Authors, Writers, Publishers, and Book Readers

Publishing

Publishing questions:
What is the best way to go about publishing? Self-publishing, or traditional publishing, it doesn't matter to me which one as long as it can be done.

If self-publishing then what is the next step after laying out my book. The cover design already done. So what would be my next step?? Information and advice wanted.

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Permalink Reply by scribbler on November 6, 2009 at 3:29pm

Tammy, I have a few suggestions. You need to work out your budget first if you want to self publish and also how you will promote your book. Traditional publishers expect you to help do that too but with self-publishing you're often on your own once it's printed. Have you considered POD? Print-on-demand is gaining popularity. You might want to look into publishing at Lulu.com. This is a video on how to publish a book with them that I posted here.

And please do get it proofread before either publishing on your own or submitting the manuscript anywhere. Have you thought about getting an agent? Whoever you think about going with, whether publishers or agents, Google the company name to find out what the buzz is about their service. You can't just trust their own site's testimonials.

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Permalink Reply by Kay Elizabeth on November 8, 2009 at 2:26am

Hi Tammy! Just a little to add to what's already been said. This article at my site, entitled Be Open to Finding the Right Publishing Option For Your Book, could help you decide too.

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Permalink Reply by Tracy Kauffman on October 2, 2013 at 6:55pm

Try reading this blog: Might be of use. http://garrisonpublishing.wordpress.com/2013/08/13/reasons-to-self-...

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Permalink Reply by Matthew Davenport on February 27, 2015 at 5:20pm

On my blog, Davenportwrites.com if you search publish or self publish in the search you'll find a lot of topics regarding this same debate. In the end, I'm a firm believer that neither needs to exclude the other. I currently run a Booking and Promotional agency for Iowa Local Authors, and most of my authors have a combination of self-published and traditional titles. The confusion is that people seem to think that the author has to be self-published or traditional, those are conditions for books, not authors, and should be considered on a book by book basis. I've normally gone self-publishing on each of my books just because it's quicker, but that's still something I evaluate regularly.

On that subject, I have spoken at length, including in my most recent title: Self-Publish Without Spending Money. It focuses on the path from finished first draft to cover creation, edits, and marketing/selling your work, while also spending time on the pros and cons of traditional vs. self-publishing. I encourage you to check it out.