The world of publishing is an interesting animal. Bill Crider got me to thinking about this very thing recently. Here are some thoughts I have on the matter.

If you’ve written your book, there are lots of ways to go about getting it published:

Vanity Press – These are the guys that will print whatever you want for a price. The purpose of this type of printing is twofold: (1) See your name on the by-line, and (2) make lots of money for the printer/publisher. Your books may never really see the light of day, and you’re required to order a minimum number of books.

Self-publishing Houses – By their description, these are publishing houses who try to avoid the stigma associated with vanity press. As I look at them, they are not much different, though. The point is they want to help you get your book in print. Many of these houses got their start by doing cookbook fundraising projects for a variety of groups. They are the publisher of choice for many a preacher who thinks he has something to say to the world. In defense of the Self-Publishers I have checked into, I must say that they do not sugarcoat the necessity of the author being the one front-line fighter for their own book. For a price most of these houses have a package deal that will give you a jump-start on the marketing of your book.

Online Print-On-Demand (POD) Self-publishers – The beauty of this style of book publishing which was birthed out of the technological revolution is that you can print only one book or five hundred or five thousand (discount pricing applies to bulk orders), or you can even sell downloadable copies of your book to save your customers money. Again there are packages that include marketing aids available for a fee.

Traditional Publishing Houses – The traditional route is the hardest route to take. At the same time, if you want to “make it” as an author, it is the route most likely to get you there. Some of the pitfalls that the aspiring author will have with traditional publishing start with the barriers to even getting your manuscript read. Most publishers have so many unsolicited submissions that they don’t have the manpower to read them all. This is probably because they’re already soliciting known and established authors to write another great book for them. To go this route, the best thing is to find an agent who will champion your book. Agents aren’t all about getting your book sold on the marketplace, but selling your idea/book to the publishers. Beware of charletans who ask you for money just to read your book, though. If you find an agent or even a publisher who is willing to accept unsolicited manuscripts, be sure to follow their instruction for submissions as closely as possible (many want a synopsis or proposal before reading an entire book—if yours doesn’t fit their needs they won’t waste their time or yours on a full manuscript). Then start waiting for the rejection notices: develop a thick skin—you’ll be turned down more often than accepted. It doesn’t mean that your writing is bad, it just didn’t tickle the right reader.

And now for my (“most humble”) advice for those who choose to go the route of self-publishing (thought I’d never get there, huh?):

Don’t do this if you’re looking to make money. I’ve published both with general SP houses and POD publishers. I’ve sold enough copies of my books to cover my initial investment, but little more. If you want to publish with SP houses (or POD houses, for that matter) be sure that you are writing for your own pleasure.

Don’t expect to “get discovered.” SP houses are really bad about advertising their service with names like Richard Paul Evans (The Christmas Box was originally a SP effort for family and friends) to entice people to publish their book with them.

Learn to be shameless in your self-promotion. Nobody really cares about your book but you and maybe a good friend or family member (my dad is a better PR man for my first books than I am). False humility often grasps new authors. If your book is really worth reading, tell people.

Finally, if you’re going to self-publish and want to have enough books printed to be sold on the market, start with a small printing. If the book just doesn’t sell, a printing of 500 to 1500 will leave with a lot fewer boxes of books to store than a 10K to 20K run. I personally think that if you’re the kind of author who can merit a multiple thousand copy run with a first edition of a book, you’ve probably already been discovered and are working with a major house somewhere because people will buy your book based on your name. Unless you bear the same name as someone like Stephen King, John Grisham, or Michael Crichton, and can get away with adding an initial to keep confusion (sort of) at bay, you’re not going to sell that many books on your first effort. Besides, even those guys don’t always write devourable material.

Happy writing, everyone!