Every author wants to get published by a major publishing house because that’s the mark of a successful writer, right? Not so fast. The reality is that those big publishing houses are not always all they’re cracked up to be.
I read of a good author who is with a solid, reputable publishing house. However, this publishing house didn’t print up advanced reviewing copies or solicit reviews for her book. Isn’t that the minimum you’d expect from a company whose job it is to get your writing into the marketplace? Not necessarily. Her contract was only for publishing. Don’t assume that getting a book into print is the same thing as getting a book sold.
A good self-publishing company might be your best bet if you have the means to work together on the promotion. A small independent press or a company who self-publishes for its authors might work harder to sell their books than a large publishing house. That’s because the large publisher relies on its big-name authors to pull in the corporate income. Self-publishers can have greater control, and greater depth of control, over the reach of their books. No one wants the book to sell as badly as the author, except for a small publisher who relies on ongoing sales to keep the wolf away from the door.
If you want reviews, marketing, promotion, and selling to be done for your book, then clarify these tasks up front. Promotion and distribution take time (and we all know that time is money). A separate contract, and a separate fee, may be required to get your book out to reviewers and readers. That’s almost to be expected these days.
Ideally, your publishing company will send your book out for review and write up a strong sales sheet that goes out to the distributors. You might want an Advanced Reading Copy (ARC) to be printed. Perhaps you want postcards announcing the book’s release date, or maybe it makes sense to print bookmarks for your lectures or book signings. Give it your all when working your publisher to produce the marketing materials that will announce and sell your book. It’s in your own best interest to state your expectations and help your publisher to meet them.
Self-publishing can produce a book every bit as good as what you’d get from a large publishing house. Access to technology has taken care of all that. Self-publishing puts you in the driving seat when it comes to selling your book. Yes, it’s a little bit scary (for some, it’s a lot scary), but it’s all part of the journey.
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