Publishing a Book
There are many ways to publish your manuscript: eBook & Kindle, Magazine, Kindle, Paperback and hardback or simply on writer websites such as Wattpad. The most popular and favourite ways to publish a manuscript is through Wattpad and paperback. However, most only publish their large manuscripts through Wattpad as the authors aren’t aware of the availability to self-publishing (independent publishing) methods. The two types of paperback and hardcover books are traditional publishing and independent publishing (both ways can offer to purchase the book online such as kindle as eBook format).
Apart from self-publishing (Independent Publishing) any manuscripts such as novels, short stories, poems and so much more can be submitted here:
Remember to read the submitting terms as some publishing agents would like you to also write a cover letter containing specific information or even format your manuscript a particular way, some publishers may want a certain font style or size or perhaps both etc. Watch this for more information:
Traditional VS Self-Publishing:
Even if you’re submitting a novel, novella or volume the advice given is the same, exempting publishers only accepting short stories, usually magazines.
Traditional Publishing (Publishing deal with a publishing house and company):
This method of publishing is the most desired of all authors. By publishing traditionally you’re selling your manuscript off to the publishers instead of lending it, unlike independent publishing.
CONS:
The publishers may want to change any part of your manuscript including vital parts of the story such as plot twists and endings which the authors usually aren’t fond of or happy with what the publishers want to change.
Once you’ve sold the manuscript off to the publishers you no longer own the content you’ve written.
You may have to format it specifically to their requirements, this can include: margin sizes, bleed or no bleed (bleeds are usually for books with photos/pictures), page size, page numbers, line spacing, font size, font style.
Often, these publishers will want your manuscript submitted by mail.
Some traditional publishers don’t notify the author if the manuscript has been declined. In an email or letter back it could say something along the lines of: “If you do not hear back from us within 4 weeks, please assume we have unfortunately declined your submission.”
PROS:
Usually, your publishers will pay for a professional publisher to edit and correct any mistakes whether it be lack of consistency (the house is red in one chapter then in another the same house is suddenly yellow), punctuation, spelling, vocabulary, character development and so much more.
The publishers usually take care of the book cover for you (though some see this as a downside as some authors self-publish so they can design their book cover).
You should be having constant updates on the status of your manuscript whether it’s in review, editing etc and some publishers will notify you if your manuscript has not been accepted if it’s been declined.
Your book will be assigned an advanced ISBN code (barcode) paid for by the publishers which will permit your book to be sold in shops such as Waterstones or even Tesco outside of the publisher’s website/shop.
Much better for the CV and can help you publish future books traditionally once you’ve already traditionally published once.
For pay, you’ll usually be given a certain amount in advance and once your book is making more than what you were given in advance then you’ll start earning money.
You usually should be allowed to be sent free copies of your books, some will send you 50-100 or sometimes more if needed.
Traditional publishers examples: Penguin Books UK, Bloomsbury, John Blake, Harper Collins.
Independent Publishing (Self-Publishing):
Independent publishing is usually the route for beginner authors first book. Well-known authors such as Natalia Leigh and Wynter Cannatelli Have gone this route. This form of publishing requires more work from the author, however, cover letters aren’t usually needed for this route of publishing and an authors manuscript will usually only be declined if there’s an error present. By going this route, the author will be in charge of not only writing the book but editing it, designing the cover, interior design such as font, font size, page layout, page numbering, file format eg PDF, PNG.
CONS:
The author is in charge of everything, including the formatting, page numbers, bleed or no bleed, trim size, cover design & type eg matte or glossy, interior & outer design, line spacing, font style, font size and so much more, even making sure the font and photos you’re using are suitable/licenced for commercial uses such as a book. To use photos and fonts suitable for commercial uses, go to websites such as Unsplash.com, Shutterstock.com and Space Fonts (make sure the box for commercial use is ticked). You may have to credit the fonts used on the cover/copyright page depending on the terms & conditions.
Using photos, the best way is to pay for a Shutterstock license or if you’re using someone else’s photos, make sure they have signed a form giving you permission to use their content and they’re aware they will NOT make any profits off your book, otherwise, it can turn into a messy lawsuit or you could even become sued. Make sure the form allows the person can upload their content so you can prove what content they let you use. They must give you permission to use their name to credit the content, nothing should be credited as anonymous. Make sure you have a way to contact them eg an email.
To design the cover, you can download your cover template by filling in the publishers cover template, Amazon KDP gives you a cover calculator where you insert the number of pages and type of colour to give you the template for download. Using this template, covers can be easily made on websites such as GIMP, Canva.com and even Microsoft Paint.
A creditable form should have the minimum of the following questions:
Questions: Acceptable answers:
Your Full Name: Full Name
Your Email: theiremail@adress.com
Do you give (authors name) permission to use your content? Yes
Are you aware you will NOT profit off this book by providing your Yes
content?
Are you aware that your full name will be used to credit Yes
your content and are you comfortable with this?
Are you allowing me to use your content for this one time use only Optional but helpful.
or for unlimited uses?
What are you allowing your content to be used for? Book
Are there any notes regarding the content you're allowing me to use? Yes…./No
Insert content: Upload File
If any of the answers say no when they should say yes or they lack information: stay safe and do not sue the content, it could avoid a future legal mess.
To sell your book outside of the publisher’s website/store you usually have to buy your own ISBN code to permit this.
Some publishers will only allow particular formats such as Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing only permit paperback and eBook whereas Ingram Spark allows eBook, paperback and hardback but it requires an expensive upload fee of £19 GBP - £37.24 GBP ($25-$49) every time you upload your manuscript, this means when you upload again after editing your book you will have to pay the fee again.
Websites such as Wattpad, you will not gain any money unless you gain thousands of views and votes, similar to YouTube videos.
If you want to market, you have to do it yourself which may require paying for if you want to market it well, making a website and Facebook page is a start.
You have to buy your own author copies.
You have to add EVERYTHING: this even includes the title and copyright pages.
Formatting a book for publishing is difficult and can take weeks to months depending on your lifestyle and how long the book is. Microsoft Word is the favourite choice to do this but if you don’t want to pay the dreaded fee of £60 a year of £6 a month you can download one of Amazon KDP’s manuscript files where the formatting is mostly already done. However, inserting the page numbers is where most people have trouble. On the downloadable Amazon KDP files, to insert page numbers you must do the following:
Insert>Fields>Page Number
To find out more watch this video by the author Wynter Cannatelli:
Editing a book can be a dreaded step to the self-publishing route, that’s why you can hire an editor or proofreader to go over your manuscript. There are two ways to edit a manuscript: proofreading and copyediting. Some people claim they’re the same but they’re not. Here is proofreading VS copyediting:
Here is some more advice:
BETA readers are also an option but they will still require a bought copy of your book which you’ll have to pay for.
PROS:
After publishing you still own the content inside you wrote: this means you can still Traditionally publish in the future especially if it does well but of course, you’ll have to unpublish it first.
You have FULL control over your manuscript and storyline.
You can still use it for your CV.
Some people use two different independent publishers but make sure the terms and conditions of the publishers allow you do to this.
You can still have good access to very decent distribution such as Amazon. Here are some tips:
Some independent publishers such as Amazon KDP will give you the option to allow your book to be purchased and distributed by libraries. At the pricing section with Amazon KDP, this is seen as ‘Expanded Distribution,’ make sure to tick the box to allow your book to be distributed to libraries.
SOURCES & QUESTIONS ANSWERED:
Some examples of Independent Publishing includes Ingram Spark, Nook Press, Barnes & Nobles, Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (Amazon KDP), Lulu.
Unlike the Traditional Publishing where you’d most often mail your manuscript over for submission (some allow you to do it online), the Independent route is mostly all online.
Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP):
Ingram Spark:
Lulu:
Having trouble deciding?
Lulu VS Amazon KDP:
Why I Chose These Companies:
Comparing Ingram Spark, Barnes & Nobles and Amazon KDP:
How to publish on Ingram Spark:
6 Things to Know Before Publishing with Ingram Spark:
Using Amazon KDP and Ingram Spark Together:
Ingram Spark VS Amazon KDP:
The difference between self-publishing and traditional publishing,
how to decide your publishing path,
the 4-step process for submitting to traditional publishers,
and much more:
How much it costs to self-publish when hiring contributors such as designers and editors:
Best Publishers in 2020:
Is your idea best for a Short Story or a Novel?
Short help guide:
Novel: Journey that transforms a character
Short Story/Novella: Focuses on an event that changes or reveals the character.
12 Tips for writing a short story:
Any further questions please contact me HERE.
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