Getting Your Book Ready for Publication

I received a call yesterday about publication.

One of the questions was, should I get published traditionally or should I do it on my own?

Because I don't believe every author should be self-published just because I am I gave her the pros and cons of each. They went something like this:

Traditional Publisher

Provides you the big-time name. Everyone knows who Penguin is, for example.

Does much of the work including cover, layout and editing. You don't have to pay for any of that.

Gets you in the bookstores (although I have my own thoughts about how important that really is).

An author must find an agent or a publisher on their own, and finding the right publisher might take them years.

The author has little control over the cover (if any) or the layout, or any other aspect of their book.

Pays you little. 20% or less on each book. Royalties for no name authors are slim to none.


Self Published

No big-time name. You might publish under CreativeCommons (Amazon) or Idea Creations Press (My company 3 years in the running).

You do the work yourself or hire it out. You pay for that.

You probably won't be in bookstores. But this is okay in my humble opinion. Most books today sell better online and through author speaking engagements.

Pays you up to 70% on each book.

Some say that you can tell a self-published book from a traditionally published book. Though this may be so, authors are continually getting smarter and the line is getting thinner between the two.

Author has full control over their book, even if they hire the work out. Just check what we do at Idea Creations Press.

Publish when your book is ready. Shorten your wait.

When it comes to getting your book ready for publication, you really need to know if you're going to farm it out or do it yourself. In either case, the marketing will be up to you for the most part.

Yes, even if you go the traditional route.