Blogger: Rachelle Gardner
If you’re reading this, then there’s a good chance you’re a writer and you’re going to be published someday if you’re not already. In today’s publishing environment, there are plenty of options (as you know) and if you don’t have an agent, you may find yourself talking to a smaller, independent publisher. It’s hard to know if these publishers will be a good fit for you, but you can get a good start by knowing what questions to ask.
Here are some things to consider when you’re deciding whether to work with an independent publisher:
→ If there’s an upfront cost involved (i.e. if the publisher requires you to contribute financially to the editing, publishing or marketing process), you want to find out exactly how much it will cost you; then figure out how much money you’re going to make per copy sold. Then calculate how many copies you’ll need to sell to recoup that upfront cost. Do you think you can sell that many? Does the investment make sense?
→ Regardless of upfront cost, how will you get paid? How will they calculate what they pay you? What’s the payment schedule?
→ Approximately how many copies are they projecting to sell in the first year?
→ Distribution: Where will your book be available?
→ Buyback costs: How much will you have to pay to purchase copies of your book? How many complimentary copies will you receive?
→ What’s their editing process like?
→ Who has final say on title and cover design? Do they plan to change your title?
→ What rights are they buying?
→ Do they expect to produce an audio version? If they don’t produce an audio version, can you retain those rights and do it yourself?
→ When does this contract terminate? What’s the process for getting your rights back?
→ Is there a marketing and PR budget? Exactly how do they spend it?
→ What are the primary marketing and PR strategies the publisher uses?
→ When do they want you to deliver your manuscript?
→ What’s the anticipated release date?
There are more things to think about, but this is a good start. You can find quite a few in-depth articles online, and there are also books on Amazon that help authors tease through these issues. The single best article I can suggest is Jane Friedman’s Key Book Publishing Paths.
Have you considered working with an independent publisher?
Photo by Nicole Honeywill / Sincerely Media on Unsplash
“If there’s an upfront cost involved…”
Immediate note – if you, the author, are paying for anything, this is not an independent publisher. You may be dealing with a hybrid or “self-publishing company”, or you may be simply self-publishing (an “indie publisher”). But an actual independent publishing company will not ask for any money upfront or during the publishing process.
I know that nowadays many terms have gotten mashed (calling trade publishers “traditional publishers”, for example), but writers really do need to know the difference between contracting with an actual publisher and getting involved with the whole pay-to-play spectrum.
In a world that seems to run on bling,
where size says what we’re getting,
we may neglect that other thing,
small stones in lovely settings.
Yes, it’s true, one size fits all
in the case of the circus tent,
but it takes attention to the small
for the grand bespoke garment.
Small-house resource may be meager,
though matched with daring hearts,
young in outlook, swift and eager;
but you’ll be asked to do your part.
It may come nightmare or come dream,
but either way, you’re on the team.
I always appreciate the in-depth way you approach topics, Rachelle. These questions make so. much sense. Thanks for sharing articles and book suggestions to research as well.
I was thinking about a couple of smaller publishers I’ve heard about who ask the author to pay upfront during the publishing process. Though I’m not sure where the money is spent in the process. Is this kind of company what’s considered/called a vanity publisher? If so, what’s the difference between a small publisher, independent publisher, and a vanity publisher?
Great question, Jeanne. Rachelle gave a very good list of questions, but I was wondering about the small/independent distinction and whether “independent” is the same as “self-published” in this post. I was under the impression that if you paid the publisher upfront rather than them paying you, that made them a vanity publisher. I’ve seen many warnings about vanity publishers at FB author groups and indie blogs. Some FB groups that include both traditional and indie authors refuse to allow promotion of books from vanity publishers.