Over the next several
blogs, I will be talking about publishing your “great American” (or whatever
descriptor you use) novel.
For generations, the only
way to get a book in print was to go through a publishing house. Oh, I know
that, if you had enough money, you could print your own copies, store them in
your garage, and hawk them at carnivals and door-to-door. But the reality was
without a publisher, you really didn’t have a snail’s chance in a salt mine to
sell many books.
1.
Today, there
are myriads of ways to “get your book out.” Of course, major publishing houses
are still around—but you’ll most likely need an agent if you want any
consideration (serious or otherwise) of a first book by one of them.
2.
Independent
publishing houses also exist. Many of them offer what is known as
“co-publishing,” or some other term, that indicates you INVEST your money up
front. They do varying degrees of editing and cover art. This path will
probably get you access bookstore public relations people, since your book has
a “publisher.”
3.
My final
example of “getting your book out there” is self-publishing through Amazon.com.
Their FREE service allows you to generate both/either print copies of ebooks
from your manuscript. The service has a final “scan” for spelling errors and
massive grammatical gaffs. You can make your own cover from a template, or use
their “for a charge” cover production service.
Royalties from Option #2
can be favorable when compared to those from major publishers. Of course, until
you’ve recouped your investment, you really haven’t made any money, per se.
Royalties from option #3 are all yours. You have some control over the amount
you get per sale. Since over 50% of all books sold in the USA are now sold
through Amazon, Option #3 can be a very good choice.
My first science fiction
novel, Traveler’s HOT L – The Time Traveler’s Resort, is a co-publishing venture as is my
co-authored book on changing school class room climates to increase student
learning, Tune Up Your Teaching &
Turn On Student Learning – Moving from common to transformed learning in your
classroom. My third book, out this 3rd week in June 2014, RIFTS – A Science Fiction Odyssey, is
self-published through CreateSpace and KindleDirect, both Amazon.com venues.
I leave you with this
morsel: Whether you chose option #2 or #3 from my list, you will be responsible
for the same amount of marketing.
Next week: The first is
series of “Things I learned about the process when I published through
Amazon.com (and how you can streamline your experience!). First up: Figuratively Speaking… Text Is Better: Pitfalls you can
avoid
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