How to Publish a Book

You’ve got questions about how to publish a book. Hopefully it’s your book, and you’ve got the first draft finished. But maybe you just have an idea and want to figure out what happens after the writing is completed. I’ll give you the rundown of what your publishing options are in this post.

I’ve worked as an editor for eight years, mostly for indie publishers and self-publishing authors, so a lot of what I’ll be telling you is from personal experience. (If you don’t know what an indie publisher is or what self-publishing is, we’ll get to that!) When I work with an author who wants to get published, I tell them they’ve got three options:

• Traditional publishing
• Indie publishing
• Self-publishing

It’s important to think about what route you want to take, even before you finish your story, because your publishing goal may affect your story. Let’s talk about the three options and then we’ll circle back to why that is.

Traditional Publishing

The “Big Five” publishing houses—Penguin Random House, Simon and Schuster, Hachette Book Group, Harper Collins, Macmillan—publish at least 70% of books; each publishes hundreds of books a year. (And Penguin is in the process of acquiring Simon and Schuster as of November 2020, so they’re about to become the Big Four.) Each of the Big Five have multiple imprints, or divisions, that focus on children’s books, fiction, YA, etc. You can see the fascinating breakdown of which imprints go with which publisher here. They require agented submissions, meaning an author has to find an agent to represent their book.

Finding an agent involves researching agents that represent books similar to the author’s book and sending queries (or “will you represent my book” letters). The agent has to agree to work with the author.

The agent then finds a publisher who will buy book–hopefully one of the Big Five, if that’s the author’s goal. The publisher pays the author an advance, and the agent gets a percentage of that advance.

The author then works with the publisher’s team of in-house editors, cover art, etc. In one to two years (and sometimes longer) from acquisition, the book is officially published and sent to book stores. The publisher does the marketing for the book.

Indie Publishing

The biggest difference between traditional publishing and indie publishing is that indie publishers don’t require agented submissions. Instead, they have “open submissions.” The author can query the publisher directly, which requires the author to read the publishers requirements for submission and follow their specifications closely. Indie publishers also tend to publish far less (anywhere from 10 to 50 or more books a year) than traditional publishers.

Authors tend to have more say in cover art and other details when working with an indie publisher. Many indie publishers hire freelance editors (like me!) to work with their authors instead of having in-house editors. In one to two years (and sometimes longer) from acquisition, the book is officially published and sent to book stores. The publisher will do some marketing, but many indie publishers ask the author to do much of their own marketing.

Self-publishing

Self-publishing is for the author that wants complete control over the entire process of publishing. The author will be responsible for every stage: finding a professional editor (optional but HIGHLY recommended); designing a cover or finding a cover artist; developing a marketing plan.

The author chooses which platform to publish from (usually publish as an e-book with a print on demand option; common platforms are Amazon KDP, Kobo, Apple Books, etc.) The platform allows free upload of book but typically takes a percentage of sales.

After the cover and book are uploaded—it’s published!

Vanity presses are a way to pay for your book to be published–they’ll have packages that may include editors, cover art, etc. So if the author still wants most of the control but doesn’t want to figure out the nitty-gritties of publishing, then he or she can hire a vanity press.

Pros and Cons

Traditional Publishing

Pros: higher advance amounts, big marketing budget, more distribution (which means your book will get to more readers through more channels)

Cons: little control over cover and content—author has to do what publisher says; low royalties

Indie Publishing

Pros: work closely with editor, have more control over story and cover, higher royalties

Cons: marketing is largely the responsibility of the author, smaller advances

Self-Publishing

Pros: total control over everything; highest royalties

Cons: must pay for everything out of pocket (no advance or editors from the publisher); author must do all marketing; stigma against self-published authors because “anyone can do it”

Which Route is Right?

Think carefully about what your writing goals are and what a realistic path to achieve them is. Maybe you publish with an indie publisher first, and that helps you land the agent that gets you with one of the Big Five. Maybe you have a vision for the book you want and you enjoy marketing, and you self-publish. To circle back to what I mentioned earlier, you may need to reconsider your story depending on where you want to publish. If the intended audience for your story is very niche, but you want to publish big, then you may need to pick a different story.

However, I’m of the opinion that the story should come first. You write your story, and make it the best it can be. Talk with your editor about different options for publication. Think about what you want and what is realistic. And know that the next book you write will be even better.

Hopefully this helped to give you some idea of how to publish a book. Happy writing! And here’s a little pep talk if you need some encouragement.