วันพุธที่ 22 กันยายน พ.ศ. 2553

Traditional vs Self-Publishing

I love to write. In fact, I am quite a prolific writer having hundreds of articles and blog postings on the internet. I also have several websites that I author. However, when it is time for me to publish my own book, I might try self-publishing. The traditional method of publishing just seems like too much of a hassle for me.

The traditional way of getting a manuscript published is to first get a list of publishers. Then, you must contact them to find out whom to send your manuscript to at the publishing house. You must print out and send your manuscript to them. They receive your work and read it. This can take several weeks to months. During this time, you can't really do anything else with your book. This can be a very stressful time. Eventually, you will either get an acceptance letter or rejection letter from the editor who has read your book. If they accept your book, congratulations! If not, you must start all over again with another publisher!

Once accepted, the publisher takes care of everything else. They will send you a contract that states how much (or how little) money you will receive for your book and what percentage of royalties you will receive for each book sold. Your book will then go into production. First, it will be designed and given a layout. This takes several weeks. Then, once the completed book is designed, the entire thing must be proofread by several people to be sure it is free from errors. Once that is completed, it is sent to the printer for printing and binding. This can take another several weeks. After this time, you have a completed book! The publisher then will market your book and distribute it to the bookstores like Borders and Barnes and Noble and to online merchants like Amazon. At this point, several months may have passed but your book is finally available for sale.

If you pursue self-publishing, you can cut many months out of the production schedule by designing the book yourself. You are then responsible for getting your book printed and bound. However, with self-publishing, you can usually get fewer copies printed to save money. You must then market and distribute the book yourself. However, all this work can be worth it because you get to keep all the profits you make from your book and you won't be paying a publisher any of your profits.




Dean Novosat owns and operates http://www.publishmehome.com, which contains many tips and information on self publishing.

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