homework. An editor can point to the better places for your work.

Do: Get some good books on publishing and marketing, the more you know...

Don't: Go and send your manuscript everywhere, make a list of say ten or so publsihers you'd like to contact and find out about them.

Do: Have a bit of fun, most smaller publishers want someone who is willing to work with them, and know their work inside and out. hence, no second drafts.

If you had to choise between one or teh other which one is better?

Both, but it is dependant upon your goals, for example: some non-fiction sell better from a self-publishing company, whereas, most fiction won't.

Why?  because it is the money and marketing issue it is much easier to write a book which is factually based and then self-publish it and have readers find it and buy this book, than with fiction.

You need to know the market, you need to understand the cost of publishing a book and what is a royalty and not get some basic knowledge beforehand and the life of a published author becomes easier.  for example if you are going to traditionally publish you will need to know that an advance is against your royalties which you might potentially make. 

in other words a traditional publisher such as Random House will make an educated guess of the market that a potential author can have with a group of readers.  After a while readers are very loyal.  Yet, they are also only a part of selling books, as the reader needs to know and find you first.

Know what should and should not be offered by both a traditional publisher and a self-publisher, if they promise you the moon, run don't walk away. If they tell you that it might work, think about it and ask for a contract, if it is a self-publishing company or a traditional publishing company as most will have a "draft copy" you can look over.

As you've probably guessed, since I've used both methods of publishing, either will work but each case is unique and it is up to you to decide.