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This page came about because my cousin (He's in college!!! Wooo hoo!!...ahem...sorry) asked for help figuring out what to do with his works.
I'm not an expert. I'm just someone who's been through bad contracts and good, publishing house and the do-it-yourself. I worked for a few years tweaking other people's work for a small company and more years than that writing and editing without pay. DON'T get me started... These are just my thoughts. Hope they help. |
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Decide what YOU want.
What do you want to create? Picture book? Recipe book? A calendar with special stories or phrases for your friends/children/loved-ones/enemies to cherish or gawk at in amazement? A novel that can be sold in stores all over the world? A children's book? An e-book? You need to decide, then make a sketch, an outline, something. What do YOU want?
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Write a rough draft.
Honestly, I'd have my manuscript written BEFORE contacting a publisher. That way I could print off the required bits and pieces and have a foundation to add to whenever the ideas start to flow. | |
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Get SOMEONE to proofread it.
I know it made sense in your head, but what's in your mind isn't always what made it onto the paper. Let someone read it, and don't be mad when they find something. They WILL find something. Be glad. Changes after a book is published can be VERY expensive.
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Hire an editor.
No. I'm not just saying it so you'll email your manuscript to me. (At the moment, I charge 50ยข per page.) I'm saying it because it's the editor's job to catch grammatical errors, rearrange text so it flows best, fix bad dialogue, etc. | |
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Do your research!
Research companies. Research different contracts. Look through books you've liked and those you've hated. If that book is raggedy, their publisher will probably do the same to yours. If you stumbled over typos in theirs, odds are someone will stumble through them in yours. Scratch them off your list and move on. Read ALL of the publisher's requirements. All of them.
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If you're going to self-publish...
That's all I'm saying about it. They're free. It's your work, and it only costs $99 for a distribution deal. Ok. I'm not saying anything else.
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How much are you willing to be responsible for?
"I want to write it, sell it, and collect my royalties!" Nice thought.
Okay, honest? I want that too. A traditional publishing house is the usual choice. You hunt them down online, look at their submission requirements, send the requisite first or first and last chapters, an outline, and letter asking that they consider you. If you're lucky, someone offers to buy the rights (of which you should get a cut), you might get an advance on future sales which can be taken back if it doesn't sell...check your contract. An editor takes out or adds passages as sees fit, and if it sells, you might get between 5 and 10% royalties. That's of what's left after everyone else has been paid. Of course, you generally have little or no say on cover design etc, and your work might read completely differently after an editor gets ahold of it. Trust me. I do it all the time. The editing.
"I wrote it that way on purpose! Don't you dare change it!" Ummm...ok.
If loss of creative control bugs you like it bugs me, go the self-published route. You write it, format it, edit it, create covers and ads, market and list it with the Library of Congress (which means shelling out copies and registration fees in a timely manner if you ever want to see it in a library). You purchase the proof copy, make changes, and pay to have it possibly carried in online (and sometimes brick-and-mortar) stores. Some places charge you just to upload your info, have a minimum number of books they'll print, and just aren't worth the hassle. The choice is yours. | |
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