Category — DIY MFA

Welcome back to your Do-it-Yourself MFA program.

We’re now at the end of the journey — the book is in hand, the readings are set-up, the reviews are pouring in … so what happens next?

Well, first of all, I think we need to examine where you are emotionally.  Anne Lamott described it best in Bird by Bird, and if you haven’t yet read her book, this will be the perfect receptacle for all of the anxiety that accompanies the release of a book.

I believed, before I sold my first book, that publication would be instantly and automatically gratifying, an affirming and romantic experience, a Hallmark commercial where one runs and leaps in slow motion across a meadow filled with wildflowers into the arms of acclaim and self esteem.

This did not happen for me.

It didn’t really happen for me either.  Which is not to say that there weren’t exciting moments; happy moments that came close to Hallmark-land.  For instance, the first time I held the galleys, the first time I held the finished book, the first time someone read it and told me they liked it, the first review to go up on Amazon.  All of these were huge happy moments.

But in between, there was self-doubt and jealousy and anxiety and frustration.  You wonder if you chose the best words for that paragraph and wish you could still pick at the manuscript.  You’re jealous of other writers and what you perceive to be their easy success (after talking to them, you realize that they too are going through the same emotions as you, so “easy success” becomes more myth than reality.) You worry that no one will read the book.  You’re frustrated with the pace — it’s race, race, race, wait.

Hopefully, knowing that everyone else is going through those same emotions will help you be able to set them aside for the moment and savour the happy parts of the experience.  Because if you don’t, you may miss the fact that this is a very happy experience too — a nerve-wracking one where you never feel as if you are doing “enough” or getting “enough,” but happy nonetheless.

And you wouldn’t trade having a traditionally published book for the world.

You’re also probably wondering what happens next, I mean, after the book signing parties and interviews and readings and reviews peter out.  Because traditional publishing is a bit like a drug.  You want to quit — book writing feels so good, but publishing makes you feel terrible — yet you can’t because you’re also addicted to the book publishing highs.  I mean, there is someone out there who thought your writing was good enough that they were willing to make an investment in it.  And then there are people — not even people who know you at all — who are willing to buy your book and read it.  And those highs are what make you wrack your brain for the next book project.

Something you should know before you dive into the next book is that you probably have a ROFR or Right of First Refusal written into your book contract.  This means that your publisher has the right to see your next project before anyone else and decide whether or not to purchase it.  Even if you have a fantastic ROFR that says that you can show your next project to your publisher two days after you turn in your final manuscript, you are probably going to see a large lag time between when you can start working on your next project and when you should.

Publishers are going to want to wait and see how the first book does with sales.  Unless you already have a multi-book contract, they are not going to want to see your next idea for a bit unless there has already been incredible pre-sale buzz for your book.  So you may find that there are years between when you turn in the manuscript for your non-fiction book and when you should aim to turn in the next book non-fiction book proposal to that publisher (and yes, baring a terrible working relationship, you do usually want to remain with the same publisher if you had a decent deal the first time around.  There is a lot to be gained from an ongoing publisher-writer relationship).

So what do you do with yourself in the meantime?

You can always go a different route and try your hand at a different piece of writing.  For instance, if your last book was non-fiction, you can fill the gap with a fiction book at a different publisher (which is the route I took).  You can write freelance articles, directing traffic to your published book (and you should do this regardless).  You can take the time off to really savour and reflect on your first publishing experience.  Or you can race ahead with the next proposal and tuck it away so the second your agent tells you that it’s okay to shop it, it’s ready to send out.

Now that you’re an author, you’re going to field two kinds of requests — ones that help you while helping someone else, and ones that only help someone else.  Let’s examine both kinds:

• Interviews Requests: you are going to get requests for quotes or interviews from journalists, and I recommend that you help them for two reasons.  (1) It helps get information about your book out there, even if it’s simply a line such as, ” … says Melissa Ford, author of Navigating the Land of If.” (2) They are a writer just like you, and it is karmically good to help another writer with their project.
• Book Blurbs or Book Reviews: you are going to be asked to blurb books or review someone else’s book, and I recommend that you do it.  This helps the other author a lot more than it helps you, and it is a big time commitment, but it is difficult to get book blurbs and reviews.  Hopefully, what goes around will come around again when it comes to your next project.  This is about supporting a fellow author.
• Agent Introductions: you will probably be asked to introduce people to your agent.  Sometimes, you’ll be excited to pass along a good find to your agent because it helps both your friend and the agent.  Sometimes, you won’t know the person doing the asking, but their project will sound so interesting, that it’s probably worth your time to pass the introduction along.  I’ve never been asked by a complete stranger to vouch for them, but if this was an ongoing situation, I would probably put up a statement on my website explaining why I don’t do this.  I love my agent and would hate to abuse her time by becoming a human slushpile.  So, for anyone reading this who was considering asking a stranger to recommend them to the writer’s agent, please rethink that.  People you know = okay to ask.  People you’ve never met or even emailed with = please don’t go there.

Hopefully, you’ve gotten to the end of this series and haven’t been scared away from the world of publishing.  I think it’s always best to enter with your eyes open and realize that there is a HUGE difference between book writing and book publishing.  Again, Anne Lamott said it perfectly in Bird by Bird:

I just try to warn people who hope to get published that publication is not all that it is cracked up to be.  But writing is … It’s like discovering that while you thought you needed the tea ceremony for the caffeine, what you really needed was the tea ceremony.  The act of writing turns out to be its own reward.

Writing is unbelievably wonderful, and I’ll always be grateful that I get to attempt to make a living doing something I love.  But book writing has nothing in common with book publishing.  They are two completely separate entities (hence why self-publishing has little in common with traditional publishing, and why self-publishing may be the best route for you if you love book writing, but can’t stand book publishing).  I went into book publishing thinking it would be just as much fun and just as creative as the writing side of things, and it probably is for the editor or publisher.  But for the author, it’s the hard work.  It’s a struggle because it’s outside your expertise.  You are a writer, after all, not a salesperson.

But you learn how to fit these other hats on your head because to return to the original point, there is no business like book business, to paraphrase Ethel Merman.  There is nothing like getting that phone call from your agent that an offer is on the table.  There is nothing like opening the envelope that holds your advance check.  There is nothing like walking through a bookstore and seeing your book on the shelf.  And that’s why you keep plugging away, even when you have a huge stack of rejections and you’re frustrated as all get out with the publishing industry.  Because, unfortunately, if you want the highs, you also need to take the lows.  You need to send out those query letters and edit that book opening and beg other writers for book blurbs.  But I promise you, it’s worth it.

Okay class, any questions on what was discussed here or in any other section of this series? Please leave them in the comment section below and I will answer them in the comment section below. This is the last installment in this series, so consider it a free-for-all for any unanswered questions.

Heads Up and Looking Back: topics that will be covered in future installments or that were covered in past installments

1. Before You Even Get Started

2. Are You Ready to Be an Author?

3. How to Write a Non-Fiction Book Proposal

4. Why You Need an Agent

5. How to Get an Agent

6. Querying Agents

7. What Happens Next–Waiting for a Book Sale

8. Self-publishing and Self-representation

9. Working with an Editor

10. Be Your Own Publicist

11. THIS POST

Welcome back to your Do-it-Yourself MFA program.

Now it’s time to get out there and sell the book.  Actually, this part should be happening while you’re still writing the book (if it’s non-fiction) or editing the book (if it’s fiction).  In other words, it is never too early to create buzz.

Here’s an analogy: sometimes PR people contact me, wanting me to write about their product.  The reality is that it’s almost never a product I already know–iPods sort of sell themselves–but instead, a small niche product.  Here’s the reality–if they had purchased some ad space on a few blogs and I had subconsciously heard of the product several times before they approached me, I’d probably be more interested in getting a sample and writing about their product.  But when they’re cold-calling me without any prior poke into my subconscious, it would have to be a pretty incredible product to get my attention.  And frankly, if it was that incredible, they probably wouldn’t be approaching me to write about it because it would already be selling like hotcakes.

Books work with the same thought.  If you cold-call the reader, for example, just setting it on the table in the bookstore and hope they pick it up, 99 times out of 100, they will walk on by without glancing at it unless it has a remarkable cover or title.  But if you saw reviews and ads and met the writer in passing at a conference, chances are, when you bump into that book down the road, you’ll be more likely to give it a try.  Therefore, the marketing wheels need to be turning early-on in order to catch the crowds right at the book’s release.

Some of these avenues will be closed off to you if you self-published your book, but regardless of the size of your press, the rest of these are places to try to get a bit of publicity for your book.

• Your Blog
• Your Book Site
• Other People’s Blogs
• Reviews on Book Sites
• Reviews in Print Mediums
• Readings at Bookstores
• Readings at Conferences
• Speaking Gigs
• Advertisements
• Email List

Let’s explore these ideas:

Your Blog

Hopefully, you’re still writing on your blog and keeping up your platform.  You already have people who like your writing style so tell them about your book.  Not by continuously clocking them over the head with it, but you should use your blog to shout to the world that you do, indeed, have a book.

Your Book Site

And for the love, set up a book site.  A place to point people toward for information about your book’s release, upcoming appearances, and an excerpt.  Make sure that’s it’s both eye-catching and easy to navigate.

Other People’s Blogs

Otherwise known as a virtual blog tour.  You can ask others to write about your book or have them conduct an interview with you.   You may do a guest post on their blog if they’re open to the idea, therefore reaching new readers who may not know about your blog or book.  Sometimes, another person will organize the virtual book tour for you.

Reviews on Book Sites

The best place to have a review beyond a site that contains your niche audience for your book is on a book site.  After all, people who read book sites usually read books.  Try to make connections with book bloggers (and by make connections, I mean take the time to build a relationship.  Please don’t write a general email to every book blogger or reviewer begging them to look at your book) and you can usually arrange to have the publicist send them a review copy.

Reviews in Print Mediums

These are getting harder and harder to get.  If you have any connections, use them.  Your publicist at the publishing house will also be using their connections.  Instead of trying to get a review in People magazine or the New York Times, focus on your niche audience.  If it’s a non-fiction book, is there a magazine that covers the topic?  If it’s a fiction book, is there a smaller magazine that might do a review?

Readings at Bookstores

It’s not that publishers don’t send authors on book tours — there are people reading at bookstores every night of the week.  But do the math — there are many more authors and books than there are bookstores and not everyone will get a book tour.  In fact, most publishers no longer put their money toward book tours because they often aren’t worth the cost.  The exception is with big name authors who can pull in the audience.   Speak directly with local bookstores or the scheduler at your local big chain store.

Readings at Conferences

Are there conferences going on that are connected in some way to your book.  A piece of general women’s fiction might work well with BlogHer.  A book about a specific medical condition may fit with a conference being held on that medical condition.  Search to see if there are conferences you should be attending and networking at as well as places where you could speak about your book.

Speaking Gigs

On that end, if you have a non-fiction book, you may be considered an expert in a topic and get a speaking event at a conference or meeting where you can also mention your book.  If you have a piece of fiction, you may be able to get a speaking gig about publishing in general and mention your book there.

Advertisements

Purchase advertisements in smart places.  It might be worth your money to purchase ad space on a popular blog that is read by people who might like your book.  It is worth getting print advertising in a magazine that caters to people who would read your book, or buy advertising in a newsletter.

Email List

This is not a time to get shy.  Email out one or two announcements about your book or readings to your friends.  Ask them to forward it to their friends.  You do not want to be annoying and send out dozens of emails, but this is also a time to get by with a little help from your friends.

Other suggestions for ways people have publicized their book?

Okay class, any questions on what was discussed here? Please leave them in the comment section below and I will answer them in the comment section below. Keep in mind that I have a lot of topics to cover so your question may be answered in a future installment (see below). So keep your questions about book publicity.

Heads Up and Looking Back: topics that will be covered in future installments or that were covered in past installments

1. Before You Even Get Started

2. Are You Ready to Be an Author?

3. How to Write a Non-Fiction Book Proposal

4. Why You Need an Agent

5. How to Get an Agent

6. Querying Agents

7. What Happens Next–Waiting for a Book Sale

8. Self-publishing and Self-representation

9. Working with an Editor

10. THIS POST

11. A Mishmash of Leftover Questions and Answers

Welcome back to your Do-it-Yourself MFA program.

I’m really not sure what happens when you self-publish, so hopefully someone can chime in on the comment section below.  This installment will be about working on a piece of non-fiction or fiction with your editor.  Everything from the signing on the contract to publication day.

First we need to go back to those terms and define some roles.  You are going to be working with an editor and a publisher.  Sometimes, they are one and the same person, but they’ll be doing two very different jobs with you.  An editor is working with you to tighten (or produce) the content.  They will be looking at ideas, character development, tone, pace–and they may also do a little line editing.  The publisher–the person who acquired your manuscript–is more in charge of the life of the book after it’s done.  They were the ones who negotiated with your agent and know the details of the deal, and they’re also the ones who are thinking about marketing and how well the book will do in sales.  You will also work with a book designer and a copyeditor, though your relationship with them will likely be through your editor or publisher.  You will also work with a book publicist, brainstorming ideas based on your contacts and their reach.

I asked an associate editor at a Big Six Publisher about the various jobs associated with the creation of a book and he says,

Your editor is your point-person at the publishing house.  The first thing he is going to do is work with you on shaping your manuscript.  Depending on the book, the editor may do A LOT of line editing, and the publisher may be involved from the first step.  Part of a goal of a big publishing house is to get the whole house behind it, so that Marketing, Publicity, and Sales all strive to make your book the one that breaks out of the morass on the shelves.  Your publisher works with all of the departments to position your book, which can often be something as simple as “People who read Jodi Picoult will want to read this, so let’s see how Jodi Picoult is marketed, designed, and publicized, and we’ll try to copy that.”  The sheer number of people who will help bring your book to the shelves at a big publishing house would rival the end credits of a movie, and one of the biggest advantages of a publishing house is that every person in the process believes that they are integral, rightly so.  Someone is actually putting a lot a lot a lot of thought into the trim of your book, into what font to use, into the running heads (those bits at the top of the page that say your name on one page and the title of the chapter / book on the other).  It helps.

With fiction, the manuscript is complete, but you’ll still do an edit.  Or two.  Or maybe even more.  I had my Big Six associate editor explain:

You’ll do however many edits the publisher / editor requires to feel safe in the belief that they are going to be putting the best possible product into the marketplace.  One of the biggest mind-leaps for an author is that while their manuscript is a work of art, once they sign a contract with any publishing house, big or small, it is also a commodity, and a good relationship with your editor / publisher will maintain that sense of the artistic throughout, there are always considerations as to how the novel will spotlight itself in the marketplace.  In other words, when you finish a manuscript, figure out the hills to die upon.  If changing the ending would make your book no longer yours, bring this up to the editor / publisher who is going to buy the book.  You should definitely be able to have a conversation before the contract is signed, and you want to make sure that you have the same artistic vision as the people who will be adding a marketing and publishing vision to it.  If every word is sacred and you’re going to bristle at editorial guidance, whatever the reason, self-publish, and hire a freelance marketer and publicist.

In other words, the point is to tighten up the manuscript and take it to its best possible place, which is why I’ve said several times that there is a big difference between writing a book and publishing a book.  While books are obviously about the story or the information contained within (in other words, the content), publishing is about the marketability of the book.  About getting it into the right hands.

After the manuscript is complete, you will receive back a series of pages called proofreading and copyediting pages, but we’ll talk more about that below with non-fiction.  You’ll also be asked to think about and approach other authors for book blurbs at this point, which are those small quotations that publishers slap on the cover of the book.

With non-fiction, you’ll start working on the chapters and you’ll probably create an outline with your editor to make sure that you not only have time to write the chapters, but you have time to edit them too.  Don’t be surprised if your publisher hires an independent editor to work with you.  This isn’t unusual with small presses that have small staffs.  You should have good communication with your editor and take deadlines seriously (because they can’t do their job if you don’t do yours).  After the manuscript is complete and turned in, you’ll also wait for the next step (proof-reading and copyediting) as well as pulling together those book blurb people.

Our associate editor points out the most important thing to remember: to hit your deadlines.

Take deadlines as serious as a grease fire.  If you sign a two-book contract, you will have a date in that contract for when the second book is due to the publisher.  You want to make sure you can meet that deadline before you sign, because a publisher will hold you to it, and can cancel the contract if you do not.  It is vital that every author anticipates how much time they will have to write (keeping in mind that, while you are writing book two, you will be publicizing book one) so that you never, ever, ever miss a deadline.

You will receive bound galleys from your publisher, which are a draft of the book layout, usually without the final cover in place.  You will also usually receive unbound pages that show the final layout of the book.  This will give you a chance to correct any mistakes that came with the layout as well as catch more type-os and grammatical errors.  Your publisher will have a formal way they want you to edit which will be a balance of reading the pages yourself as well as answering queries from the proofreader.

Those galleys will also go out to those authors who are blurbing your book, and sometimes to reviewers instead of printing a separate “advance reading copy” or ARC.  It all depends on the finances or protocols of the publisher.

Usually, you’ll go through one or two proofs (also called first pass and second pass).  The second proof is the final proof–meaning, you’ll check that all of your first corrects were made, you’ll search for any other errors, and then the manuscript is out of your hands.  This is where you’ll also see how the final pages look–any graphics or sidebars or tiny icons should all be on these pages.  Once you send back your notes, you’ll wait until you get your copies of your book in the mail.  Some publishers will only send the first proof, so there is only a single chance to catch and correct all the small mistakes.

Er … wait … there’s also the cover.  Most publishers will ask the author a few questions to get a sense of what you envision in the cover design.  The bottom line is that they want you to be happy with your cover.  But you’re also not a marketer and they have had experience picking covers that catch someone’s eye.  Therefore, it will be somewhat of a collaborative process, with your feelings taken into consideration, but ultimately, the book designer creating the cover.

Most publishers will listen and make tweaks (and in some cases, go back to the drawing board) if the author isn’t happy with the cover.  This is a place where your agent should help with the negotiations (remember, this is the person who always has your back).  Our associate editor states,

Your agent earns his or her percentage not by selling your book to a publishing house, but by representing your business interest.  That includes the cover, the marketing, and every other business-related aspect of your book.  If you have a concern or question, the best person to speak through is your agent.  Think of it like you would an attorney.  If you are having a legal dispute, and you’ve hired an attorney, you’re going to let that attorney be your mouthpiece, no?  If you have concerns about the cover, they should go through the agent.  You should be focused on the artistic endeavor of writing and revising, which you should be doing with your editor.  The agent should handle virtually all other matters with the house.

Ultimately, the final cover design is in the hands of the publisher.

So one day, you will get a box with copies of your book.  You will hold your book and cry, thinking about the whole journey from idea to holding it in your hands.  You’ll drop the book in your bag and show it to all your friends.  And soon after that, the book will be sent out via online booksellers or on the shelves of bookstores.  But before all of that, the marketing part begins…

Okay class, any questions on what was discussed here? Please leave them in the comment section below and I will answer them in the comment section below. Keep in mind that I have a lot of topics to cover so your question may be answered in a future installment (see below). So keep your questions about working with an editor and publisher.

Heads Up and Looking Back: topics that will be covered in future installments or that were covered in past installments

1. Before You Even Get Started

2. Are You Ready to Be an Author?

3. How to Write a Non-Fiction Book Proposal

4. Why You Need an Agent

5. How to Get an Agent

6. Querying Agents

7. What Happens Next–Waiting for a Book Sale

8. Self-publishing and Self-representation

9. THIS POST

10. Be Your Own Publicist

11. A Mishmash of Leftover Questions and Answers

Welcome back to your Do-it-Yourself MFA program.

Let’s say that you didn’t get an agent, that you’ve been banging your head for a year or several years or several projects and you still don’t have an agent.  There are other paths to publication.

Self-publishing is open to everyone. You pay a fee, and they put your manuscript in book form. Prices range from a couple hundred to several thousand. Self-publishing utilizes a system called POD or Print-on-Demand and it’s similar to Cafepress. They do not waste materials until someone wants the book; meaning, the reason you can usually only get self-published books online rather than in a bookstore is that they don’t exist until someone makes a purchase and then they are printed within the day and mailed out.

The writer pays an upfront fee (Booksurge, Amazon’s program, asks for anywhere from $800–$6000 depending on what you need done–and I’m sure there are places that do it for much less, but you also sometimes have lower quality with the lower fee), and then receive back a portion of the book sale–sometimes up to 35%. So … just to explain the math to see if this option is right for you, if a book costs $15, you should receive back $5.25 per book sold. You’ll need to sell a little over 150 copies of the book to break even and after that, you’ll turn a profit. (That is, if you go the cheapest route on Booksurge.  You’ll need to sell well over 1,ooo books if you choose a more expensive option.)

Advantages are clear–it is entirely within your control. All you need to do is write the book.  And frankly, if you’re not up to enduring a lot of rejection (because even JK Rowling endured rejection), self-publishing is the way to go. It is a sure thing. You also have control from start to finish, deciding what goes in the book as well as the look. Though you have to front the money for the process, if you have a thousand dollars to invest, you can easily turn a profit if you have a decent platform. And for most writers, turning a profit is not the reason they wrote the book: it’s to get the information into the hands of people who need it or would enjoy it. Therefore, self-publishing is the perfect way to make sure that information or a story doesn’t linger unpublished on a Microsoft Word doc on your computer. It is the only way within your control to make sure that it gets sent out into the world.

One other advantage is that some PODs then get picked up by a publisher, though this is uncommon and not something that can be controlled. This scenario is the needle in the haystack and I can only think of one book like this off the top of my head, but the point is that self-publishing does not need to be the end-point.  It can also be the starting point to prove the book’s worth.

The disadvantages are clear too–since anyone can publish a POD, there is a big range of quality. POD-dy Mouth used to be the place to go to separate the wheat from the chaff, but with that site closing, it’s really up to you to exercise a buyer beware mentality as a reader. Every book you are purchasing from a publishing house (small or large) has been professionally edited as well as vetted if it is a work of non-fiction, with research notes examined and challenged.  Publishing a book is VERY different from writing a book, and self-published books miss out on the whole publishing process.

Having been a freelance editor–sometimes called a book doctor–(as most MFA grad students are at some point in their life) and having been on the receiving end of a publishing house edit, I can tell you that it’s two very different processes where one is receiving a collection of notes (book doctor) and one is participating in a collaborative process with (1) some control over using the notes removed but (2) a keen-eye focused on getting the right message across (a traditional editor at a publishing house). Removing the publisher from the publishing process can remove some credibility depending on the reader.  There is much, much more to publishing than slapping a cover on a book, arranging the pages, and getting it listed online, and self-published books miss out on some important steps in the collaborative book birthing process that come with traditional publishing.  Self-publishing should actually be called self-printing and not publishing.

The other disadvantage is marketing. You are entirely on your own for marketing with a POD unless, again, you pay for services. If you have a pretty strong platform or the book gets a cult following, this isn’t an issue. But it means that you keep having to take the initiative to get it out there and it can be exhausting (and avenues can quickly be exhausted). Most publishers expect authors to take a certain amount of initiative, so it isn’t as if this disadvantage is unique to PODs, but the difference is that (1) you will not get the foot traffic picking up your unknown book off the shelf at a bookstore because it’s usually only offered online and (2) some traditional reading sources and media outlets will be closed to PODs.

The last disadvantage is that as an author, you think like an author and you can’t see the big picture that someone on the other side of the business can see.  Traditional publishers have seen which covers work and which do not.  They know where to focus their energies on marketing a book.  You know your book best, but they know marketing best.  Self-publishing rejects the idea that professional out there might know a thing or two.  Sometimes, you’re right.  Unfortunately, sometimes you’re also wrong and if you’re wrong, you might be out a lot of money.

And really, at the heart of this, is a central idea that everyone needs to remember — book writing and book publishing are two very different things.  You may find that you love the idea of book writing, but hate the actual process of book publishing.  If that’s the case, self-publishing may be the best route for you.  But some people really want to experience both sides of the process — the writing of the book and then the publishing of the book — and may find that it’s better to leave a document on the computer or choose the route I’ll discuss below instead of self-print the book.

It’s sort of the difference between a veggie burger and a hamburger.  They look alike, but a veggie burger is not a hamburger.  And if you’re craving a hamburger, you’re probably not going to be fully satisfied with a veggie burger.  Though sometimes you just want food and if the veggie burger suffices, eat it.

So, to review about self-publishing–-it’s great if you want control of the process and you want it to just happen without having to jump through hoops. Yes, you need to front the money, but if you can sell between 150–1200 copies, you’ll recoup your investment. And if you have a strong platform, selling 150–1200 copies won’t be a problem. The information will be out there instead of sitting on your hard drive. And there’s always a chance it will hit cult-success or be picked up by a traditional publishing house. I am personally a fan of self-publishing because there’s a lot of good stuff that will never be considered by a publishing house because it doesn’t have marketing potential (remember, a publisher buying a manuscript is essentially making an investment and just as you wouldn’t buy stock in a company that looks like its going nowhere, publishers will not invest in books that they don’t think will make a profit. And publishers need to sell many more than 150 copies to turn a profit).

One thing happening right now is that self-publishing is trying to move away from its earlier title of “vanity press” by renaming itself independent publishing.  But something already exists called independent publishing and it’s the smaller presses (non-big six presses) we’re going to talk about below.  I know this can be confusing, but when I use “self-publishing,” I mean places you pay to print your book for you (such as BookSurge).  I use “independent press” and “small press” interchangeably to mean any publisher that is not a big six publisher, though I tried to stick to the term “small press” to make this clear.  Think of the distinction the same way you would (with similar advantages and disadvantages) between a large bookstore chain and an independent bookstore.  Both contain books, but the way they market books is different.  Big six publishers are the chain bookstores and small publishers are the independent bookstores.  Self-publishing is equivalent to the book peddler, with one person selling their one book.

Okay, so now that we’ve established that, the other option is self-representation.

Sort of like applying to college, self-representation is open for everyone to try, but you’ll have to be accepted. Though small press publishers prefer to work with agents, some will accept direct submissions. (Big six publishing houses will not accept submissions that do not come through an agent with few exceptions.) Most small press publishers work with a specific genre or within a specific swath of the population, but if you fit their profile, you may be able to send your work directly to the house and have it considered for publication. If you get accepted, it contains all the advantages with working with a publishing house–you get paid to write the book, you get a professional editor, and you get help in marketing the book. It will appear in bookstores and you will have readings and reviews (hopefully–but even that is not a given these days).

The advantage with self-representation is that you don’t need to first obtain an agent. You can present yourself however you wish, meaning, you can highlight what you think is important rather than having the agent decide what to highlight. In certain cases, you can represent yourself better than an agent, though with few exceptions, an agent always represents the book better (meaning, you know you, but your agent knows books). Personally, I’d trust the agent because you’re not selling yourself per se, you’re selling the book. But there are cases where this is important (for instance, if your book is about social media and you can’t find an agent who is Twitter-proficient and you know of a publisher who would be perfect for the book.)

The big advantage is that unlike self-publishing, you will never have to layout any money to be published–they will pay you. If a publisher asks you to pay for any part of the process beyond mailing your manuscript, you will know it is not a legitimate press. Publishers will not ask you to layout your money because by buying your manuscript, they are essentially making an investment.

Some people who self-represent to get the deal will turn around and get an agent once they have an offer on-hand. They will have the agent look over the contracts and help negotiate things. Personally, I see a lot of advantages and disadvantages to doing this: you get an agent, but you miss out on the reason for having an agent in the first place (more on that in a moment). But I do think it makes sense if you see yourself writing more books or negotiating more contracts (international rights, film, etc) later on.

The disadvantage to self-representation is that fewer and fewer small press publishers will accept unsolicited manuscripts (the term for a manuscript that you want them to read, but they did not ask to read nor did it come from an agent). So on one hand, it’s more immediate than getting an agent, but it’s also harder to have your manuscript read. And once you’ve taken this path, it’s hard (though not impossible) to get an agent to look at your manuscript because it has already been out there. So it’s a path I would only take if you’ve already exhausted searching for an agent or if you’re prepared to either self-represent yourself to the end of the road or self-publish.

The other big disadvantage is that you will always be negotiating (instead of having someone negotiate on your behalf) and you’ll have to be vigilant. I think only those who know what to expect and look for within publishing should take this route. The way it was explained to me in graduate school is the offer you will receive through an agent is so much greater (not just financially, but in retaining rights et al) than what you can receive for the most part on your own, that it’s worth the cut an agent will take from your contract because you’ll still come out ahead.

So, to sum up self-representation, if you’re pretty savvy, have connections in the publishing world, have access to free law advice, or want to try this before self-publishing, it’s a great route. If you are set on publishing with a publishing house, this isn’t a great starting point, but it can be a good finishing point before you throw in the towel.

Okay class, any questions on what was discussed here? Please leave them in the comment section below and I will answer them in the comment section below. Keep in mind that I have a lot of topics to cover so your question may be answered in a future installment (see below). So keep your questions about self-publishing and self-representation.

Heads Up and Looking Back: topics that will be covered in future installments or that were covered in past installments

1. Before You Even Get Started

2. Are You Ready to Be an Author?

3. How to Write a Non-Fiction Book Proposal

4. Why You Need an Agent

5. How to Get an Agent

6. Querying Agents

7. What Happens Next–Waiting for a Book Sale

8. THIS POST

9. What to Expect After You Sign a Book Deal

10. Be Your Own Publicist

11. A Mishmash of Leftover Questions and Answers

Welcome back to your Do-it-Yourself MFA program.

This installment assumes that you’ve signed with an agent.  If you’ve exhausted your list and you haven’t found an agent and still wish to publish, you’ll need to wait for the next installment.  Similarly, some will decide to skip the agent step altogether and you’ll find the next installment on small presses and self-publishing more helpful.

So, you’ve signed an agency agreement–now what?  Sometimes, an agent will ask you to do an edit on a manuscript or proposal and it’s in your best interests to do so.  They are trying to make it as strong as possible for the sale.  But after that, your work is somewhat done for the moment.

Up until this point, you’ve been taking a very active role, and now is your time to step back and let your agent guide the sale.  This is not to say that you can’t help brainstorm and throw out a few publishers you’d love to work with, but if you trust your agent (and you should), you’ll know that she is putting together the best list possible of publishers who might want your book.

Your agent will have a particular method–she may make a few calls to specific publishers and offer them a first look.  She may send it out to a list of ten possible publishers and wait for offers.  Your agent will probably keep you in the loop by telling you which publishers are looking at your manuscript or proposal.

I have always found this part of publishing the worst part.  On the first day, you’re really excited over the idea that this! could! be! it! but after you get your first rejection, the reality that having an agent doesn’t guarantee a sale and that all you have now is a new hoop to jump through can be a bit nerve-wracking.  My advice–let yourself feel whatever you’re going to feel and remind yourself that this is a finite space.  Either the book will sell or not sell, but you will not need to endure this anxiety indefinitely.

If your agent receives more than one offer, they may auction the book, taking the best offer.  If you receive one offer, your agent should still close up loose threads with other publishers still holding your book.  Again, your agent will keep you in the loop and ask your opinion before they make any binding decisions.

If you are publishing with a small press or big six publisher (in other words, anything other than self-publishing), your offer will come with an advance–that’s pretty much the only information you learn with the offer. Your advance can be tiny–$1–or enormous–$1 million.  You may be thinking that everyone obviously wants the million dollar advance, but not so fast, my friend.

An advance is money you can live on while you work on the book.  It is an advance payment of money the publisher believes the book will earn once it hits the shelves.  Usually, the larger the advance, the more money the publisher believes they will make in the long-run.  But what if the publisher is wrong and the book tanks?  Just because the publisher thinks the public is hungry for this book doesn’t make it so.  If the author can’t produce sales that warrant the big advance, their next book will receive a small advance…or no advance at all.  In other words, their career may somewhat be over before it has begun.

As an article in New York magazine points out, it’s better to have no sales record than a bad sales record.

With smaller presses, the advance will probably be smaller as well, but the trade off is passion and personal attention.  It’s not that the big six publishers don’t bring that passion to their authors, but it is difficult to be a midlist author at a large publisher and not get lost in the shuffle.  Think of it like the coins in your purse–you don’t put a lot of thought into the pennies, though you probably care about your quarters–and all of those coins are jumbled around together.  Publishers also need pennies–all those pennies add up–but they don’t put their energy and marketing dollars into pennies.

The other thing to consider is royalties.  You do not begin to see royalties on the book until the publisher recoups the advance.   Which means that the advance may need to last for a very long time–more than two or three years from the signing of that contract depending on the size of the advance and book sales (and how long it takes a publisher to get the book out on the shelf.)  Hence why I said back in that first installment that book publishing just isn’t a good way to try to support yourself exclusively.

So, you hear the advance amount and you agree to the deal and now your agent’s true work begins.  Your agent will negotiate all the various aspects of the contract, trying to retain as many rights for you as possible and make the contract work in your favour down to how much time you have to do edits to the rate you’ll be paid in the future if the common royalty rate for e-book sales change.  Seriously, there is so much to consider, and this is why I made that point a few installments ago that publishers want to negotiate with agents and not you.  And frankly, your agent is going to do a better job at retaining rights and making your world better than you’ll be able to do negotiating with the publisher directly–even if you think you’re qualified because you have a law degree or an MFA.

After the contract is negotiated (which can take a bit of time), you will sign the contract and start talking directly with the editor and/or publisher.

Um…okay…though here is another possibility and it’s worth talking about in case it comes up.  What if you’re having problems with your agent?  What if everything seemed fantastic when you signed with her and now things are unraveling and you’re not working well together at all?  Not being able to sell the book is not the sign of a bad agent (since not all books will sell), but if you are feeling uncomfortable, getting a sense that your agent doesn’t have your back, or your agent is blowing you off, you do have the right to end that relationship and start over from scratch.

There will be details in your agency agreement stating how to end the relationship (always in writing!) and how long you have to wait to look for a new agent (usually 30 days) as well as what happens if your agent already had a deal in hand for you.  There should be a very good reason for why you are ending the relationship and not a general, “maybe she’s not doing a good job and someone else could do better.”

Okay class, any questions on what was discussed here? Please leave them in the comment section below and I will answer them in the comment section below. Keep in mind that I have a lot of topics to cover so your question may be answered in a future installment (see below). So keep your questions about that period of time when you’re trying to sell the book.

Heads Up and Looking Back: topics that will be covered in future installments or that were covered in past installments

1. Before You Even Get Started

2. Are You Ready to Be an Author?

3. How to Write a Non-Fiction Book Proposal

4. Why You Need an Agent

5. How to Get an Agent

6. Querying Agents

7. THIS POST

8. No Agent? Other Paths to Publication

9. What to Expect After You Sign a Book Deal

10. Be Your Own Publicist

11. A Mishmash of Leftover Questions and Answers