A
Author Partnering Program
A message to writers who want to be published.
The vast majority of writers who are about to complete their manuscript, or have done so, want to see it in the form of a book. However out of 100 writers who begin a novel, only three make it to the completed manuscript stage. So, if we've written it, we are in rare company.
Let's take at look at the 4 paths to publish - Traditional, Vanity, & Independent Publishing, plus a new paradigm in publishing, an idea we are calling the Author Partnering Program.
Traditional Publishing
Where do we go from here? We have completed my manuscript. We suppose that the next step is sending our baby off to Simon & Schuster or Random House. We can certainly do that. The statistics are against us though. Most of the big guys, what are commonly know as the Traditional Publishers, don't read unsolicited manuscripts and will either send them right back to unopened, or drop the envelope with our baby in it, onto the slush pile, the recycling bin.
In actuality, the next step on the Traditional route, ought to be to find a Literary Agent. An agent is there to be the intermediary between us and the publisher. To hook up with this person, we first must write a winning query letter and send it off. There are advantages and disadvantages in going with a Traditional Publisher. The primary reason for going with Simon & Schuster is because they are Simon & Schuster. Wow, our book must be good! They also print books in larger quantities than either the Vanity Press or Independent Publishers (Self Publishers).
At one time, the Traditionals could be expected to market for us, but those days are gone. Unless we're John Grisham or Stephen King or a celebrity, we can't expect much help. One thing they might do is distribute our book to bookstores where, unless we are doing an event at those stores, we're competing with thousands of other books. After a few weeks to a few months, the bookstores will return the un-sold books to the publisher. The publisher will deduct the costs of the returns from your next check (if you were lucky enough to get a first one). Not a fun experience. An author needs to support each bookstore and not allow our books to fend for themselves.
Some of the disadvantages with the big boys, is the time we have to wait until our book comes out, about two years average, and that we are giving the rights to our book to them. They can change the title, change content, our words basically, as we have sold our rights to them. What they pay us (with rare exceptions) is a mere pittance, 4-5% of the book price. On a $30 hardback book, our cut is $1.20 to $1.50 per book.
Nielsen Bookscan, the primary statistics gatherer for the Book Industry, reports of the 1.2 million books sold in 2004, only 10 authors sold over a million, not much of a chance of any of us doing that. 950,000 authors out of those 1.2 million sold fewer than 99 copies, that’s 80% of all writers selling less than 100 copies. Sell over 100 copies and we're in the top 20% already. Sell 100 books at $1.50 and we've made $150. And that's the top 20%. Talk about starving artists.
There are some things we can do to increase our odds of getting published by a Traditional. For more in depth coverage of this please stay tuned for more info or sign up by email (sales@javelinabooks.com) for more updates on the workshop which is in the developmental stages -
HOW TO WRITE A BOOK,
GET IT PUBLISHED,
& MAKE A LIVING FROM IT
- IN 11 EASY STEPS.
Vanity Press
There are advantages and disadvantages in signing with a Vanity Press as well. Since the Traditional Publisher is overwhelmed with manuscripts and has no interest in publishing new un-tried writers, the Vanities are picking up the slack. Check out I-Universe (www.iuniverse.com) or Author House (www.authorhouse.com) or Outskirts Press (www.outskirtspress.com). Keystone Digital Press (www.kdpress.com) offers a quick method to cost out the printing of a book on-line to see what kind of investment is needed. Anyway, there are a bunch of them. Advantages are that while there is an investment with Vanities, it is pretty affordable, so we can get your book published fairly reasonably. If our goal is to get a book out quickly, with very little investment, and we don't care how many you sell, this may work.
The primary disadvantage is the amount of return the author makes. Vanity Presses are in business to make a profit, and our cut as an author is too low for us to sell our book to bookstores and Amazon who require a 55% discount. The Vanities have a poor reputation, because quality control is left up to the author, and it is felt by many that not enough diligence is put into the writing and editing of the books that they publish. Additionally, there is a cookie cutter, one size fits all, mentality. For one, there are limited sizes that they will handle. Recycled paper is not available for the most part. Templates are used for the Book Cover. Please check out one or more of these publishers to see if it fits in with the overall picture.
Independent Publishing
Sometimes called Self Publishing, it can be confusing, since the Print on Demand - POD companies and Vanity Presses also say they are in the Self Publishing business. We like the term, Independent Publishing to be clear, meaning that the author starts up our own publishing business. The big benefit is, we keep the profits. Instead of making $1 per book for a $20 book with the Traditionals, or $8 - $10 with the Vanities, we invest $4-5 per book and sell it for $20, making $15 - $16 per book. That is one of the big reasons why according to the Publishers Marketing Association, 78% of book titles last year were published by Independents.
There are many steps to getting a book out, some of which are cover & interior design, the ISBN number & bar code, which allows your book to be scanned at the checkout stand, copyrighting editing/proofreading, and on it goes. There are lots of books covering this topic.
Doing it yourself is not for every writer. It is a way though, to have more control in getting that book out of our head and heart and into our hands. As an Independent Publisher, we're the boss. But there is a learning curve as with any business. When we're working on a shoestring budget, mistakes can kill. Another big disadvantage, one that bothers a lot of writers, is that time is taken away from writing and put into publishing. We are writers and we want to write, dammit!
Author Partnering
Building a partnership between an author and a publisher is a pretty new idea, but one that is sure to develop as other avenues of getting our book out there become less feasible. The only disadvantage for the author who wants to spend his or her time writing and not operating a publishing business, is the publisher needs to add a degree of profit, but the leg work has been done, prices for someone who has been down that road a time or two are usually better than the trial and error method. Some of the advantages are -
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The author signs with an established publishing company.
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The book is done as quickly or quicker than any other method.
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The publisher does the cover and interior design, editing, and so forth, leaving the author free to write.
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Control of title, price of book, copyright, etc, is in the hands of the author.
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There is a better chance of success since we are working much more closely with someone who has been through it, than what is offered by the Traditionals, the Vanities, or our own Self Publishing efforts.
For more information on Partnering with Javelina Books, call or email and we'll set up a time to talk over the options.
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