Posted on by Helen Woodhouse

Publishing options

You have written your book, so now what? Should you self-publish, or go to a traditional publisher? Here are some general pointers.

Think about who will read your book:

      • If it is intended for friends, family, colleagues and those local to you, then publishing the book yourself may be more appropriate for this small-scale project. Before taking further steps, you may wish to consider enlisting a friend or colleague with similar interests to read through the manuscript and highlight any issues that could be addressed. This would have the advantage of being free, but a disadvantage could be that someone close to you may not provide constructive feedback. However, if the book is only likely to be read by those who know you, this may not be an issue because it is unlikely that you will be looking to make money from the publication.
      • If it is intended for wider publication, then you should consider using some professional services to help put your manuscript in good order, whether or not you self-publish. A friend or colleague may be too polite to give constructive feedback. Spending money on hiring professionals may assist in getting your manuscript published and achieving good sales of the finished product.

Think about the format in which you would like to publish your book:

      • As an ebook: this may be the cheapest and quickest way to get your manuscript published, and could help it to reach a wider audience.
      • In paperback (or hardback): it may be that you want to see your book on a shelf (and why wouldn’t you?), but this will necessarily involve additional costs and may have a more restricted audience.
      • As an audiobook: this carries the further decision of whether to read and record the book yourself, or hire a professional.

Think about how much control you would like:

      • If you go through a traditional publisher then they will take control of the production, design and marketing of the book, and will generally require you to sign over the rights to its publication, at least in the first instance. Crucially, the decision over whether they will accept your manuscript is theirs, not yours. You will need to brace yourself for rejection.
      • If you self-publish, you will keep full control of your book (what it contains, how it looks, how it is marketed and, of course, the fact that it is published at all), but with this comes the responsibility to find and manage all aspects of the publication and marketing.

Think about your experience/time/budget:

      • A traditional publisher will take care of (and pay for) the steps necessary to transform your manuscript into a book and get it in front of your audience.
      • Publishing the book yourself requires a heavy investment of your own time in terms not only of the text but also layout, any illustrations, the cover design, blurb, ISBN, copyright permissions, barcodes, printing, marketing and publicity. If this is your first book, then the time required will also include researching these issues. You may not need them all, but you would have to pay up front for those that you do need, and therefore would need to budget for them. The Guardian recently carried a helpful article highlighting the potential costs.

 Think about what you want to get from the experience:

      • A traditional publisher may pay you an advance, depending upon how well they think your book will sell. Any royalties after that may be only a small percentage of what the book makes. You may, however, get to delight in seeing your book on the shelves of a bookshop, and without the stress of having to get it there all by yourself.
      • If you self-publish, you will have to pay for all the steps required to get it to that stage, but you will keep more of the royalties generated by the book; however, those may be limited by a reduced audience when compared to that which may be reached through a traditional publisher. Money aside, publishing the book yourself means that it will be produced, and as you want it to be (and you will have learned or developed many skills in the process).

If you are unsure about what level of assistance you may require before publishing your manuscript (whether you want to self-publish or go to a traditional publisher), you could consider paying for a manuscript critique from a professional with experience in your chosen genre and target audience. A professional critique will not make any alterations to your manuscript, but will provide details of its strengths and weaknesses and where you would be best advised to spend your money in order to achieve your aim. This is not a service that I provide (yet), but, as a starting point, the Chartered Institute of Editing and Proofreading (CIEP) keeps a directory of professionals who do, which is free to check.

How can I help?

I specialise in copyediting fiction: the sentence-level detail, checking for consistency and that there aren’t any holes in the plot. If you would like to discuss how I could help with your manuscript, or if you still aren’t sure how best to proceed, I would be happy to discuss that with you. I am a member of the CIEP and abide by their Code of Practice. Please get in contact with some initial details here.

 

Hypertext links to other websites are for the convenience of users only and do not constitute any endorsement or authorisation by me.