Let's talk publishing
Aaah, publishing. It’s not writing. But closely adjacent.
It’s what happens when we’ve written something, yay, and now want the world to read it, eek.
Back in the old days, there was only one option: Traditional publishing. You’d hope that a publishing house would rescue your manuscript from the depths of the slush pile, immediately recognise its brilliance and offer you the most amazing book deal ever.
Now? There are so many more options.
Traditional big 5 publishing, other smaller traditional publishers, small presses, hybrid publishing, self or independent publishing and social publishing.
More options is good, right? The more options the better, surely? But options come with their own challenges.
Which one to chose? If you go for anything other than a big 5 publisher, is your book really any good, really? Will a smaller publisher who doesn’t pay an advance really care about your book? Can you avoid the dodgy hybrid publishers and find a decent one? Do you have the smarts, energy and funds to self publish? Is social publishing worth it?
So many questions and not all of them can be easily answered.
I’ve experienced both traditional and self publishing here in the Australian market.
My very first book, about women balancing work and family, was picked up by a traditional publisher.
I got an agent and a book deal relatively easily, which I realise now, is not necessarily easy.
How did that happen? I read a book that interviewed women about their life experiences. I thought, ‘I like that structure but I want to write on a different topic.’ I contacted the author to ask her some advice and she, very generously, offered to send my idea to her agent who then promptly sold it to Simon & Schuster. I also received great media coverage because the issue was topical. I was in my late 20s and this was a dream come true.
How did it sell? Okay. Only okay.
I also co-edited a business book that was published by the largest Australian independent publisher. It was intended more for a business, academic audience.
How did it sell? Okay. Only okay.
Next up was the self-publishing extravaganza.
I’d started my own business by now, supporting parents, and I’d written my first parenting book.
I did consider taking it to my agent but I was in full entrepreneurial mode and I wanted to try this burgeoning self publishing option.
I found an editor, designer, printer, distributor and off I went. This was pre-Kindle and pre-print on demand so I invested a lot in print books. I went on to publish two more parenting books in the same way.
How did they sell? Much better.
Because they were better books? No. Because I had a business wrapped around them.
I spoke and ran workshops at schools and child care centres. I did media commentary on parenting issues. I wrote for parenting magazines and websites.
I could have probably sold more books if I was more strategic, giving talks that were directly related to the book, but I like to develop new ideas so I probably never optimised book sales. But, fine.
That now leads me to now and my current publishing conundrum.
I’ve written two young adult contemporary books that deal with family issues, finding yourself and falling in love. Specifically, they take a common mental health issue and show how healing happens, wrapped up in a romance.
When I considered my publishing options, I immediately got drawn into the appeal of traditional publishing.
Parts of me were saying, ‘If I get chosen, that means I’m good enough, I mean, my writing is good enough.’ They wanted external validation. Proof that we are good enough.
That’s wonderful and all, but there are so many other factors that go into ‘being chosen’. Yes, you need a decent book but you also need so many other stars to align.
So what if trad publishing doesn’t work out?
That’s not insurmountable because we have options, right?
There’s always self-publishing or maybe more aptly, independent publishing.
I’ve done it before, it’s now less costly, I still do have an entrepreneurial heart, and I do believe in my books.
But aagh, just this morning I had to spend some time with the parts of me that didn’t want to give up on that traditional publishing dream. There was grief there, disappointment.
Other parts of me, were cheering, saying, ‘Finally, we can forget those trad publisher gatekeepers and get on with this!’
I still don’t know which way I’ll go with my YA fiction. When it comes to publishing, there are no easy answers and it’s a whole other emotional journey in itself, different to writing.
There is, however, some good advice about how to think through the options.
Jane Friedman has her Key Book Publishing Paths download.
And I really like this post from Harry Bingham of Jericho Writers about choosing between the two.
Bottom line: Publishing takes heart and courage and resourcefulness, whichever option you choose.
Even with a book deal from a traditional publisher, there’s still the worry, ‘Will they do the right thing by my book or will it get overlooked because of all the other titles they publish and promote each month?’
And even with independent publishing, yes, you can do it your way but there’s still the risk that you’ll spend all this money and all this effort and no one really wants to buy your books.
So yes, it’s not easy this writing/publishing life, is it? But for some weird ass reason, we do it anyway.
Update: I’m going to be Self publishing my next book (not self-publishing). Check out the difference here.