Usually Not The Best Option

The first thing you need to know about book publishing houses is that *MOST* of the time, they are NOT the best option to pursue if you’re a first-time author.

Of course, there are always exceptions but generally unless you’ve hit upon an extremely “sexy” topic where the book publishing houses can see they can quickly make a profit, your chances of striking a favorable publishing deal are extremely small.

That said, I realize that many of my readers will go on and try to get published by a major publishing house in spite of what I say , so let’s explore this topic a bit further.

Differences Among Book Publishing Houses

Book publishing houses are all different. There are publishers that work in certain genres, of course. Beyond that, each publishing house has its own procedures and processes.

Some publishing houses only work with agents, for example. Other publishing houses don’t require you to have an agent. Some publishing houses accept unsolicited manuscript submissions, while others don’t.

In that same vein, book publishing houses each have different submission guidelines. You need to consider those guidelines very specifically.

You need to be able to follow their submission instructions right down to the letter. The vast majority of rejections at many book publishing houses have nothing to do with the content of the book but rather with problems in the submission process.

What Motivates A Book Publishing House?

You also need to realize that book publishing houses are in business to make money. If one of them wants to publish your book, it’s because they believe there is a market for that book, and a market that they can tap into.

They’re not doing it because they believe your book to be the best story out there, or for any altruistic or artistic reason. They believe that, once they’ve paid you and paid to produce, distribute and promote your book that they’ll still make some money.

Being told “no” by a publisher doesn’t mean “your book sucks”. It just means that the publisher doesn’t see a profit in that book.

Book publishing houses don’t always make money on a book. In fact, around 60% of books fail to make back the advance for the publisher. Even fewer books, around 10% break even. About 2% of books make a good deal of profit for the publisher, and it is those top few books that keep book publishing houses in business.

What this means for you is that your advance is, in many cases, the only profit you’re likely to see from your book, so you’d better be sure you’re comfortable with that amount.

Finally, you need to recognize that just about every good book gets rejected at least a few times before it’s published. Even if every book publishing house tells you “no,” remember that working with a traditional book publishing house is only one of many ways to get your book published.

There are several reasons to self-publish books, rather than utilize the traditional publishing model of going through a large publisher:

• You will retain control of your work. Most contracts you might sign with a big publisher will take virtually ALL of your rights as an author. That means movie rights, foreign language distribution rights, and much more. Self-publishing allows you to retain all of these valuable rights and ensure that you will be able to decide how your work is distributed.
• Publishing your own book means that you don’t have to deal with the immense amount of time and frustration involved in sending your book to agents and publishers. You will be able to publish on your timeline, rather than that of some businessperson sitting behind a desk at a publishing house.
• You will not have to submit your work to the rampant rejection experienced using the major publishing houses. Having said that, you also need to recognize that EVERY author will benefit from having an editor, and from input from experts in the field. In addition, you aren’t going to hone your craft if you can’t learn to take constructive criticism.
• Using a large publisher usually means a small advance, if any, on the front end, and a small percentage royalty on the back end once your book starts selling. Often, the first royalty check will not be paid to the author for as much as two years after the publishing contract is signed. Publishing your own book, on the other hand, allows you to enjoy a much larger percentage of the sales made by your book, and ensures that you can be paid much sooner.
• When authors self-publish books, and then learn how to effectively promote them, they will have MUCH greater leverage in negotiating with major publishers later on. In other words, once you have proven that you book will sell, publishing houses will be much more willing to negotiate deals that lean more in the authors favor than they would otherwise.

Today, there are so many wonderful avenues to publish your own book that it is the #1 way that I recommend a new author get started.

To be sure, there can be pitfalls along the way with self-publishing, but your chances of long-term success as a published author are MUCH greater if you opt to take this route and go about it the right way.

Understanding the process of how to get your book published, however, is the first step in getting your book to go from your hard drive or your typewritten manuscript into the hands of a publisher who wants to publish it.

Here are the general steps you need to take in order to get your book published:

Write the book.

Technically, you don’t need to churn out an entire book before you start the process. However, you do need to have a few sample chapters as well as a thoroughly detailed literary outline before you go any further. Actually finishing your book before you try to pitch it to agents and publishers is optional.

Figure out where to send it.

Some writers prefer to work through an agent, while some prefer to go directly to publishers. Some publishers will only work with agents, while other publishers will accept unsolicited submissions. Which way you go has a lot to do with personal preference, your genre and how comfortable you are with selling yourself. Regardless, you need to create a list of potential customers. Whether it’s publishing houses, agents or a combination of both, try to have a plan of attack that involves at least a dozen or so prospects.

Build a proposal.

The job of a book proposal is to get your foot in the door. Your book proposal is what you use to get a publisher’s attention. It acts as an outline of your idea for a book. IT should include a summary of the book, including a plot synopsis or topical synopsis (depending on whether your book is fiction or non-fiction). Your proposal should also include information about your target market, in terms of age, socio-economic strata and even educational level. It should also look at the competition, and identify what sets your book apart from others in the genre.

Get rejected.

Sure, sometimes a writer will get lucky. They’ll send in a proposal to a big publishing house that will instantly recognize the writer’s talent, and offer a generous advance.

The rest of us, however, live in the real world. We know that even the best books get rejected, usually many times, before they ever see a printing press. Rejection is part of the process, and can in some cases even be used to help improve your book and hone your craft.

Get published.

Eventually, someone will buy your book and want to publish it or they won’t. If you’ve tried everyone and no one is biting, you can still consider self-publishing or even electronic publishing. There’s no reason that you can’t share your book, in one form or another, with an audience.

More than 6 out of every 10 books published fails to make the publisher enough to cover the author’s advance, and around 10% of books ever break even in the publishing process. Part of the reason for this problem is that publishing houses are usually reluctant to put too much money into promotion and marketing for first-time authors. In many ways, first-time authors are faced with a catch-22. Their book won’t sell because the publisher won’t market it, and the publisher won’t market it because it’s not selling.

Here are some specific things you can do to create your book marketing plan, no matter whether your book is being published by a publishing house or whether you’re self-publishing:

Know Your Target Audience

You need to be able to identify readily the type of person who would want to buy your book. You should be able to get a feel for your audience based on a number of factors, including things like age, socio-economic status, gender and geographical location. Being able to identify your audience lets you hone your marketing plan right in on them.

Make Your Book Available In Bookstores

If you’re self-publishing, no one is going to send your books to bookstores for you. Contact several booksellers in your area, and see if they’d be willing to put your book on the shelves. Many bookstores have a “local authors” section where you can have your book placed. Some stores will even be willing to put up a display (if you provide the display materials, of course).

Consider Non-Traditional Book Buyers

Retailers, catalogs, volume dealers and corporations may all be good markets for your book. For example, if you write a book on effective management techniques, you might be able to sell a large number of copies to certain larger corporations for use in their company.

Consider Non-Traditional Marketing Methods

The Internet, social media and other types of nontraditional marketing methods work. From setting up your own website to utilizing the power of sites like Facebook or Twitter, the Internet offers a great deal of marketing opportunities, many of which don’t cost much more than just your time.

Trust Word-of-Mouth

If your book is good, getting a few people to buy it can be all you need to do. They’ll tell their friends, who will tell theirs, and before you know it your book could be a best-seller. While word-of-mouth alone won’t put you at the top of the book charts, it is one way to increase your sales. Interact with your customers if you can, via your website or via book signings. They’re more likely to advocate for you if they feel a personal connection.

The book publishing process can be somewhat difficult to navigate, if you’re not familiar with how things go. If you’re thinking of publishing with the major publishing houses or smaller presses, here are several elements of the book publishing process with which you need to familiarize yourself.

Identifying Potential Publishers

The first step in getting your book published is to identify publishers who might be interested in publishing your book. You need to spend some time in this regard doing some market research.

Most publishers only publish books in a certain niche. Some publishers only accept submissions from agents. Some publishers don’t accept unsolicited submissions. Your goal here should be to find a dozen or more potential publishers that fit your type of writing and that accept submissions.

The Query Letter

A query letter is a short letter to the publisher that includes some vital information. The letter should include the title of the book, the genre, and the basic concept of the book. The query letter should identify the target market for the book, as well as a brief description of how this book is different from other books in the genre.

You can also provide a summary of ideas for a sequel to the book, as well as information about the length of your manuscript. The query letter will determine whether the publisher wants to pursue your book further, and whether you should submit a full manuscript.

Submission Guidelines

Most publishers offer submission guidelines to prospective authors. These guidelines will indicate how the manuscript for your book is to be submitted, whether they require sample chapters along with your query letter, and even what style or genres of work they’re currently looking for.

Following these submission guidelines exactly will increase the chances that your proposal isn’t just tossed aside.

Rejection and Acceptance

The next phase of the book publishing process is the decision. The publisher will decide whether they’re interested in your book or not.

If they are not interested, you can submit the proposal to another publisher.

If they are interested, they will begin the process of negotiating a fee and working with you on the next steps, such as editing and promotion of your book.

Publishing and Promotion

Depending on the publisher, you may be asked to participate in promotional events for your book, such as book signings or other events. The actual publication of your book might take place soon after the editing process is complete, or it may happen months or even years later, again depending on the publisher.

As you can imagine, there are specific challenges you’ll face at each stage of the game. Arming yourself with as much information as possible will increase your chances of overcoming those challenges.