There’s a podcast for writers that is pretty neat. Actually, there are lots of them, and if you’ve been following me for any period of time, you might think I’m about to mention Writing Excuses. I love Writing Excuses, but tonight’s podcast (and marketplace) is Small Publishing in a Big Universe. Steven Radecki wrote a presentation in association with SPBU which talks about the various ways to publish. I can’t find a public link to his presentation, so I’ll just talk about the subject myself, and hope I do it justice.

Edit: Steven has given me this link, which has this other link to the presentation I was thinking of. Similar subject, but presented from a different perspective.

When talking about publishing a story, there are three main routes:

1. Self Publishing
2. Small Publisher/Independent Publisher
3. Traditional Publisher/Big Five

There are probably a couple of other routes I could mention, such as academic publishing, but the other routes aren’t common or accessible for authors writing fiction. Sure, publishing a puff piece in a newspaper can be full of fictitious content, but we’re concerning ourselves tonight with books and short stories.

Self Publishing

You finished a book, and now you want people to read it. Just post it to Amazon and watch the money roll in, right? After all, you’ve spent six whole weeks working on this first draft, and after all that time, we wanna get paid.

Slow up, Flash. Take a deep breath, and maybe a step back from a bad decision.

Self publishing is absolutely a viable route, but there are things you should know and do before throwing the manuscript over the fence. You’re starting a business, and you’re generating a product. You are responsible for everything, and it’s important to know exactly what you’re responsible for.

Editing

You need an editor. It’s possible you don’t think you need an editor, but trust me, you do. Everyone does. You have been staring at your pile of words longer than anyone, and in the process, you have become blind to your own mistakes. Have you ever stopped in one of those rural areas that’s close to cattle, and when you get out of the car, your nose is assaulted with an odor strong enough to turn your stomach? The locals appear unaffected. They’ve become acclimated and don’t notice the stink. When it comes to your manuscript, you’re a local, and the smell is wafting off of your unedited story.

There are different types of editing, and you may need all of it. There is developmental editing, which goes deep into the content of your story and helps shape it into something that actually makes sense. Structural editing may be part of this, which reshapes the story so that it flows well and follows a coherent style. There is line and copy editing, which may deal with spelling and punctuation, but usually deals with grammar, word choice, and overall enhancements to the writing quality. Then there is mechanical editing, which is all about spelling, grammar, punctuation, and formatting. Depending on the editor, some of these types of editing passes are included together, or they may require additional work by other editors.

Have you written about someone with a disability when you yourself are not disabled in that way? Have you written about someone that is gay while you are straight, black while you are white, a victim of domestic violence that you have never experienced, or some other marginalized identity that does not apply to you? Chances are, you could use a sensitivity reader. Sensitivity readers aren’t necessarily editors. They don’t even have to be writers. They’re subject matter experts on their lives, and if they tell you that what you have written is harmful, you need to listen to them and make appropriate corrections in your story. Also, pay your sensitivity readers. It’s hazard pay. By reading your story, they’re taking a chance and exposing themselves to trauma.

Cover Art

Your cover is the first thing prospective readers will see, and they will use it to judge your book. Unless you’re a visual artist, you’re going to need someone that can dress up your book and make it look good. Maybe you’re like me, and you’ve never been swayed or put off by a cover. You and I may be rare, because there are lots of people that will look at the cover and if it doesn’t appeal to them, they won’t buy it.

Maybe your daughter is an artist, and you figure you can save some money by having her make the cover for your book. My daughter is also an artist, and as sweet as it would be to work together on a project, she’s never created a book cover before, so she has no idea what to do about dimensions, formatting for the spine, or any of the other things that experienced cover artists know. She could learn, but is her art style even a good match for the story?

A professional cover artist is worth paying for. They will work with you, and will probably ask questions you’ve never thought to ask. Niki Lenhart, the artist that created the cover for The Repossessed Ghost, created multiple versions before we landed on the one that I loved. Niki had to endure my inexperience and indecisiveness in order to come up with what I think is the perfect cover for my story. Your cover artist is going to have to deal with your idiosyncrasies, too, so pay them what they deserve. They will literally make or break your book.

Marketing

You’re responsible for getting the word out. Do you have a social media presence? You’re probably going to want one, but keep your expectations in check; social media does not translate into very many sales.

Professional conferences, blog guest spots, features in other people’s newsletters… there’s a lot of frustrating work in front of you, just to spread the word that your story exists. And there are no guarantees.

Remember: Amazon will not promote your story unless it is already selling. How do you get the sales? Friend, if there was an easy answer to this question, we would all be doing it.

Why Self-Publish?

The main reason an author will self publish is control. They have complete authority over every aspect of their book and their career. They can hire whatever editor or artist they want to, that they can afford. They may try their hand at doing it all themselves, though most people lack the skills necessary, and will only generate mediocrity.

Also, when you self-publish, you don’t have to share the profits with anyone. Well… the printing and distribution will still take their cut. And of course you had to hire people in order to make your story shine. And there might have been some other costs incurred while trying to market your book. But other than that, you get all of the profits!

Small Publisher/Independent Publisher

This is the route I have gone with The Repossessed Ghost, and it has been ideal for me. I looked into self-publishing for years before I found Water Dragon Publishing. I looked at all the skills required to start a successful business and determined that, while I could learn everything necessary, I’d rather most of my time be spent actually writing.

Editing

Your publisher should have at least one editor to work with you on your story. Just bear in mind that the resources of a small publisher are dependent on how small they are. Your story might have been scrutinized by a development editor during the submission process, so if it looks like it will be painful or expensive to work on your story, you might not get accepted at all.

The theme throughout this whole section is that a small publisher is small, so their resources are limited. If you have a problem working with the first editor you’re assigned to, there may not be a second editor to turn to.

You’re not on your own like you are when self-publishing. However, you will be well served to pay extra attention during this process. Your attention to detail may be the deciding factor as to whether or not your book is successful.

Cover Art

Your publisher should put you in touch with a cover artist. Again, resources may be limited. If you know a cover artist that you’d like to work with, you might approach your publisher and see if something can be worked out.

Small publishers are always looking for talented people they can work with, that do reliable work at an affordable rate.

Marketing

From what I can tell, marketing is the biggest difference between the small and big publishers. Again, with a small publisher, resources are limited. They are not going to have the same kind of reach as The Big Five. With a small publisher, it is unlikely that your books will show up in Barnes & Noble.

Your publisher should have some markets that they will submit your book to, but just like with self publishing, a lot of the promotion is going to be on your shoulders.

There are still no guarantees, and everyone is looking for that magic spell that will summon all the readers to buy their book. There is no magic, though. Only luck.

Why Work with a Small Publisher?

As Steven writes in his presentation, independent publishing is self publishing. Much of the pros and cons of self publishing are still present, but you’re no longer having to weather the storm alone.

Consider a group of self publishing writers that have been managing their businesses for a while. They know what they’re doing, but each of them possess different strengths and weaknesses. After a fortuitous meeting, they determine that the best thing they can do is pool their resources and work together. That’s small publishing.

What I have found with Water Dragon is a community of like-minded and talented writers. That appeals to me.

I haven’t had to pay for editing services or a cover artist. I also share profits on the individual sales with the publisher. The percentage of the pie I get is larger than if I was working with a big publisher.

One of the deciding factors for me was that small publishers will touch genres that big publishers aren’t buying. The Repossessed Ghost is a good story that deserved to be in the world, but since my name isn’t Jim Butcher or Ilona Andrews, The Big Five was never going to give my story a shot.

Traditional Publisher/Big Five

If you want the largest audience possible, you’re going to have to publish with The Big Five. The Big Five are:

• Penguin Random House
• Hachette
• HarperCollins
• Macmillan
• Simon & Schuster

You may have heard recently about the buying and selling of Simon & Schuster. Penguin Random House almost bought them, but instead, a private equity firm, KKR, bought it. I believe this is the same firm that bought Toys R Us. So, who knows if there will be a “Big Five” for much longer.

Let’s break this down the way I broke down the other options.

Editing

Everyone wants to see your book succeed, and there is a budget to make sure that happens. Of course, if you’re a new writer, that budget might be extremely small. The Big Five have battalions of editors at their disposal, but if you are paired with one early on that doesn’t share your vision, you could be in for a wild and bumpy ride.

The publisher should do their best to accommodate you and make you comfortable. But, there have been nightmare stories.

You need to remember that it is your name on the cover, and you need to make sure that the book passes through the editing process and comes out on the other side as something that you can be proud of. You need to have the confidence and wherewithal to call out problems, and you need to do it in such a way that you’re not “rocking the boat.” Be professional and assertive.

Cover Art and Marketing

With the Big Five, Cover Art and Marketing go together. In fact, the title of your book is a marketing decision, too.

If my Mel Walker story had been picked up by one of the random penguins, would it still have been called The Repossessed Ghost? It’s hard to say. I remember an executive editor for one of the publishers telling me the name sounded clunky. I think the name fits, but someone in marketing might have come up with something that would make it sell.

I also know that marketing is my weakest subject, so having a marketing budget and experts helping me make decisions like that would have been a huge boon.

Marketing is the advantage Big Publishers have over Small Publishers. From my perspective, it might be the only real advantage that matters.

The Issues with Big Publishers

I’m not going to go into the reasons why working with a Big Publisher is good, because they’re too obvious. Yes, you’ll get a smaller percentage off of every sale, but the numbers dwarf what you’ll get when going out on your own or working with an independent publisher.

Before you can work with the Big Five, you need an agent. You might be able to get an offer through an acquiring editor, but those are rare, and even when it happens, the publisher will still want to work through an agent.

The agent relationship will be one of the most important in your life, and is worth its own post. Your agent is going to be pivotal to your entire career. Having a bad agent is worse than having no agent at all.

The main problem with Big Publishers is that they bank on what they predict will be guaranteed wins. They put their budget towards already established authors. New authors are not as well supported or funded, which makes it harder for them to succeed.

Big Publishers will abandon stories or authors if the sales are not what they expect. They do not always consider factors outside the author’s control, such as Donald Trump getting elected in 2016, or a global pandemic driving everyone indoors in 2020.

It is extremely difficult to get in with the big publishers, and it seems like a precarious place to be if you don’t become a household name. Most people do not become household names.

No one really knows what they’re doing, but The Big Five think they do. They have some of the answers, for sure, but the process is flawed.

Consider how Harry Potter came to be. It was turned down 12 times before getting picked up by Bloomsbury in the UK. As I understand it, an editor’s daughter loved the book and was the first advocate for it. Whatever your feelings about J.K. Rowling, Harry Potter was an extraordinarily successful series. The Big Publishing filter would never have let it see the light of day.

Final Thoughts

Only you can determine what your career should look like. I know successful and happy authors that are completely self published. I also am well acquainted with many successful writers that work with The Big Five. Every author is different, and every author walks a slightly different path than the rest.

Regardless of how you publish, you will need patience. If you get a book deal with The Big Five, it could be a couple of years before you actually see it in print. Small publishers can move faster, but it’s not guaranteed. And as I alluded to at the beginning, when you self publish, you can go as fast as you want, but you may not be well served rushing.