You wrote your book. Poured your heart into it. And frankly, you feel it’s a masterpiece. Now you want to show it to the world.
Say hello to publishing!
But the path to publishing is more often than not a long and winded one. So, where to get started exactly?
Well, the great news is that there is more than one way to begin. Why? Because there is more than one path to publishing a book.
Let’s dive in, shall we?
1. Traditional
Traditional publishing is the tried and tested way to get your foot in the door to the world of publishing. You submit your manuscript throughout the commercial gamut of veterans like Macmillan, Penguin, Hachette, HarperCollins, and wait for a reply. Or alternatively, there are also a series of independent publishers to go for.
Traditional publishing takes the financial and creative risk off of your shoulders. It gives you the power of physical book distribution, media coverage, editors and designers, along with a contract that pays an advance on your work plus royalties.
Authors are usually represented by literary agents in this path.
2. Self-Publishing
Self-publishing, as the name suggests, is doing everything yourself. You edit, design, hire assistance if needed, cut a deal with the retailers and take care of the printing processes. The upside is that you’ll own all the rights and royalties, have complete creative and marketing freedom, all while holding significantly higher profit potential.
3. Print-On-Demand (POD) Publishing
The safe way to recognition, POD is a process where the books are not printed until you have a confirmed order in place. It essentially allows printing in small quantities and batches to stay on top of the bottom line. You collaborate with a POD company that publishes and ships out your book as they receive an order.
4. Assisted Publishing (with a company like Path To Publishing)
Even if you choose the POD path to publishing, you may still desire someone to help you get through the writing and design phases of the road to becoming a published author. A much better option than the traditional way, assisted publishing entails paying an upfront fee to get a package of services. Think of everything you need to do while self-publishing, and then imagine assigning that to an expert in the industry.
5. Hybrid or Collaborative Publishing
The road that forks between traditional and self-publishing is a partnership between the author and publisher. This is not to be confused with vanity press publishers. When working with a hybrid publisher, both the risk and revenue is shared between publisher and author. While the publishing partner provides industry expertise, the author delves into the creative aspects.
By distributing the responsibilities, Hybrid Publishing gives you enough space and freedom to focus more on the writing process. In addition, there are better royalties in place than the traditional method, along with a seasoned expert’s knowledge and experience.
And there you have it. Once you know your risk-reward appetite, the decision to choose the path to publishing gets way simpler. Whether it be traditional, self-published or fully-assisted, it is important to remember that the words within the book and the name on top of it shall always be yours.
To see which one of these paths is a fit for you, click here to take our free two-minute quiz. The results will help you get on and stay on the right path to publishing!
Sincerely,
Joylynn M. Ross CEO of Path To Publishing