I am contracting with an author right now that is in essence doing just that. He was contacted by (yes you read that right -she sought him out) the former vice-president of Penguin Books about his novel. She has been trying to hook him up with a traditional publisher since last year and wants to publicize him after that.
He is tired of waiting and so he called me back (a year after we talked last) to represent him.
He decided that he wants a book in print so he's just going to publish the book himself through Book Surge (a subsidiary of Amazon.com) and sell thousands of copies and be picked up by a traditional publisher later. Here's the kicker: He's not making the book available to major distributors like Baker and Taylor and Ingram. If you've read the other posts you know that means bookstores cannot order his books. He plans on selling thousands of books through Amazon.com alone. He talked about nationally syndicated book review programs that he wants to be on. He has great plans for his book but all that resonated through my head was our conversation from a year ago when he said, "There's typos in the book but they don't matter!"
I think it's an understatement to say I was floored through our whole conversation as he revealed more and more of his plans.
Here are the main points in our conversation I felt he needed to know:
1. I can't make any guarantees about the media who might want to interview him because I haven't even seen a copyof his manuscript. (I have to check and see if he cleaned up all the typos he mentioned before.)
2. The big nationally syndicated shows he was talking about aren't going to look at him because he doesn't have a major publisher behind him. Your publisher matters when you want in with the big players in the literary industry.
3. The cover price matters. He said he chose his cover price of $15.00 but if there's only 100 pages we have a major problem!
4. He can't expect to do any bookstore signings since the bookstores can't purchase his book from the distributors.
The other topic I discussed is that I would never encourage an author to stop trying for a traditional publisher until he got his final no. He has not received a single rejection! He said his friend waited 2-3 years and was published by a small publisher that didn't rocket his friend to the top so he wasn't going to wait.
Wow. He wants to sell thousands of copies right off the bat without making them available to bookstores, getting a top of the line publisher or even possibly having a crystal clear manuscript. But he's hiring a publicist so that should make it all better!
Memo to authors:
Publicists can typically do what you can't but we're not demi-gods or miracle workers. Please give us something to work with!
I can already see the cloud of doom on the horizon making me the bad guy because his book didn't sell thousands of copies.
Showing posts with label publishing house. Show all posts
Showing posts with label publishing house. Show all posts
Wednesday, May 2, 2007
Friday, April 20, 2007
POD vs POD
There are 2 different PODs floating around in the literary world. One POD stands for print-on-demand. The other stands for publish-on-demand. They are two different processes but rather closely related.
Print-on-demand is when a company like Lightening Source keeps a book stored electronically then prints it whenever there is a request for the book.
Publish-on-demand is when a company will publish just about anything sent to them by authors regardless of editorial standard.
How are they related? Generally, the publish-on-demand companies use a print-on-demand company to fulfill orders for books. Traditional publishers have been known to utilize print-on-demand companies but not for new releases. Traditional publishers use print-on-demand for books that people are still buying once in a while but not enough to justify printing another run of books.
My issue with publish-on-demand should be transparent. Generally publish-on-demand gets authors' hopes up then sets them up for extreme disappointment when they aren't a best-seller. I think there is a definite place for print-on-demand in the literary world so that classics are still accessible to the general public. I don't think print-on-demand will ever be able to match the cover prices of traditional publishers for new works and should be avoided for a new release.
Print-on-demand is when a company like Lightening Source keeps a book stored electronically then prints it whenever there is a request for the book.
Publish-on-demand is when a company will publish just about anything sent to them by authors regardless of editorial standard.
How are they related? Generally, the publish-on-demand companies use a print-on-demand company to fulfill orders for books. Traditional publishers have been known to utilize print-on-demand companies but not for new releases. Traditional publishers use print-on-demand for books that people are still buying once in a while but not enough to justify printing another run of books.
My issue with publish-on-demand should be transparent. Generally publish-on-demand gets authors' hopes up then sets them up for extreme disappointment when they aren't a best-seller. I think there is a definite place for print-on-demand in the literary world so that classics are still accessible to the general public. I don't think print-on-demand will ever be able to match the cover prices of traditional publishers for new works and should be avoided for a new release.
Monday, April 16, 2007
When is a POD/self-publishing/vanity press OK?
There are some situations where printers like Publish America have their place. These situations are when the authors are not looking to sell a lot of copies or only sell copies to family members. You may want to write your memoir for your children, your children's children, your children's children's children and so on. In this case, you don't necessarily want to sell thousands to strangers but you're not interested in paying thousands to a publisher either.
Maybe you just want to write something, print it then have a book with your name as the author. This is a good time to choose companies like Publish America.
I strongly encourage serious authors to avoid these options even if they want to retain editorial control. If the book idea is good enough, the editor lets you keep control. If your idea is close but not close enough, that's when you run into editors that take over and bring other people in. If you are serious about your idea, fight for the traditional publishing route first. You'll never regret it.
I honestly have never understood why an author would choose a company like iUniverse where you pay between $300 and $1000 to see your book in print, usually get pressured into mediocre editing services, end up with a high cover price and find out it's nonreturnable (which is a no-no for bookstores) when you try to set up a book signing.
I know, if I didn't work in the industry, I wouldn't know any better. This is exactly why I am posting this blog. I hope authors will enter the industry knowing what to look for and avoid these common traps.
Maybe you just want to write something, print it then have a book with your name as the author. This is a good time to choose companies like Publish America.
I strongly encourage serious authors to avoid these options even if they want to retain editorial control. If the book idea is good enough, the editor lets you keep control. If your idea is close but not close enough, that's when you run into editors that take over and bring other people in. If you are serious about your idea, fight for the traditional publishing route first. You'll never regret it.
I honestly have never understood why an author would choose a company like iUniverse where you pay between $300 and $1000 to see your book in print, usually get pressured into mediocre editing services, end up with a high cover price and find out it's nonreturnable (which is a no-no for bookstores) when you try to set up a book signing.
I know, if I didn't work in the industry, I wouldn't know any better. This is exactly why I am posting this blog. I hope authors will enter the industry knowing what to look for and avoid these common traps.
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Small Publishing Houses
This is a gray area between a traditional publishing house and self-publishing. The best small publishing house to find is one in your genre. I know of a couple small publishing houses that only publish religious books. They are set up as large publishers where you pay no upfront fees, they have high editorial standards, they do as much publicity as reasonable within budget and they print runs of books.
Upfront fees:
If a publisher is asking for upfront fees they are either subsidy publishing or they are a vanity press. If you want to be a best seller, run away from vanity presses. You really want to find a smaller traditional publishing house if you want to make sales but short of a good one, a subsidy publisher might be OK if you ask them the hard questions and they have satisfactory responses.
High Editorial Standards:
This means they don't accept your book then tell you there are editorial problems later. Beware in-house editors of self-publishers, POD publishers and vanity press editors. They have motivation to let many typos and storyline problems slide just to keep moving authors through the printing process. Am I saying that all of those editors poor editors? No. I'm sure those companies find budding talent but they are hampered by the pressure their employers put on them to meet the bottom line.
The proper response should be something along the lines of, "You have a very interesting story idea. Unfortunately, there are many grammatical and storyline problems that need to be addressed before we can consider working with you." They may refer you to some editors and they may not. Their in-house editors should be busy with repeat authors working on another manuscript.
Think of it this way, how many typos do you find in the Harry Potter series? Until your manuscript is that clean, your book should not go to press. I said in another post, "Edit, Edit, Edit!" Don't take the company's word you have a clean script. Hand it around and make sure!
Publicity:
Now we are touching on my area of expertise. Publicity is FREE advertising in different media venues. This ranges from radio interviews to newspaper and magazine reviews or articles to online reviews to television appearances and book events.
If you found a genuine small publisher, they are going to send out press releases to different papers in your area as well as papers that have sections dealing with your topic. Then they FOLLOW UP! I can't tell you the number of times I have heard an author tell me that a publisher sent their press release to the New York Times Book Review and they are waiting for a call back. First of all, if you are a first time author, you have to write something earth shattering for the New York Times Book Review to take notice.
This is where a pristine manuscript makes a difference. If you possibly have a revolutionary new idea that catches the notice of a top reviewing article, they may excuse one typo. They may even be lenient with a second but if you have more than that, they are going to lose interest. Typos make you look like an ameature and you want to be a professional as possible.
Don't waste your time with a company who is going to waste your publicity time. If they ask you for a list of your friends and family to contact, they are wasting your time. You are perfectly capable of telling people you know about your book. The publisher/publicist needs to be spending their time contacting people you don't know. Smaller publishing houses don't have the huge budgets that large houses have so expecting them to fly you to Hawaii for a book signing is unreasonable. They are going to send posters, review copies, bookmarks and press releases.
Printing a run of books:
If you are dealing with an actual small publisher, they are going to print a small run of books because they think they can sell all those books. It saves them money to print that way and they can always print another run if they run out of books.
The major reason you want runs of books printed is because there is usually a lower cover price which means more people will buy your book. POD and vanity presses bump the cover price 2-3 times what competitive books are selling for. They do this because they expect fewer sales and they want to make the author think they're making a lot of money. A typical POD author makes about $1.00 a book. Publishers also need to make it worth their while so they take at least $10.00 of the cover price of the book. A traditionally published author is lucky to make $0.25 per book. It's worth their while because they will sell thousands if not hundreds of thousands of books.
Upfront fees:
If a publisher is asking for upfront fees they are either subsidy publishing or they are a vanity press. If you want to be a best seller, run away from vanity presses. You really want to find a smaller traditional publishing house if you want to make sales but short of a good one, a subsidy publisher might be OK if you ask them the hard questions and they have satisfactory responses.
High Editorial Standards:
This means they don't accept your book then tell you there are editorial problems later. Beware in-house editors of self-publishers, POD publishers and vanity press editors. They have motivation to let many typos and storyline problems slide just to keep moving authors through the printing process. Am I saying that all of those editors poor editors? No. I'm sure those companies find budding talent but they are hampered by the pressure their employers put on them to meet the bottom line.
The proper response should be something along the lines of, "You have a very interesting story idea. Unfortunately, there are many grammatical and storyline problems that need to be addressed before we can consider working with you." They may refer you to some editors and they may not. Their in-house editors should be busy with repeat authors working on another manuscript.
Think of it this way, how many typos do you find in the Harry Potter series? Until your manuscript is that clean, your book should not go to press. I said in another post, "Edit, Edit, Edit!" Don't take the company's word you have a clean script. Hand it around and make sure!
Publicity:
Now we are touching on my area of expertise. Publicity is FREE advertising in different media venues. This ranges from radio interviews to newspaper and magazine reviews or articles to online reviews to television appearances and book events.
If you found a genuine small publisher, they are going to send out press releases to different papers in your area as well as papers that have sections dealing with your topic. Then they FOLLOW UP! I can't tell you the number of times I have heard an author tell me that a publisher sent their press release to the New York Times Book Review and they are waiting for a call back. First of all, if you are a first time author, you have to write something earth shattering for the New York Times Book Review to take notice.
This is where a pristine manuscript makes a difference. If you possibly have a revolutionary new idea that catches the notice of a top reviewing article, they may excuse one typo. They may even be lenient with a second but if you have more than that, they are going to lose interest. Typos make you look like an ameature and you want to be a professional as possible.
Don't waste your time with a company who is going to waste your publicity time. If they ask you for a list of your friends and family to contact, they are wasting your time. You are perfectly capable of telling people you know about your book. The publisher/publicist needs to be spending their time contacting people you don't know. Smaller publishing houses don't have the huge budgets that large houses have so expecting them to fly you to Hawaii for a book signing is unreasonable. They are going to send posters, review copies, bookmarks and press releases.
Printing a run of books:
If you are dealing with an actual small publisher, they are going to print a small run of books because they think they can sell all those books. It saves them money to print that way and they can always print another run if they run out of books.
The major reason you want runs of books printed is because there is usually a lower cover price which means more people will buy your book. POD and vanity presses bump the cover price 2-3 times what competitive books are selling for. They do this because they expect fewer sales and they want to make the author think they're making a lot of money. A typical POD author makes about $1.00 a book. Publishers also need to make it worth their while so they take at least $10.00 of the cover price of the book. A traditionally published author is lucky to make $0.25 per book. It's worth their while because they will sell thousands if not hundreds of thousands of books.
Saturday, April 14, 2007
Finding a Literary Agent
This industry is filled with scam artists hiding behind reputable sounding names. You will read many success stories and reasons you should choose this person over that person. There is a rule of thumb I have learned and I find very logical for deciding on an agent.
Don't pay any upfront fees.
Agents with connections will be willing to stand behind your work without upfront costs because they believe they can sell the idea to a major publishing house. Agents that don't think they can sell an idea or don't have connections still need to eat so they charge fees. You don't need to pay a "reading fee", any sort of representation fee and they shouldn't have any expenses that you need to reimburse them. The only money they should receive is their percentage from the publisher's advance.
The best place I can suggest starting your search for literary agents is again the world wide web. Do a google search for "literary agent" and start looking at links. Try to find out the agents for successful authors in your genre and start there.
Good luck!
Don't pay any upfront fees.
Agents with connections will be willing to stand behind your work without upfront costs because they believe they can sell the idea to a major publishing house. Agents that don't think they can sell an idea or don't have connections still need to eat so they charge fees. You don't need to pay a "reading fee", any sort of representation fee and they shouldn't have any expenses that you need to reimburse them. The only money they should receive is their percentage from the publisher's advance.
The best place I can suggest starting your search for literary agents is again the world wide web. Do a google search for "literary agent" and start looking at links. Try to find out the agents for successful authors in your genre and start there.
Good luck!
The next step
So you have a few chapters completed? Now's the time for big decisions. Where do you really want your story to go and who is your audience?
Do you want to be a best seller?
Do you want to make a few sales on the side of your regular job?
Do you want to have something to pass along to children and friends but aren't interested in
appealing to the general population?
These are very important questions to ask yourself because this is where you make choices to determine the future of your book.
I want to be very clear on this next statement. You will only be a best seller is a MAJOR publishing house chooses to print your book under their traditional imprint.
This next statement is very important as well. Major publishing houses' traditional imprints will only look at manuscripts submitted by reputable agents.
If you want to be a best seller, right now you need to take the 3 chapters you have hammered out and make the chapters perfect. Edit, edit, edit! Once you are done editing, take it to your friends and have them make suggestions. After you gather all their suggestions, edit some more! Then, find a writing group and have the people in your writing group make suggestions and edit your chapters again. Once you think it's perfect, hire a top-notch copy editor (I'll discuss different editors and how to find them in a future post) to go over your work and make more suggestions. Then, edit your book again. Are you sensing a theme here?
I am jumping on my soap box for a minute here. I'll do this from time to time in my posts, so please bear with me. I work with many authors with all ranges of books. My biggest pet peeve in this industry is when an author says to me, "There's typos but they don't matter."
They DO matter especially to the people who you want to put their reputations on the line for you. This on top of the rudest thing I think a writer can do it care so LITTLE about their book but still expect some hard working Joe to spend money to read it or expect a member of the media to care enough to print something.
OK, stepping off the soap box...
My point is make sure you have the cleanest, most engaging 3 chapters you can possibly manage to write ready. I mentioned before you need an agent. I'll write another post on what I have learned about finding a reputable agent in a minute. Right now, you need to prepare a package to submit to agents. Agents get many submission and I am not an expert on what literary agents look for since I am not one. I only have a general rule.
The general rule is to have a well prepared cover letter with an outline of the book's story, why it is unique and your contact information. (Don't forget to tell them how they can get a hold of you!) Add that to your perfected first three chapters and send it off. Please don't forget details like printed submissions only and make sure each page is clean.
There are many services that will help you prepare a package, find agents and give addresses to top agents nationwide. I don't have those contacts to give to you but you can find them on this world wide web. I would do a google search for "literary agent" to get started.
Maybe you don't want to be a best seller but maybe sell some books or simply have something to pass on to posterity. Those are options as well.
Tune in soon for more information!
Do you want to be a best seller?
Do you want to make a few sales on the side of your regular job?
Do you want to have something to pass along to children and friends but aren't interested in
appealing to the general population?
These are very important questions to ask yourself because this is where you make choices to determine the future of your book.
I want to be very clear on this next statement. You will only be a best seller is a MAJOR publishing house chooses to print your book under their traditional imprint.
This next statement is very important as well. Major publishing houses' traditional imprints will only look at manuscripts submitted by reputable agents.
If you want to be a best seller, right now you need to take the 3 chapters you have hammered out and make the chapters perfect. Edit, edit, edit! Once you are done editing, take it to your friends and have them make suggestions. After you gather all their suggestions, edit some more! Then, find a writing group and have the people in your writing group make suggestions and edit your chapters again. Once you think it's perfect, hire a top-notch copy editor (I'll discuss different editors and how to find them in a future post) to go over your work and make more suggestions. Then, edit your book again. Are you sensing a theme here?
I am jumping on my soap box for a minute here. I'll do this from time to time in my posts, so please bear with me. I work with many authors with all ranges of books. My biggest pet peeve in this industry is when an author says to me, "There's typos but they don't matter."
They DO matter especially to the people who you want to put their reputations on the line for you. This on top of the rudest thing I think a writer can do it care so LITTLE about their book but still expect some hard working Joe to spend money to read it or expect a member of the media to care enough to print something.
OK, stepping off the soap box...
My point is make sure you have the cleanest, most engaging 3 chapters you can possibly manage to write ready. I mentioned before you need an agent. I'll write another post on what I have learned about finding a reputable agent in a minute. Right now, you need to prepare a package to submit to agents. Agents get many submission and I am not an expert on what literary agents look for since I am not one. I only have a general rule.
The general rule is to have a well prepared cover letter with an outline of the book's story, why it is unique and your contact information. (Don't forget to tell them how they can get a hold of you!) Add that to your perfected first three chapters and send it off. Please don't forget details like printed submissions only and make sure each page is clean.
There are many services that will help you prepare a package, find agents and give addresses to top agents nationwide. I don't have those contacts to give to you but you can find them on this world wide web. I would do a google search for "literary agent" to get started.
Maybe you don't want to be a best seller but maybe sell some books or simply have something to pass on to posterity. Those are options as well.
Tune in soon for more information!
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