The Publishing Process
I wrote the book, why do I need to know how the publishing part works?
Being an author means you fall under the classification of self-employed in the world of publishing. The more you know, the more success you will have. Hopefully. Do you want to be paid for your work? Agent or no, you need to know the ins and outs of negotiating a contract. What will you allow? How many changes will you except if they plan a movie based on your book? Will you sell all rights or only for a time frame? It’s a lot to digest and learn, but that is why I am here writing letters to you.
Come, have a cuppa with me and we will talk all about the stresses of following your dream. Been there, still doing that. Over the years, no matter what I have done, I found that being prepared and knowledgeable helped me move forward in my journey. Go grab yourself a warm cuppa and something comforting to nibble, and we will step into the publishing process together. No fear here. Just a bunch of friends learning the steps while following along in The Novel Writer’s Toolkit by Bob Mayer. We are on page 177, Tool 9. We are only 50 pages away from setting this gem aside and deciding what to do next. I think my next project will be to break down genres and how to figure out where your work fits. After that? It’s up to you. We can do a questions section, posts on books and learning, or I can take a very long nap. Think on it and let me know. Meet me on the reading rug and we will get to it.
Is it important to know how it all works?
Um, duh, yes. If anyone has an impact on the future of your work, you should understand where they are coming from. It’s a long list: editors, agents, publishers, book buyers, store owners, reviewers…all of these people will have a hand in how your work is perceived and sold. This is the section where we learn how not to cut our own throats. Any one of these people, if you have offended them, can cut your journey short. You know that old adage, ‘Don’t bite the hand that feeds you?’ This is that.
We, as writers, tend to get up on our high horses and declare our importance. But without all the cogs in the machine no books would ever make it to the shelves. Are you gonna design, type set, print, cut, glue, and ship every book yourself? Probably not. Think about it from the perspective of a publisher. They can’t do it for every single book they receive either. They must pick and choose who they have faith in to make them money. If your work doesn’t sell, they don’t make money either. Contrary to popular belief, publishers do love books. They wouldn’t be in the biz if they didn’t. Keep that in mind as you meander your way through the process. We have to be in it for us, but we have to understand they are in it for them. As much as I want you to know how it all works, it doesn’t work if your novel isn’t up to their standards. Stay in your lane but know how to get where you are going.
There is a very thin line between marketing yourself and your book and just being annoying. We all believe our work is the best work ever written and telling us otherwise simply means you are wrong. Wrong. The truth is…you might be right but being obnoxious will not get you far. If people shy away from you when it comes to your work, you may want to reconsider your approach. If you have someone (or many) critique your work and you go on the defensive, you aren’t ready yet. Remember that thick skin we talked about? Yeah, get that.
Look before you jump. Just because someone is interested doesn’t mean it is in your best interest. You researched your story, why wouldn’t you take the same time to look into this offer? If your story was wrong, you could always go back in and fix it. Signing a contract, you didn’t read, or research can lock you and your work in for years.
Look out for your own best interests.
Polish your sparkle and keep twirling.
Find joy. Be joy. Enjoy.
I’m always looking for new friends!
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