Publishing: Your Options and the Pros and Cons
I don’t think I’ve done a post like this before and it occurred to me that many of my readers and folks out in the blogosphere might like a post that looks into the various options for publishing and whether they are worth it. So, for this post I’m going to put together a short list of the various publishing options and what their strengths and weaknesses are. Here goes: Standard Publishing (Big Press) Pros Bigger print runs. More potential exposure (big presses may or may not put money into advertising your work). Editing services provided. Automatic “respect.” Large advance (w/ royalties also earned). Cons Hard to break into this side of the industry. Even good manuscripts get rejected. Run on a profit platform where selling many copies of one book (or many copies of multiple books) is the standard. This means books are bought based on their profitability, with content taking a close second. This doesn’t mean crappy books are picked up, it just means that if a book is too niche, big presses are unlikely to take them. Long wait times for submissions. Long wait times for publication. Sometimes weeks, but most of the time months or even over a year. No simultaneous submissions to most big presses. One place at a time. Niche Publishing/Standard Small Publishing (Small Press) Pros Greater attention paid to individual books. Variety; there are an enormous amount of them. Most pay with royalties. Much more receptive to short story collections than big presses. Cons Fewer titles published each year than big presses. Because they are often niche markets, they are limited in what they take. Low advance or no advance. Smaller print runs. Depending on the publisher, there may be low distribution (Amazon and some bookstores, but not necessarily places like Borders). Rare instances of unprofessional behavior and publishers caving due to economic pressure (and I mean rare). Print-on-Demand (POD) Publishing (Small Press) Pros Your title never goes out of print. Books printed as needed. They pay in royalties. Other pros are roughly the same as for standard small presses. Cons Low distribution. Many chain stores will not take these books. Low advance or no advance. Low print runs if any (print runs are made obsolete by POD technology). Can be difficult to tell the difference between legitimate POD presses and ones simply trying to take advantage of you. Other cons roughly the same as for standard small presses. Print-on Demand (POD) Publishing (Self Publishing; Lulu, etc.) Pros Low cost to the author to get a novel printed (sometimes nothing). Titles are printed a needed. Complete creative control, with some exceptions where ISBN #s come into play. Pays in royalties. Cons You have to market your work on your own. Usually costs extra to distribute via major websites such as Amazon. Books usually cost significantly more than those published by small or big presses. Some free POD methods exist (such as via Lulu), but those tend to be limited. Most companies charge a large fee for printing packages. Selling books is, for most, nearly impossible. You have to really have something worth the money. You are stuck in a sea of other people who think they are great writers when, in reality, they aren’t. This makes getting people to view your novel difficult at best. Sometimes distribution doesn’t work properly. When something goes wrong, you have to take care of it. There is no company to perform those tasks for you. Many POD self-publishing companies intentionally take advantage of writers by promising them things that aren’t actually provided, etc. If you get into POD self-publishing, be aware of what you’re actually getting. Editing services almost always cost extra. Other professional services (formatting, etc.) almost always cost extra as well. Those companies that claim to provide these services for free are usually lying. POD self-publishing companies can be difficult at best, even when they are good companies. Getting your novel in stores is practically limited to what independent bookstores are willing to take the risk. Self-publishing comes with a stigma that is often justified by the overwhelming amount of garbage printed on a regular basis and thrust on the public. Standard Self-publishing (Note: Many self-publishing houses are switching to a POD format these days) Pros Complete creative control, with some exceptions where ISBN #s come into play. Pays in royalties (technically). Cons Basically all the same as POD self-publishing (minus the bits related directly to POD printing). Many of these companies will intentionally misrepresent what they do and con you out of your money. Know what you are getting into before you cough up the big bucks. Almost always costs an exorbitant amount of money for a publishing package. You have to print the quantity you want. No POD. The cost for the books you print comes out of your pocket. Podcast Novels (Podiobooks, Podnovels, Author-distributed Audiobooks) Pros Free (technically). Complete creative control. You can essentially do whatever you want. An enormous community for support. Audio format makes it easier on the listener/reader as they can take the book wherever they go. Cons Can cost a bit of money to get set up (mics, etc.), but generally getting started is low cost. Limited audience (and sometimes a picky audience). It’s hard to break into the field and do well now that podcasting has grown. Has unfortunately been stuck with the stigma surrounding self-publishing, though to a lesser degree. All marketing, etc. is the responsibility of the author. Self-published eBooks (downloadable books in various formats) Pros Basically the same pros as self-published work (creative control, etc.). Can be good marketing tools for blogs, when done properly. Cons Basically the same cons as self-published work. Can be hard to sell since it is an electronic only format; a lot of people still won’t read electronic stuff (this is the same with most electronic formats, though). Fiction is especially hard to sell in this format primarily because eBooks have and continue to be the domain of
Frederick Pohl, the Blogger
It’s unfortunate that I forgot to blog about this, but SF great Frederick Pohl has started blogging. If you don’t know who that is, you should. He’s one of those classic authors who filled the early-ish days of SF and the years following with wonderful books on all sorts of nifty SF topics. I suppose the question would be: why is this cool? Well, how many of these old-time authors are blogging or even had the opportunity before they passed on? Not many (I can’t even think of any other than Pohl). So check it out, leave some comments, and subscribe to it! If you liked this post, please stumble it, digg it, or buzz it.
Giveaways and Announcements
First things first, some giveaways: Enroute to Life has a giveaway for The Terror by Dan Simmons. Drey’s Library has a whole collection of Kitty Norville books (that’s six books). Stephanie’s Confessions of a Book-a-holic also has a giveaway for The Terror by Dan Simmons. The Discriminating Fangirl also has a whole collection of Kitty Norville books. And now announcements:OpusFest is back! March 13 – 15, 2009 at Red Lion Hotel (I-70 and Quebec) Denver, CO. Come meet Ilona and Gordon Andrews, Gil Bruvel, Stephen Segal, David Boop and many others. Click for more information. And that is all! If you liked this post, please stumble it, digg it, or buzz it.
Courage Campaign Against Prop 8: Sign the Petition
I recently came across a petition against the Kenneth Starr case that, if successful, will legally divorce 18,000 gay and lesbian couples in the state of California. That’s right, the state will legally strip them over those marriages. We’re not talking choice. They have no choice if Starr wins. Think about it. I’m not going to rant here, because I just can’t do it right now. It’s too much for me to take that we are still so occupied by hatred and discrimination in this country. What I am going to do is ask those of you who follow this blog or stumble across it to please spread the news about this petition that will be, I hope, influential in overturning Prop 8. Here is what I would like those of you out there to do. Since they need signatures by Valentine’s Day (the 14th), please sign the petition if you are a California resident. If you’re not, that’s okay. Everyone who blogs about this, stumbles or diggs the petition page, you will be helping out. Post it on twitter, tell your friends, do whatever it takes. We need to get the word out on this and the more people spreading the word, the better. So let’s help this along. All of us. Let’s not let this past election just be one step forward, two steps back, but a giant leap into the future.