How do I get published?

A question I frequently encounter is “How do I get published?”

Let’s skip over the writing-of-the-book part of the equation, and let’s assume you have written and revised the best book you possibly can, using the services of a book coach or an editor or both, and you’re truly ready to seek publication.

There are many ways to get a book published. The path you take depends on what your goals are.

I ask my writers early on: What is your tolerance for

• The time it takes to bring a book to market?

• The upfront cost vs the potential return?

• Meeting industry expectations?

Because the answers to those questions will help determine which publishing path to choose. 

In brief, traditional and agented publishing can take years. Hybrid- and independent or self-publishing can move much faster. 

Traditional publishing does not ask for a financial investment from the author but in return for providing editorial/design/marketing/promotion/production/sales/distribution keeps 85-95% of the royalties. Smaller traditional presses don’t require writers to have an agent, but the Big 5 publishers do, and seeking an agent is an added complexity on the path to publication, which I’ll address next week. 

Hybrid publishing requires a not-insignificant investment from the author to provide many of the services traditional publishers offer, and in return the author receives a greater share of the royalties. 

In independent or self-publishing, the author sources and pays for most or all of the required services – and keeps all or most of the profits (depending on printing and distribution costs).

So for example, if you are writing a very specific guide that supports your business, you may wish to self-publish in order to get the book out fast and retain creative control over your product.

If you’re writing a book that could serve academic classes as well as some specialized general interest, and waiting a year or two for the book to make it through the editorial/production/publishing process, and earning a rather token amount in royalties isn’t a deal-breaker, an academic publisher with a trade arm might be a good fit.

(This example is from my personal experience as the co-author of an anthropology text: I earned about $70 a year from the sales of the book from 2008-2020. Yep, that’s not a typo.)   

If your name is Michelle Obama and you have written a book on how you got to where you are today… I probably don’t need to tell you how to proceed. But seriously, getting agent representation and publication from a Big 5 publisher takes time, patience, and a willingness to play by industry rules and meet industry expectations… which is not the right fit for a lot of books! 

Being honest with yourself about your goals and who your book serves will help you figure out the best publication path for you. 

There is more to it than that, but that’s a very high level overview of the tradeoffs.

The best overview of publishing paths is here: https://www.janefriedman.com/key-book-publishing-path/