For a new writer, getting a book published might be a lifelong dream come true. And to many, writing itself might be the most daunting task in this journey, especially if you are a perfectionist. But writing a book and getting it published is vastly different. For one, writing mostly is a solitary task, you have complete freedom in your writing. But when it comes to publishing you have to go through a long-winded process, collaborate, and negotiate even compromise with publishers and others.
If you thought the writing part is the most grueling and nerve-racking part of the book you certainly have no idea about the publishing process. But if you are looking for a way to get your book published, this article can help you. Read on to learn the ropes of publishing a book.
1. Know Your Options
There are two routes to take for publishing the book, one is traditional publishing and the other one is self-publishing or indie publishing. Both of these methods have their perks and drawbacks.
Self-publishing
It requires you to be a one-man army taking care of hiring an agent, cover designer, choosing a publishing platform to finance the whole process, and finally promoting your book, you have to handle it all by yourself. Despite all of this hassle, there is a major perk of self-publishing: you are both the writer and the publisher and have the ultimate control of how you want your books to be. You can check out Palmetto Publishing to learn more about the self-publishing option.
Traditional Publishing
In traditional publishing, you get a publisher to print, publish and market your book. They get the royalty to publish your book and by a legal contract, you get the royalties from the book. In traditional publishing the publisher bears all the expenses related to printing, warehousing, and marketing, your job is to get the manuscript ready. This article is going to highlight the process of getting your book published traditionally.
2. Finish Writing the Book
It might seem like a no-brainer, but to get the book published, first you need to finish writing it. Unless you are a fiction writer, you have to sell your book idea to the publisher first, before you write the book. And the quicker you get finished with your writing the more ahead you will be in the publishing queue. Set some personal deadline for finishing the book within the timeframe, but don’t make it appear like it was written on a whim. Even if the publisher wants to see some chapters or excerpts, Your book should be completed before you approach the agent and publisher.
3. Get Some Objective Feedback
After you have finished your book, try to get some objective feedback from readers. It will help you to decide how to proceed with the publisher or a literary agent. The step may look intimidating to share your creation with others, but it is necessary if you want to share your ideas with the world. Sometimes we get so biased with our creation that we tend to overlook the mistakes. And unless you get professional unbiased feedback you will never find room for improvement with your writing.
Some writers, critics read other writers’ books in exchange for some feedback on their work. Get engaged with some critical readers or beta readers to get objective feedback about your book.
4. Prepare a Query Letter or a Book Proposal
Unless you get the publisher to like your book idea there is a slim chance of seeing it ever on a shop shelf. You have to put together a compelling and stellar proposal for that. As publishers take the most risk in publishing they will want to place their bet on books that will sell well in the market. While they might not care if your writing is of Stephen King caliber, your writing should be up to the mark for getting the readers hooked. A renowned publisher seldom chooses a debut writer. Depending on the requirement of the publishers you might have to send out these materials-
· A query letter
· A synopsis of your book
· A book proposal if you are writing a nonfiction
· Sample chapters of the book
5. Find Literary Agents and Publishers
In most cases, you can not approach the publishers directly, you need an agent to work as a mediator. The agents act as a first screening process for the publishers to flush out the mediocre writing from the literary gems. Finding a competent agent is a game-changing catalyst for publishing your book.
To get a literary agent you have to send out a one-page query letter which will act as a marketing pitch for your book. You can also include a few pages of your book with the query so that they can get the feel of your writing. As you get just one chance with an agent to review your work, you should send out the most polished version of your book. If you prefer a small-scale publisher, you can directly approach them without getting an agent first.
6. Submit Your Material
After gathering all the required materials you have to submit them to the publishing agency according to their guidelines. After successful submission you have to wait patiently for their response, publishers and agents generally receive thousands of queries every week, and it might take some time for them to get back at you. Once you get a suitable agent, that person will be responsible for getting the best contract deal for publishing your book.
The Bottom Line
As you might have realized publishing a book, whether, by r self-publishing or the traditional route, is a long-drawn-out process. You need to hold on to your patience. And there might be obstacles along the way. Tackling and getting approved by the series of gatekeepers (i.e. the agent, the publisher) will be no cakewalk. You might even have to face some rejection along the way before you land yourself a contract with a publishing agency. But don’t give up on your quest to get published when you face consecutive rejections, even J K Rowling had to face twelve rejections before actually getting published. Besides, all the hurdles and navigation processes will make you a better writer.
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