Im a long way from having a first draft, but I wrote alot back in high school, many years ago, OK just a a decade or two back. If I self published, what would the cost be(small batch), a rough guess. And the best way and cost effective to market myself locally? Thanks, KS
I think Amazon lets you self-publish for free, but you can only sell electronic copies for the Kindle. If you want a paperback/hardback version, it could cost anywhere from a few hundred to thousands of dollars. My advice would be to try and get an agent and then go the traditional publishing route, mainly because you, the author, get paid by the publisher rather than the other way around.
Thanks. First steps? First Draft and revisions, and pre-edits Find and work with a Editor or the Publisher's Editor Agent In what order ? Im so out of the loop...... Thanks, KS
1) write your story 2) rewrite your story as many times as you need to to perfect it. 3) edit and polish as many times as needed. 4) find an agent, an agent will only take you on if they think your story is marketable. 5) listen to your agent, this may mean more rewrites, they have possibly been around for a while and should know what they are talking about. 6) the agent will direct your ms to the most suitable publisher. Edit - I have just read thread title, if you are talking small publishers you may be able to deal with the publisher direct, although you would still be better with an agent, they know the business and it is of benefit to them to get the best deal they can.
I will add onto what Trilby said above: An agent will gain you access to larger publishers that do not accept unsolicited manuscripts (slush), but some would argue that it is just as hard or harder to find an agent than it is an editor/publisher. Most agents don't represent novels to smaller publishers. The money for them isn't there. (An agent generally earns 15% of whatever advance/royalties the writer they represent earns). This isn't to say that they don't or won't, but it certainly isn't going to be a first choice, unless the novel is such a niche novel, it won't be right for one of the big six, and their various imprints. Most authors can submit directly to smaller presses. If you're unsure about contracts, you can hire a literary agent to review it for you. This may be a very wise thing, especially if you're very new to the industry/business. But the first goal or objective, as indicated above, is to get that manuscript completed and ready for prime time. Without that, all that follows means very very little.
Precisely. Otherwise you're putting the cart before the horse. I'm curious as to why you would consider small publishers/self-publishing and not the Big Six. Personally, I intend to start at the top and work my way down, subjectively speaking.
I'll reiterate the advice to focus on the writing first. And then working on getting an agent would be the next step - they can help you with a whole lot of these questions. Aim high as Shadowwalker says. But I'll say this about self-publishing: it's not about the upfront cost (can be minimal), it's about the time, effort and understanding that is needed to do it well. Think about it much more like starting a small business than simply uploading a file. It will take a lot of time and research to understand, a lot more information than you'll pick up in a single forum like this (though this is a great place to start).
Absolutely. Personally, I don't think self-publishing should really be considered simply as an alternative to trade publishing. There are many good and bad reasons to want to self-publish - the real question before moving in that direction should be: Do I want to commit time and money to running a small business in addition to my writing? Far too many self-publishers ignore that aspect due to impatience or frustration. You want to do what's best not only for your book, but for you. Jumping into self-publishing without doing the proper research into publishing as a whole and running a small business specifically is a recipe for failure - or at least disappointment.
Well said. Another major factor in self-publishing is that it can be very tempting to cut corners. So, they design covers themselves (some work, many do not) or they forego editing (bad idea) or they decide to pour their money into producing YouTube videos and paying for professional reviews. If you self publish, like any other business, you need a marketing plan. You also need to understand the cost to produce the best quality product. A lot of self publishers try to figure all of that out as they go. That isn't how you manufacture a car and it isn't how you publish a book. All of that should be figured out before you upload anything anywhere. Then, with all of your research done, you can look at the heap of information. From there, you can decide if it is something you are ready, willing and able to do.
