Article 2 in the series: So You Want to Be a Writer?

There are more ways than ever to get your book published–in other words, put it in a format that can be shared with others. In particular, the world of self-publishing is growing by leaps and bounds. At the same time, traditional publishing remains strong, but is experiencing many growing pains that make entry, as a new author, difficult.

Traditional, or Trad : This includes the “Big Five” publishers (Penguin Random House, Simon and Schuster, Hachette Group, Harper Collins, and Macmillan), a huge number of small-large presses NOT owned by the Big Five, and academic presses.

The bigger the publisher, the more likely they will require authors work with an agent

The bigger the publisher, the more likely they will require authors work with an agent (more on agents in a the next article). This is a big part of the gatekeeping and is rarely an easy relationship to establish.

Traditional publishers may or may not give an advance–an amount of money, usually split into several payments, meant to show good faith and eagerness. The advance ALWAYS comes out of your royalties later. It must be returned if you break the writing contract signed with the publisher–for example, you never deliver the finished manuscript.

Traditional publishers assume all expenses: editorial, copyediting, proofreading, layout, cover design, title (you might have a little say), printing, distribution and sometimes a bit* of marketing. (*more on marketing in another segment, but basically, the bigger the advance the more likely they’ll put more into marketing.)

Self-Publishing: When an author maintains creative and production control of their work, including funding all steps from editorial, design, print, and distribution. Sometimes called Indie publishing (although small independent presses, such as those mentioned above, use the same term). The term indie author is probably more accurate and is often used.

According to a survey by the Authors Guild, self-publishing is the only segment of the industry to show much growth when it comes to author income!

So when is it a vanity press? This is an older term and rather derogatory. But typically hints that the author probably only wants to write one book and just get it in print so they can hold it in their hands, share it with others interested, and so forth–in other words, they aren’t seeking a career or long term avocation as a writer.

Hybrid Publishing: Just what it sounds like, there is some gatekeeping regarding the selection of which manuscripts they will publish, possibly some included production costs, then shared costs at a variety of levels. This route is often chosen by authors who don’t want to, or cannot, take on the production issues, such as finding an editor, a cover designer, etc.

Next: What Happens when You Submit a Manuscript?

Image thanks to and by Venita Oberholster from Pixabay