How to Publish a Book
Published January 28, 2012When people write me to ask for help with their book, they often ask about how to publish a book. It’s a good question, one you should consider before starting your project.
There are two main ways to get your book published. One is to self-publish and the other is to find an agent and pursue a traditional publisher.
Self-publishing
There are many choices for self-publishers. I highly recommend Dan Poynter’s book: http://www.amazon.com/Dan-Poynters-Self-Publishing-Manual-Write/dp/1568601425. He advocates becoming a publisher and taking all the steps needed to get your book in print. This is the best way to make sure your book has the quality you need and want for your budget.
There are other outfits who will handle a lot of the legwork for you. LuLu, iuniverse and CreateSpace seem to be the top three. I’ve heard good things about CreateSpace and quite a few negatives about the other two. All three seem to try to upsell you to purchase various marketing packages, which may or may not be effective.
Full publishing
If you want to find a publisher to take on your project, you should probably find an agent. It isn’t always necessary, but usually it is.
The first step in this process is to create a proposal for your book. If you’ve never done this, you’ll want to hire a ghostwriter to help you. It’s a key document that will help you sell your idea to a publisher.
For a nonfiction book, the publisher will want to see a few chapters, read over your synopsis and know what your marketing plans are. Who else has written books on this subject? How have they done? What makes your book different?
Pros and Cons
When you self-publish you keep all the profits, but must pay all the upfront costs. If you have a modest run to start, you’re probably looking at $3000 – $5000 to see your book in print. If you hire a publicist the costs jump substantially.
If you go the full publishing route you have no expenses, but only receive a small percentage of the net sales. The publisher should help you market your book, but if you’re a first time author, they cannot put too much money and energy into you. They will be watching to see how your sales are in the first six months.
Either way you must market your book
If you’re trying to decide how to publish your book, whether to self-publish or find a publisher, you must understand that you will need to market and sell your own book. Many first time authors think their book will sell themselves, but they rarely do.
Be prepared to sell your book through online campaigns, newsletters, social media and good old fashion book signings.
Please feel free to share your publishing stories with us here! Which route did you choose?
13 Responses to How to Publish a Book
Leave a Reply
Nice article. I self-published my chick lit novel, “Between Boyfriends” through Smashwords and am having a lot of luck. https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/90623.
I love it because you can get the Kindle, Nook, Palm, Pdf, HTML… basically every format in one place. They also distribute your book to Kobo and Sony e-bookstore, iTunes, and BarnesandNoble.com http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/between-boyfriends-sarka-jonae-miller/1106966541
It doesn’t work well with Amazon though, so I put my book up there myself http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006Q6TSCS/ref=cm_cr_mts_prod_img.
By publicizing my book on Twitter, Facebook and Goodreads (http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/12808569-between-boyfriends).
I’ve gotten some good reviews and sales. This week, Chick Lit Central featured “Between Boyfriends” as a Book of the Week. http://chicklitcentraltheblog.blogspot.com/2012/01/books-of-week-january-26th.html. Give copies to reviewers and blogs to help promote your work.
Hi, very nice paper! I chose both way of publishing. Last may, I self-published an ebook, creating my own publishing company. It has been fun, although it is a lot of work and so far it hasn’t been flying! One of the reason is because the French market is not ready yet. So wait and see, I may got a nice surprise. If you are adventurous, if you like to control your work from first line to cover, you may rather self publish than spend time to find an agent. Be prepare though to spend a lot of time and work hard in order to sell it.
Free download : http://itunes.apple.com/fr/book/id438885363?mt=11
Hello! I chose partnership publishing for my debut paranormal romance novel ‘Love Hurts’. Mirador is a small publishing house based in Somerset, England. They provided a package whereby we each contributed towards the printing costs of my book. They developed the artwork with my approval, assisted with the editing, created a website and got my book into all the major retail spaces. Now it is up to me to market my product effectively, and I use social networks and book signing events to cover all avenues. My blog site is http://www.spookymrsgreen.wordpress.com and I am always happy to offer advice for new authors seeking direction.
Very succinct and informative article, Laura. Thanks.
I’ve tried both forms of publishing outlined above. I prefer Independent publishing because I have more control: creative, administrative, marketing and even pricing.
I follow the steps the publishing houses use and have my work professionally edited, have the “experts” consult on cover design; have the accountant do a cost analysis to determine the pricing. It’s a lot of work!
With sudden rise in epublishing, the face of publishing has changed, making the independent publishing arena even more exciting and challenging.
You can find my work at http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/nailah.
I used http://www.bookow.com great service for formatting all versions for http://www.amazon.com/Sudden-Deception-Oliver-Thriller-ebook/dp/B005LO5YTC/
Very nice article Laura.
I’dd add the recent startup of Leanpub to the list. Very nice idea and very cost-effective.
You can find my books here:
http://www.aboriginemundi.com/index.php/tag/enterprise-architect/ A book about Enterprise Architect. Available in print (via Unibook) and as an e-Book (via Leanpub).
http://www.quiztig.be (quiz books in Dutch, one free and two for sale, the free one is about rock music and the others about wine and about the city of Lier)
PS. Usually, it’s the agent who fines me, not the reverse
Hi Laura – It is nice of you to provide this venue for authors to promo their books. My titles are: “Personal Publicity Planner: A Guide to Marketing YOU,” and the nationally acclaimed “TOP COPS: Profiles of Women in Command.” “TOP COPS” was endorsed by former Governors George Ryan (Illinois) and George Pataki (New York), and Janet Napolitano, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security and former Governor of Arizona. Both books are published by Brittany Publications, Ltd (Chicago), and are available from amazon.com as well as http://www.brittanypublications.com.
I’ve been featured in Working Woman magazine and included by Today’s Chicago Woman in its list of 100 Women Making a Difference. My award-winning articles on marketing, diversity, career planning and women in the workforce appear in marketing trade journals, and national newspapers and magazines – including Advertising Age, the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Tribune, the Arizona Republic and the Business Journal of Phoenix.
I’ve served as president of the Illinois Woman’s Press Association (2001-2003) and vice president of Arizona Press Women (2009-2010) – and I was EVP and General Manager a multimillion dollar communications agency in Chicago before starting my own communications and consulting company in 1994.
I’m also co-author of “Skirting Traditions: Arizona Women Writers and Journalists 1912-2012.” My two bylined chapters profile Arizona writers Jana Bommersbach – a nationally acclaimed investigative journalist and book author, and Pam Stevenson – one of Arizona’s first on-screen television producer/writers and a video journalist. The book also includes biographies of twenty-eight female writers and journalists from Arizona spanning the one hundred years since Arizona became the forty-eighth state in the Union. “Skirting Traditions: Arizona Women Writers and Journalists 1912-2012″ was named by the Arizona Historical Advisory Committee as an official Arizona Legacy Project, and part of Arizona’s official 2012 Centennial celebration.
Hi Laura, really helpful info. I’m currently studying John Kremer’s (he wrote 1001 ways to Market Your Books) Blog Tour Palooza course and it’s fantastic. Lots of valuable facts and links and practical application on a gradient. Hope it’s helpful
Your article provides the right beginning data and direction for writers. I like that you are promoting other writers. More tips on how to get connected, with following and getting followers, is what I would like to see.
My co-authored book, “Carolina Baseball: Pressure Makes Diamonds,” released in November 2011 and sold out its first-run Limited Edition run quickly. The story of the 119-year history of the University of South Carolina Gamecocks baseball program, it chronicles the highs and lows toward the back-to-back National Championship wins in 2010-2011.
A recommended concept for other authors is to do tie a part of your book sales to a charity or non-profit. In our case, part of the proceeds from book sales will help build a Miracle League ballpark in Columbia, S.C., sponsored by head Coach Ray Tanner’s foundation. http://www.pressuremakesdiamondsbook.com
My current book, the authorized biography of the late Chef Tell Erhardt, “Chef Tell – Beyond the Kitchen, a timeless recipe of life lessons,” forewords by Regis Philbin and Chef Walter Staib, will be released early in 2012. http://www.facebook.com/cheftellbooks
Hi Laura: Thanks for the great article.
I’ve been previously published by traditional publishing houses, but for my upcoming book on chocolate and travel, I am leaning heavily toward the self-publishing side for (as you mention in your post) there are now many more options for authors to consider that are likely to be of more benefit to them than being published by a traditional publisher.
I’ve really done a lot of marketing for my current title, “Before You Say Yes … A Guide to the Pleasure and Pitfalls of Volunteer Boards” but as my contract limits me to a rather low percentage of royalties, the income hasn’t sufficiently compensated me for my efforts.
I certainly don’t mind putting out the effort, but I’d like to see income equitable to effort.
More about my book on volunteering for non-profits at http://www.wizardofwords.net.
Hi Laura. Thx for this opportunity. I published my Patrick Steele novels in paperback with CompletelyNovel.com and also with Amazon as well as http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/99149 – ‘I Have To Get It Right’ and http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/123621 – ‘The 51st State’
Really appreciate this post since I’m in the process of writing a book. I’d be curious to know the stats on how well self publishers recuperate their initial investment. Marketing is key and I’m glad to see some great resources in the comments section.
Thanks!
Great article with good resources.
I haven’t finished my book yet. I think that when it is finished, I’ll definitely go with the self-publishing route.