Aspiring writers who seek to get the voice in literary industry have
their own distinctive goals and guidelines to follow along the way.
Most importantly, they all first need to have a craft well done and be
published before they can pursue their paths towards becoming successful
authors.
Your next concern will be as to how and where are you going to start.
You’ve got 2 options before you can be called an author: either you
will start securing a contract from an established publishing house and
do the traditional publishing; or you can work with a self-publishing
company to get your book published.
Whichever way you feel comfortable in pursuing; still, there is always a need for you to know the basics on
how to self-publish your book and how to publish it the traditional way. So here is the overview of both.
TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING
You’ve got the book and now you’re ready to have it published.
Consider these basics steps on how you can do the traditional way of
establishing yourself as an author in the market.
- Identify the right category for your book
Classifying the right category for your book helps you decide whether
which company or publisher you would like to send your book proposal
to. In an instance that you want your non-fiction book be published
traditionally, you will need to submit a book proposal along with sample
chapters of your book to publishers which deal the specific genre of
your book. Also, you need to include the description of your book and
your potential readers. In cases of fiction books, it is a must that you
complete first your manuscript before contacting any publishers and
send them a query letter stating your high interest to get your book
published.
Granting that you have found an agent who can help you publish your
book or the right publisher of your book, you should next consider
acquiring a contract with them. But of course, it only happens when they
accept the book proposal you sent them. After all, publishers have the
full discretion whether to accept or reject your proposal. If your book
is lucky enough to be considered for publishing, they will send you a
contract.
- The publisher prints, publish, and sell your books
Acquiring a contract from a publishing company is a great payoff to
all your hard work in traditional publishing. Once you can secure one,
the publisher will start printing your manuscript and publish it. The
publishing company will also take in-charge of marketing and selling
your work to different bookstores, distribution, and warehousing for
your book. Traditional publishers also help an author promote his books
for 3 months before an author has to do book promotions by his own.
SELF-PUBLISHING
Well, of course you need to have your manuscript complete as the
foundation of your journey towards self-publishing. Having your work
complete means that from the cover, text, design, and formatting– you
should see to it that you have all what you think it needs to be ready.
In self-publishing, you are responsible for your every action. You need
to make sure you have edited your work a couple times before moving
forward. You might need the help of professionals for fees. These
include professional editors and self-publishing companies offering
essential services.
When your book is ready, you can start printing your work or contact a
self-publishing company
to do it for you. You shoulder the expenses in printing. Some
publishing companies have different service levels in publishing your
work such as black and white and colored. Of course, their prices differ
based on the quality.
In self-publishing, you have all the control on what kind of
promotional materials you can apply for your book. When it’s already
published, your next step is to market your book so that you can start
gaining the profits from your endeavor. You can start from simple
platforms to market your book such as community forums and exhibits
where you get the chance to talk about yourself and your work. You can
also take advantage of any
book marketing services offered by different self-publishing companies.
Whether your option is the traditional way or self-publishing, there is a common responsibility addressed to authors in both
ways—promoting your book.
Either way, you take the responsibility of kicking some promotional
effort to get sales. Traditional publishers do offer help any author
promote his/her book such as sending your book to reviewers and securing
some media ads for you in a specific span of time. In self-publishing,
you get all the control of time, money, and effort to promote your book.
The span of time of your book exposure online is also not limited.
At the end of the day, it is still your choice as to what way you
think that best fits the kind of book you have. Take your steps as early
as now and get published.
