You have three options when choosing the route you will take to getting published.
You can land a traditional deal and have a publisher pay you for your story. That's
like winning the lottery, the stuff of dreams. Talented or not, most new writers
will not be able to land a deal — never mind how good they are at telling a story.
On the other hand, you can self-publish and have complete creative control. That's
the choice of more and more authors, especially entrepreneurs, who like being able
to have control over their projects from start to finish. Or you can go with a vanity
publisher, a company that provides a cookie cutter system of publishing, where your
book is handled (if at all) by subpar editors and writers. A vanity publishing company
is not for the serious writer!
Here is a brief rundown of your publishing options and what each means:
TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING: In short, a traditional publishing deal is when a publishing
company pays you. Typically you will receive an advance payment and then receive
royalties after the book sells a certain number of copies. The publisher prints and
distributes the book and sometimes (though less and less these days) markets the
book. Most writers dream of a traditional publishing deal that will make them rich.
That rarely happens, and traditional publishing deals are becoming harder and harder
to come by as publishers are reducing the number of new authors they take on, especially
in today's tighter economy.
To land a traditional deal, you'll likely need a literary agent. So you must first
find an agent who agrees to take on your project. Then, once you find an agent, that
agent must find a publisher that will give your book a chance. As you can see, this
process involves waiting for lots of people's opinions of whether your work is worth
their while. Getting to publication can take 18 months to two years or longer.
SELF-PUBLISHING: Self-publishing is when the author pays to publish the book. The
author handles all the details herself ─ writing, editing, designing, printing, etc.
Or she hires someone to handle all the details. The self-publisher doesn't have to
split the profits when the book sells. So there are no royalties or other splits
with another publisher. All she has to do is pay the professionals who perform the
various tasks ─ writing, editing, printing, etc.
Self-publishing is the option of choice for self-starters and go-getters, especially
business owners, speakers and professionals. Self-publishing allows complete creative
control as well as the opportunity to earn a return on investment, based on the author's
marketing strategy. A book can be self-published in a short period of time.
VANITY PUBLISHING: Vanity publishing is often used interchangeably with self-publishing,
but it is certainly not the same thing. Vanity publishing is when a "publisher" agrees
to publish your book but charges you to have that happen. Vanity publishers used
to advertise in the backs of magazines and inside newspapers with headlines like,
"We are looking for new authors," or some such. They promise a lot, but deliver little.
Many vanity publishers are scammers who take authors' rights and money and leave
them with poorly edited, poorly designed and often embarrassing books, if anything.
