Publishing Decisions Ramifications
By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin
As an acquisitions editor, I’m often talking with authors about their publishing plans. Sometimes they will tell me, “I’m going to publish with _____ (a publisher that I've never heard of).” It’s a red flag of concern that they named a publisher I’ve not heard about since I’ve been in this industry for decades.
Or they will object to publishing with Morgan James Publishing because of our model which requires an initial investment. There are good reasons for author investment requirement. In over 20 years of working with authors and literary agents, we’ve learned if there is no initial investment from the author, then that author has little incentive to market and promote their book to the bookstores. As a publisher, our money is made not making books but selling books. If the author does not participate, then their book does not sell (and the bookstore will return it). When a book is returned to the publisher, often it is returned in poor shape for reselling and has to be destroyed. The publisher loses money and opportunity when that happens. I hope you are seeing some of the publishing challenges. These authors have made a simple decision with big ramifications.
If they are objecting to Morgan James because of the initial investment, I encourage them to use a free tool like Publishizer to do pre-sales and raise the funds. One of my authors raised over $10,000 using Publishizer. That author invested time and energy into this process and it paid off.
Every author has a story about their book and why they are publishing it. When I speak with them, I often ask for the story behind the story. I want to learn why they have invested their time and energy into a particular book. The author will tell me about their vision for why their book needs to get into the world. They have their connection to the market or are finding their connection to the market. Frequently these authors don't have experience in writing or storytelling or publishing.
These authors have people relationships and ideas for who could write the foreword and endorsements (blurbs) for their book. In one recent case, the author had a foreword from someone and company I’d not heard about but when I did some online searching, I learned the name recognition of this person and his company. I applauded this author’s initiative for going ahead and getting the foreword then putting it into his proposal or pitch. This added foreword was only one unusual and different way this author distinguished his submission from others. It’s something every author needs to do for their submission--figure out a way to standout for that agent or editor.
Another author submitted a 5,000 word manuscript. With a glance at this word count, I could see the challenge for this author. Their manuscript is too short for a book and too long for a magazine article. I encouraged this author to craft something that is at least 23,000 words and preferrably 50,000 words. Inside a bookstore, you only see the spine of the book. Your word count needs to be large enough to show up on the shelf. It’s a simple reason but the author hasn’t considered this detail.
Other authors respond they don’t want an independent or hybrid publisher like Morgan James Publishing. They are shopping for a traditional publisher. I understand and have published over 60 traditional books. To get a traditional deal, you have to first sign with a literary agent to represent your book. For years, publishers have been sorting through inappropriate and poor submissions. Rather than waste that staff time, these traditional publishers announce every submission must come from an agent.The agents have become the gatekeepers for traditional publishing. For the agent to sell the book, they have to craft or teach the author how to craft the right pitch or book proposal. Why does an agent do this work? Because the publishers have an ever increasing standard of the author they want to publish.
Agents receive many rejections and traditional agents do not make any money from those submissions until they sell the book to a publisher. With some projects, agents are getting repeatedly rejection and their author wants to get their book produced and into the marketplace. In recent days, I’ve been receiving more Morgan James submissions from literary agents. The market is shifting.
As a writer, what can you do in these situation?
1. Explore the various publishing paths: traditional, self-publishing and independent / hybrid publishing. Get The Babylon Blueprint for Authors (follow this link). It includes over 40 pages comparing these options. Also this book includes many no-cost and low-cost book marketing ideas for every author.
2. Produce an excellent and complete book proposal and/or manuscript. It takes effort to learn then produce an excellent book proposal or pitch. Download the free copy of my Book Proposals That Sell whch has over 150 Five Star reviews and has helped many other writers. Then read and study this book then apply it to your writing. On my book shelf, I have books with valuable insights for my writing. Unless I read the contents then apply the information, it has no application to my everyday work.
3. Get feedback from others before you submit. You can join a critique group or hire an outside editor or a writing coach. My point is to receive and process these insights from someone in the writing community before you submit to an editor or literary agent.
4. Ask better questions then listen for the answers. Where are they selling books? Is it only online or in brick and mortar bookstores? How and how long do they market the book? Do they charge you for marketing training? Have their books been on bestseller lists and can they show you these listings? Can you speak with some of their authors? Where can you see some of their books? Also use a search engine to look for that particular publisher. Every publisher has complaints but if you find pages and pages of complaints then take that as a warning about this company.
5. Gather all of the publishing information which is free before you make a decision about your path. Each one has different pros and cons.
6. Keep working on reaching readers and expanding your connections and network. If you need the help, ask for it and follow-up.
Throughout my decades in publishing, I’ve learned that many decisions are outside of my control. In fact, there is only one person where I have any control: me. If you haven’t read it, I encourage you to get my 10 Publishing Myths which is focused on unrealistic publisihing expectations and practical information for every author. Pick up a copy for only $10 including the shipping with over $200 of free bonsuses. You must take action and become aware of the results of your decisions.
For this topic of publishing decisions and the ramifications, I’ve only scratched the surface and must be missing some elements? Let me know in the comments below.
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During my decades in publishing, I’ve co-authored over a dozen books and reviewed thousands of submissions (no exaggeration). As a part of the process of working with these authors, I speak with them about their dreams and plans. Many of these authors have unrealistic expectations about what will happen with their published book. Many aspects of the publishing process are outside of anything an author can control. I wrote 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS to give authors practical help. You can get decades of insights in 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS for only $10, free shipping and over $200 of bonuses.
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Labels: authors, books, Decision, Morgan James Publishing, options, Publishing Decisions Ramifications, questions, Terry Whalin, The Writing Life, wisdom
