Do I need an Editor or a Publisher first for my Book?
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Getting Published
Every writer dreams of being published. Most secretly hope to ace that million dollar book deal that will make them celebrities as well as rich! The truth about writing is a little more down to earth. Getting your first book published may or may not be really difficult depending on how you approach publication.
Traditional publishing companies do not usually accept unsolicited manuscripts from writers. Traditional publishing is a slow process that is time consuming and for you who were born into fast desk top publishing technology it might not be the way to go. If you are determined to go the traditional route of submitting your manuscript and waiting on notification by the publisher it is advisable to find an agent who is well known in the business and can get you a reading. You must pay the agent a percentage of your earnings but it is the best way to get into traditional publishing if you do not know anyone in the business yourself.
If you are a good technician as well as writer there are other ways to get your book published. Self publishing has come a long way since the days of the vanity publishers who took your money, produced your book, and kept the copyright for themselves since they acquired the ISBN number for you.
If you have the skills to edit and format your book to certain requirements given by a publisher you can create your own product and have it published with very little investment. You purchase your copies at a very low cost and it is up to you to market and publicize your book. This type of publishing takes some skill and work but it can be rewarding. Some writers try it the traditional way and then return to the self publishing world because they have total control over their content and can get books to the marketplace in record time.
Traditional publishing is very expensive but the publisher assumes the risk and does the marketing for the writer so this is a good way to get your first book published if you can make it happen.
Here are some good writers resources for finding publishers, agents, and print markets:
Writing is a fulfilling occupation. Do it well and get your message to the world!
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Dan Poynter's Self-Publishing Manual, 16th Edition: How to Write, Print and Sell Your Own Book (Self Publishing Manual)
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- Writer’s Digest - Home
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Comments
Smireles, You might want to check out---publishing your book as an Audio instead of paper. Look around everyone seems to have their (ears-on) they are not all listening to music some are listening to books. This is how I read books now and I love it.
Thanks for the advice. I am looking into it. You are right. Everyone is listening to the books and music and everything else!
If you are ever in need of a proofreader or copy editor for your book (or know anyone who is), I am a professional, experienced one...and I only charge $1 a page! I LOVE working with new authors because I am a published author myself! autiej@gmail.com
great hub Smireless!! I always learn and enjoy learning at your hubs :)
The whole problem with self-publishing is that you DO have total control over your own book: this results in some terrible stuff out there that gives self-publishing its bad reputation.
Every writer thinks they write well - but most traditional authors have re-written and re-drafted their book dozens of times, and then it's professionally edited.
Non-traditionally published authors do not go through that obstacle course: and the results show.
If some authors wrote as well as they thought they did, some publisher would have picked them up along the way somewhere. The second and third and fourth set of eyes are indispensible.
Most traditional authors have a band of first readers who tear strips off the manuscript before they hand it back. Then there's the second band of readers who do the same to the altered and re-written manuscript. That's why most traditional authors can only manage a few books a decade. But theirs are the books that actually sell.
Thank you for your comments and insight. There is no doubt that an editor and objective reader is an important part of the writing process. I completely agree with you about that.
As a published author who has been published by a traditional publisher as well as self published I have to say that the reason books do not sell has little to do with their readability.
Marketing and publicizing is the key to selling books. If you do not know how to do that your book will never sell regardless of how good it is. Of course I am not a best selling author but I do not think I am wrong. Many times it is not what you know but who you know.
Of course there are a lot of terribly written books out there and some are published in the traditional manner.
Thanks for your comments.
dewriter says:
7 months ago
You have some good advice here. However, as an experienced editor, most writers will still need editing even if they edit themselves. It's always a good idea to have a "second set of eyes" proof the manuscript before publication--especially if self-publishing.