From the Editor’s Desk: The Three Ways to Publish Your Book

​I posted the other day about how writers might refocus their point of concern. Rather than fret about getting published, we might focus on perfecting the story. What drives that observation, in part, is the fact that it’s never been easier to get published. To publish means, literally, to make your work public (or at least publicly available), and there are many routes to that end these days. Some don’t even involve publishing at all, at least in the conventional meaning of “printing.” Social media, video channels, and even old-fashioned blogs like this one all provide you with means to get your work in front of readers. So if readers are the goal, then there’s no reason to sweat being published. As I noted earlier, if wealth and fame are the goal, there are easier ways to achieve those ends than through the pain of writing.
 
For writers that DO want to get their work into print, there are three primary ways to achieve this, as I detail after the break:

​1. Traditional publishing house. This is the method of publication probably most familiar to all readers. You contract with a publisher such as Random House or Simon & Schuster and they publish your book. No money changes hands up front, though you will get royalties based on sales on the back end. The publisher handles all aspects of production, including editorial, cover design, formatting, and indexing. They also do (much of) the marketing. Because of their sunk costs, your royalties will be very low, a few percentage points (at most) on each unit sold. Because risk to you is largely mitigated in this method, plus the added benefits of whatever psychological satisfaction an author gets from being published, this is generally considered the gold standard. For that reason, however, the barriers to entry are very, very high. In other words, it is extraordinarily hard to get published. If you are set on one of the big publishers, you will need an agent, and securing an agent, while not impossible, is a very difficult, even harrowing process.
 
On the other hand, there are lots and lots of small, independent presses that will traditionally publish your book. The outfit for which I do a lot of work, Savas Beatie, is a leader in military history. Belt Publishing out of Pittsburgh publishes a wealth of fascinating urban and Rust Belt stories. Hub City Press in Spartanburg, South Carolina, publishes a steady stream of fine Southern literature. There are many, many quality independent presses operating today, and just because you may not break into the big leagues with one of the big five doesn’t mean your dreams of traditional publishing need to be put on hold. The smaller houses don’t always have the marketing reach of the big houses, but as we’ve already established, that may not need concern you in the first place. Writers who are seriously aiming to be published would do well to consider a small, independent trade press.
 
2. Self-publishing. A novel method to get your work into print has emerged in recent years, thanks to improvements in technology and the distributional power of the web via outlets such as Amazon. Any writer can get his or her work published if they self-publish. Besides Amazon, there are software programs available that will help turn your manuscript into a properly formatted book. Self-publishing is a valid and viable strategy for many writers. If you understand book production, can either pay for or do the editing and formatting yourself, know how to design a cover, and are comfortable marketing your book, self-publishing may be for you. In this mode, the author keeps 100% of the royalties, but shoulders all costs for production (editing, formatting, cover design, indexing) plus all burdens of marketing. If the author's expertise in any of these areas is wanting, the final product, and hence sales, are unlikely to be impressive. If the author cannot do any of these things, then additional costs must be incurred to hire a freelancer (a poorly designed cover, e.g., will sink sales from the jump.) Many self-published titles do quite well in the market place, so while self-publishing doesn’t bring the cache of being published by one of the large houses, if the goal is readers and an artifactual book, then self-publishing is a viable option for many people. I have plans to self-publish a book myself in the coming year or two.
 
3. Hybrid publishing. Finally, the most novel form of publishing has appeared in the last few years, what we call the “hybrid” model. As the category implies, hybrid publishing involves a blend of traditional and self-publishing. What it means is that a publishing house will publish your book, but for a fee. Rather than doing all the production yourself, or hiring separate individuals (editor, designer, formatter, indexer) to do it, the publisher will do it all. So you can expect professional editing, cover design, formatting, and indexing. You can also expect at least some marketing effort, at least in the form of an annual catalog.* The downside to having all that production professionally done is the cost: There are a host of variables including length, pictures, and other concerns, but the cost could be from $4000 to as much as $10,000 or perhaps more. You are essentially paying a vetted pro to do all the production, thereby mitigating most of the risk to you. On the plus side, the author recoups nearly all royalties, or perhaps something like an 80/20 split. So depending on how many units you move, it may be cost effective to go the hybrid route. There is greater upfront cost, but the quality of the final product is better guaranteed than with a self-published book, and that might convert to more sales. Beware that there are scammers out there, so before you work with a hybrid publisher, do your due diligence, and read your contract carefully. I’ve worked with Ben Davidoff, of Brown Books in Dallas, on a hybrid project and was quite pleased with the resulting work.
 
The question about expected sales drives a lot of this, of course, and that is the great unknown. If you are certain you have a top-quality manuscript and can afford the added time and inevitable rejection, make queries to agents and try to place your work with a top trade press. Failing that, consider a smaller but still reputable and quality independent trade press. If you have a high knowledge base and a tolerance for some risk, self-publishing may suit your project. (I just completed editing of a book that will be self-published, and it is PHENOMENAL!) Or, if you want certain publication but without the risk attendant to self-publishing, consider a reputable hybrid press.
 
Ponder your variables: cost, your time, your expertise, marketing, and other personal factors. How those variables come together in your own situation will determine, to a large degree, which of the options makes most sense to you. Whichever route you choose, I am here to help.
 
*Note: these days, all publishers expect authors to do at least some of their own marketing, and they are unlikely to offer a contract if they don't think you can do any.

​--David J. Snyder