It can be scary to publish a novel. It seems… so big. There are so many options! Which to choose? Each publishing option has a different impact and different risks as well. In this guide Valerie Fuqua helps you choose the option that will work best for you.
Each publishing option is valid, except the scammers. Each option will still result in a book and becoming a published author, except the scammers. Each option is your choice and perfectly fine for some people, except for the scammers. Hopefully you can find the direction that will best suit you in this article.
Bear in mind as you read this article that although I do include some of the pitfalls new authors have fallen in, this does not mean that publishing is high-risk. Many people publish their books successfully every day, without incident, and are perfectly happy. The problem is just that there have also been people who did not, and they were unhappy. Those who took a less ideal path and regretted it or hit a pitfall and felt tricked do appear to be in the minority, but these things do also happen. I hope this article provides you with what you need to know to prevent this from happening to you.
Traditional Publisher
Always free. Generally speaking, only available by query letter and will NEVER contact you. If you’re a celebrity, then maybe…but still probably not. Chances are good that any emails or messages you get from a ‘publisher’ offering a contract is going to fall into the scam category, listed near the bottom. Many of the good ones don’t allow direct queries, can only be contacted by agent representation. Smaller ones may allow direct submissions from authors. Freebies they offer during the publishing process will depend on how big the publisher is and how much they can afford to cover for you, so be aware that there may be some things beyond publishing that you still need to pay for or get done yourself, like marketing.
The time it takes to publish this way can be long. You have to write your query letter, find the publishers to submit to and finally become accepted by one of them. It’s even longer to query agents first, although they do take care of querying the publishers for you. Some find the time to be prohibitive. Once you finish writing and editing your book, it can take another few months to several years before a contract is signed and your release may not be scheduled for a few months to a year. Those with a time concern may prefer a different option.
Takes a cut of the book sales and sends you the extra as royalties. Some may pay an advance against future sales (pre-pays your royalties, doesn’t send more until past that amount), but not all do. Any agent representation will also get a cut of the royalties after the publisher. How much you get depends on the contracts you sign with both, so read carefully and ensure you fully understand before signing. Make sure you ask all your questions first, and if you’re unsure about any clauses, ask a lawyer, not necessarily the one handing you the contract. Some have felt mislead or like their contract was not fully explained, but a lawyer will know those answers and give them to you. Even random internet people may not have the right answer. How much the publisher helps with other services including marketing will depend on the publisher and affordability, ensure you check with previously published authors for more on what your prospective publisher will do.
Hybrid Publisher
Does cost money, they’re not rich enough to fully invest in the publishing, apparently, so if you want your book published, you gotta invest too. Usually easier getting accepted to these, usually have to query them. Does not cold-contact an author because they are set up much like a traditional publisher, but without investing all the costs of publishing themselves. They do expect the author to invest as well.
It can be difficult to tell a hybrid from a vanity anyway because both cost. Hybrid websites do tend to be designed to sell books to readers, whereas vanity websites are designed to sell publishing packages to authors. Do your research and check references and publishing experiences from previous authors before proceeding forward.
The time it takes can be prohibitive with this option as well, but not generally as much. Because you will be covering some of the expenses, competition for hybrid publishing slots is not as fierce. I am unsure of the full time frame range, however an ideal situation can result in signing a contract a few months to a year after completing your novel. The release still can be scheduled out a few months to a year as well.
As with a traditional publisher, hybrids will take their cut of the sales and send you the royalties. How much is determined by the contract. They do not send advances to authors, only royalties after books are sold. How much the publisher helps with other services including marketing will depend on the publisher and affordability, ensure you check with previously published authors for more on what your prospective publisher will do. As with traditional publishers, verify answers to all contract questions with an independent third-party lawyer. No agent representation is required to contact this publisher.
Vanity Publisher
Costs a lot of money and often cold-contacts people. Will often purport to be a traditional or hybrid publisher and usually acts like it’s normal for authors to pay for publishing. It’s not. Will say all kinds of things about how great your book is and how excited they are, but they say that about everybody because they’re only thinking about all the money you’re about to give them. No query letter necessary, they don’t care what you wrote. They make their money off you, not book sales. You could write a scathing indictment about Mother Teresa and how she was the most selfish person on the planet and only sell 20 copies and they’ll still love your stories and be eager to publish your next book: Babies and Why They’re Useless. If you paid them all your money, they’ll be happy with anything, even if it doesn’t sell. They can also sometimes be aggressive in their sales tactics. Their delivery on promises can also be lackluster, whitewashed, evasive and sometimes even non-existent. Best to check for complaints and lawsuits before hiring these guys.
On its face, publishing with a vanity should skip much of the time issues of traditional and hybrid publishing. Acceptance tends to only take a few emails or a phone call and can result in signing a contract only days after completing your book. Once the contract is signed and fees paid, it can seem like publishing is moving along quickly, however many of these publishers have become difficult to contact as the time to finish and publish the book nears. A typical contract may stipulate publishing within a year of signing, though each is different.
As with a traditional and hybrid publisher, ensure you check all contract questions with an independent third-party lawyer. Pay special attention to clauses that release the vanity from obligation to publish your book or refund you after a certain time frame. Bear in mind, some vanities will force this clause by slowing down communications as publishing time approaches and hope you let it go and let them have the money for nothing. Ensure you also verify the name that will be appearing on the copyright they send off as many have copywritten the book in the name of the publisher and charged excessive amounts to switch the copyright to the true author. Might be best to copyright yourself beforehand. As with traditional and hybrid publishers, they will also take their cut and send you royalties. Ensure you have visibility on this as many complaints have been logged about unreported sales, especially overseas, and withheld royalties. Do your research on each company before proceeding forward. No agent representation is required to contact this publisher.
Scam Publisher
Much like the vanity publisher, they cost a lot of money, cold-contact people and will often purport to be traditional or hybrid publishers. They also try to offer movie deals and may pretend to represent or know famous people or companies. They promise huge sales and like to brag about how much money previous customers made or how many books previous customers sold. They also flatter your story, even before you’ve told them what it is, sometimes tipping their hand that they don’t even know anything about your story. Some have done this with unpublished authors, authors who haven’t said what they wrote to anyone and authors who have multiple books out, but they speak about their book singularly. They tend to be very aggressive with their sales tactics and may reach out from multiple profiles, even after being blocked. Unlike the other types of publishers, they do not actually produce a book and will delete all contact info or simply block you after the money is transferred. They also typically request an unusual payment and/or contact method that makes troubleshooting after-the-fact very difficult.
Do not move forward with companies like this. You will get no royalties and no book. Do your research, find out if they actually publish books, are associated with the companies they claim to represent and if those companies have already been flagged by Writer Beware or not. Many of these fake offers exist and will lead you to sending large amounts of money, divulging personal information or depositing checks/accepting transfers that will leave your account in the negative. Ensure this does not happen to you by doing your research or at least reaching out to a writing community to see if others will do it for you.
Websites
There are also many websites that are not actual publishers, but they do allow you to self-publish. Most are free and if any aren’t, I’d be suspicious and check it out first. I did hear someone say that one required a subscription, so I don’t know for sure if all are free, but two of the not-free ones were fake websites pretending to be Amazon and Barnes & Nobel. Be aware of the official website for a company before publishing and avoid any search result that says ‘sponsored’ as this is an ad and not an actual search result, so it’s been bumped to the top unfairly. This has been a trick of scams. Make sure to check Writer Beware or with a writing community about anything suspicious you cannot verify.
The legitimate websites may also offer additional services, just like the others, and they absolutely charge for them as well. These websites will never contact you and ask you to come publish with them. They also are not so complicated that you’d need to pay someone else to get you published on each of them because that’s really just you setting yourself up to be scammed and getting fed incorrect sales reports you have no access to verify because it’s all in someone else’s name and now basically your stories are owned by them unless they’re one of the few honorable people left on this planet. These companies make a LOT of money on book sales and have a vested interest in making the publishing process fairly easy to get through, although high-traffic systems will usually have bugs and errors pop up from time to time. If anything goes wrong, reach out to the company and peers for help. You’ll usually get a solution soon.
Time frame for this publishing process is much shorter. A person can become published the same day they finish their manuscript. Releasing the book live immediately may prevent certain marketing strategies and curtail sales, however you have the option of becoming published the day of your choosing, as quickly as you choose, and beyond some technical difficulties, there’s little requirement for anyone else’s action or approval. For those with time constraints, this may be the best option, as publishing can happen immediately, although it is typical to allow two weeks to three months for pre-sales and marketing.
They will give you a cut of the sales, usually much higher than with a traditional, vanity or hybrid publisher. Some sites will offer additional perks and services for a fee like promotion or editing services, just make sure that any third-party site an offer takes you to is in fact associated with the website as there are many ads these days, and scams, and some of these will take you to a site of a similar but different name. These may just take your money and run. Check with the main website or your writing community to ensure you select the right site.
Terms of Service
A TOS (Terms of Service) serves in place of a contract. Ensure you read and understand this before proceeding forward as some TOS agreements have been altered to give websites ownership of your stories or latitude to not even pay out royalties for sales. Make sure you understand what you are agreeing to and how much ownership you are giving the website for your story. If you have any questions, seek legal assistance, although writing communities have provided some illuminating information on these. A lawyer is still the only true word on what a legal document says, including a TOS. No agent representation is required to contact these websites.
When sourcing legal consultation to understand a TOS or contract, ensure you contact a contract lawyer in your country. Legal definitions will change from country to country and a lawyer would be able to advise you on the impact of international legalities and what your TOS or contract will mean for you.
Finally, it can be confusing to venture into the world of publishing. So many options. So much choice! No docent to walk you around to the option that best fits you. But hopefully this article has you better prepared and more confident in which type will work best for you, and the path ahead to successfully publish your book!▼
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Indie author/artist Valerie Fuqua is a popular contributor to the Bashful Blagger. Read her previous top-ranking articles here.
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