Getting published

Photo by Cathryn Matto

Cathryn Matto

Dealing with publishing professionals can be very intimidating, and many new authors simply step back and let them take control. But it does not have to be this way. This article will describe how different types of publishing options suit a wide range of authors. You will realise that getting published does not have be the daunting experience it is often played out to be: it can be very rewarding and exhilarating with the right skills to guide you through!

Standard print publishing is a common option for authors. It can, though, be very difficult to break into print with a reputable commercial publisher and it is a good idea to consider getting an agent. An agent will try to sell your manuscript to a publishing house, will handle contract negotiations and will assist in communications between you and the publisher. Without an agent, friction can take place between a writer and publisher; their main aim is to make a profit, whilst the aim of the writer is to get the manuscript into print.

If you decide against getting an agent, keep in mind that most publishers receive thousands of unsolicited manuscripts a year, and of those they might buy one or two. You can increase your chances of getting published by researching your market before submitting your manuscript.

Upon your manuscript being received by the publishing house, it will be put into a large pile until it is scanned most probably by a junior editor. If the first few pages pass this stage, the manuscript will be relocated into a smaller pile for higher authority to handle. It will then be read more fully, to find out whether your manuscript has a story to tell and if it is similar to any other titles the publisher is bringing to market.

If you are accepted for publication, ambivalence may surface: on one side pride, happiness and a sense of accomplishment; on the other, doubts about the real worth of your document, more still, your own worth. Work out how you will or will not take advantage of your success to advance your own status and opportunities.

If your manuscript is rejected, remember that even the most experienced authors have faced rejection. It can be, and generally is, a helpful and brief setback, a time of learning, sharpening and strengthening your work. The only way to avoid rejection is to avoid submitting your work; at least by submitting you have the contentment of knowing that an effort was made.

An incorrect assumption is that publishers do not want new writers. In actual fact, they need new writers to replace authors that have moved to other publishing houses. It is important to keep writing no matter what the outcome.

Self-publishing is an option that new authors also consider. Self-publishing takes a lot of work—you have to be a good business person, gain reliable legal, design, and marketing information, and you need to be or have a decent accountant. A number of writers who decide to publish independently have published with large publishing houses but are dissatisfied at how writers can be treated. There are often issues involving editing and getting your royalties paid.

Two major advantages of self-publishing are that you will have creative control over your product and will be able to keep most of the income from it. This includes your own subsidiary-right sales, which can attract extra amounts of money. The most important element about self-publishing is that from the very beginning you mustn’t lose track of costs—small publishers usually have a narrow profit margin.

Photo by Cathryn Matto

It is very likely that your first self-published publication will not be distributed by big wholesalers. Despite this, if you produce a professional-looking publication, your chances of getting distributed by other non-exclusive distributors is greatly increased. For example, Amazon.com carries titles from self-publishing authors.

Another option for getting your work published is e-publishing. Epublishingway.com defines e-publishing very well stating, ‘simply put, e-publishing, short for electronic publishing, is publishing information—books, reports, info-products, interactive media—in electronic format, making these accessible in several forms: on CDs, as downloadable files (zipped or compressed, executable, in PDF or RTF) or in 3.5 diskettes. Smaller e-published matter can be transmitted through email as attachments.’

E-publishing is a good direction to take as a publishing option, but enter into it with caution. There can be no argument against the fact that the Internet has been oversold as a place to sell books. A majority of e-publishers want to own your publishing rights; this is no different to what a standard print publisher would demand. They can be very persuasive and hard-nosed, weakening new authors into a position where it is extremely difficult for them to negotiate their terms.

If you want to avoid this, there is an alternative e-publishing option: you keep all your publishing rights and sell your own e-publication on the Web, via your website. Make it possible for customers to pay by secure credit card to download digital files of your publication. Keep in mind that there is a limit to the number of people who would want to read e-publications. Apparently even Stephen King was unsuccessful with sales of his highly publicised e-book! This having been said, there is one thing you can be certain of: you have to do a great deal of online promotion to incite people to visit your site and buy your e-publication.

No matter which publishing option most appeals to you learn to take a step away from your work and view it as dispassionately as possible. Your publication is just one of thousands that publishing professionals read through each year. Therefore, attempt to imagine how editors and agents see your work, how, in the next stage, bookstores will see it, and still further down the track, how reviewers will see it. When you are in this mind-frame, you can see how your work might be packaged, marketed and improved. Most importantly, you will get a lot of professional information under your belt, which will enable you to make educated decisions in future.

Epublishingway.com 2006, cited in Warren, PN 2002, Letter to a New Young Author Or, Some Thoughts on Getting Published These Days, Wildcat International, viewed 20 August 2006, http://wildcatintl.com/partners/pnw/secrets/se_41.html.

Lanza, ML, The 'Ups' and 'Downs' of Getting Published, Nursing Management, April 1995, pp 481-483.

Warren, PN, Letter to a New Young Author Or, Some Thoughts on Getting Published These Days, Lambda Book Report, May 2002, Vol. 10, Issue 10.

Warren, PN, Letter to a New Young Author Or, Some Thoughts on Getting Published These Days, Lambda Book Report, June/July 2002, Vol. 10, Issue 11.

For some handy links to publishers' sites, competitions, and generally useful writing websites and contacts, visit our writers' central.