Sold my book to a publisher, new writers see this info!
Posted: 23 Jul 2015, 07:49
For the moderators: This thread is not meant to publicize my books for garnering sales or favorable ratings. I will not mention the publisher’s name nor even my book titles. When my new novel comes out from the publisher later this year, the publisher will submit it for review through the normal channels.
The purpose of this thread is to discuss the route to conventional publishing via a “standard” house, not a subsidy or vanity house, and not self-publishing either. My intention is to provide a way for new authors to ask questions about the methods for gaining recognition and a contract for conventional publishing, and I’ll do my best to answer all questions fully and honestly, other than to divulge terms of my contract, which is of course confidential. Suffice to say that it’s a standard boilerplate contract in which the publisher bears all costs and I get paid royalties on print and e-book sales.
What I want to do here is to provide new writers with the necessary info on how they can proceed to get their book accepted by a conventional publisher and what to expect during the process. I’ll continue to update this thread as things proceed.
So... Good news! I just received an email from a publisher to whom I sent my recently completed private detective novel, 3rd in the series. The publisher has accepted not just the new book but the first 2 as well, and will re-edit and publish all three!
This publisher is a standard house, one that pays the author, not the other way around. In other words, not a subsidy or “vanity” publisher. This publisher will edit and work with me on revising my books, and then they’ll be out in both trade paperback and e-book format what I guesstimate will be late this fall.
Naturally, I’m ecstatic but the reason I am posting this is not to brag, but to inform those of you who aren’t yet published that you CAN get this done professionally, by a “real” publisher, not a vanity house or not resort to self-publishing on maybe Amazon.
And furthermore, the stories that circulate here and elsewhere about conventional publishers being predatory are just not true. I’ve been published professionally (paid real money) for years, short stories, articles, essays, and novels. Yes there are scam publishers out there and you’ve got to be cautious. But if you take some time to evaluate things and use good common sense, you will find legitimate publishers who will honestly evaluate your book and perhaps accept the book and offer you a standard “boilerplate” contract. I’ll be happy to provide you any info I can on avoiding scams.
Is it hard to get placed? Absolutely. Is it worth it? You betcha! The prospect of going into a local bookstore and seeing your book on the shelves for sale is an awesome feeling. And yeah, the money’s nice too, but that’s almost secondary to the thought that your book competed with the marketplace and was considered by professionals to be worthy.
Don’t get too excited about the money, either. For a newbie writer, sales aren’t likely to be huge and so your royalties will be modest, a few thousand at most, more likely earning in the hundreds. Of course there’s always the chance that the book will hit the big time. It does happen, just don’t hold your breath.
Another word about pay and writing “for the money” which is often sneered at by some as “selling out” and those folks seem to think that self-publishing is the only way for a writer of such elite, special, and unique talents (ha ha) to lower oneself to the masses. BS. I write “for the money” because that money, however sparse for an unknown author, is a measure of acceptance into the big leagues. But in truth, I’d write nevertheless. When I first started writing my private detective stories, I was just playing around, being a detective fan for years, and thought “I can do that” and proceeded to do just that. So yeah, money is nice but it’s secondary to the idea of someone else publishing your book in the “real world” and stocking it in bookstores and such. There are very few writers who aren’t at all interested in the money and most of these languish. It’s by leaping into the professional publishing market that you can find the true measure of your talents. And if you persevere and keep honing your talents and improving your skills, you can indeed find a genuine publisher and have that first novel on the bookshelves at your local store.
As those of you who’ve been professionally published know, the real work now begins. There will usually be 3 and often 4 edits by the publisher’s staff, and you, the writer, must work diligently with them to see your book onward to completion.
Professional edits include the copy edit, which is just for tpyos (ha ha) and mechanical errors, as well as continuity errors (a character has black hair and partway through the book, has red hair) and also checks for copyright infringement, such as your quoting song lyrics that are ASCAP registered and not in public domain. Next is the line edit, where the publisher’s staff evaluate the story itself, its style, rhythm, flow of the narrative, whether the dialogue is well structured, general stylistic and composition. Then there’s the general edit, usually performed by senior staff. This is an overall look at your plot and characterizations, the whole impact of you novel.
During these edits, the author is very busy. Every few days the edited novel will be emailed to you, usually marked up in MS-Word with markups in the text electronically. You’ve got to review and approve these edits, or make changes and get them back to the publisher quickly.
Some may say, “Well, I heard that publishers take control of your book, change all sorts of things, push you around” and think that self-publishing is the only way to remain “pure” in what you write. To this I say again, BS. If the publisher didn’t like your book in the first place, they wouldn’t have offered you a contract in which they pay all the publishing costs and you get the royalties. Of course, mechanical and grammatical errors are required to be changed, unless of course a typo is part of the story line, like a kidnapper sending a ransom note and misspelling “ransome” by which they find the crook. But otherwise, yeah, you must fix all typos. But stylistic changes? You are the arbiter of this although your publisher may be very insistent on some things. For example, if your book includes sexual predation upon children, you may be asked to modify some of the more graphic sections. Realize however that if the publisher didn’t want to have such in the book at all, they wouldn’t have accepted it and offered you a contract. But maybe some passages are just too horrific and they ask you to tone them down? This could happen.
More likely, the senior editors will say “Maybe you can tell us more about Marie here? A little more description about her would help the reader identify with her.” Things like that, suggestions for improving the narrative or dialogue. “In chapter 8, you have Edgar making a lot of grammatical errors in his conversation with Donna. But Edgar’s college educated and he’s an attorney, so maybe he wouldn’t make such mistakes?” Again, style changes that the editors see as maybe needed. You as the author will be asked therefore to justify why Edgar makes these mistakes. What usually happens is that the editors will make some very good recommendations and you’ll “see the light” and change maybe 2/3 of the places where they ask, and maybe you’ll stick to your guns for the other 1/3 of the suggestions. But you will be asked to justify the areas where there is disagreement, which hones your judgment and provokes you to reconsider things carefully. Realize that these senior editors have seen a lot of books and know what works best, so generally their recommendations are good ones. Do you have to change everything? No, but you may be asked to state why you want to stand your ground and stick by your guns.
As the editing proceeds on the book, cover art and author’s mug shot and such continues, I’ll give updates so as to help new writers learn the process. Aside from editing the text, the cover art will be shown you for approval, and you’ll need to send them an author’s photo and biography, other info.
When the book is in its final preparation stages, the publisher will create what are known as “galley proofs” which are the final page formatting and complete text of the novel. This will be your last chance to change things so you really have to pore over that galley proof to ensure that you’ve got it down pat. After the galleys are approved, if you’ve got changes, they make you pay for them and that comes out of your royalties. This is, again, a standard contract clause.
Copyright? Here’s how it works. Most publishing contracts are for 24 months. Full copyright to your book is assigned to the publisher for that term, and then it reverts to you unless you choose to renew. And part of the contract is that the publisher agrees to actually publish your book within a certain time frame or the contract is void. Any other specific contract questions, please ask. I’ll do my best to reply but I’m of course not allowed to divulge the actual terms of my contract, just general info about it.
So what happens next? Your book will be professionally typeset and it will go to publication, usually both print version (probably in “trade paperback” format -- that 6x9 thick cover larger paperback style, not the little pocketbook style) and e-book, and generally offered to Amazon.
Also, depending on your contract, the book will be publicized in the “trades” -- publisher professional magazines and bulletins. The publisher usually takes out a full page ad and your book is listed on that page in its own box. If the contract is generous, the publisher may give your book a 1/4 page all alone, but this is not what normally happens with new writers. So your book will be grouped along with other new books and all will be equally advertised.
The publisher will also send copies to review sources -- newspapers and magazines, usually genre mags depending on your book. For example, if you’re written an SF novel, they’ll send copies to Astounding SF magazine and so on. The publisher might even pay for an ad in those magazines of the same genre you’re writing.
Bookstore stocking is tricky. Major publishers have existing agreements with the big brick & mortar stores, and these stores will order copies through their wholesale distributor. For small publishers, the type you’re likely to land with, individual stores may or may not choose to stock your book. This is where you will need to pound the pavement on your own behalf, ensuring that your local stores order and stock your book. The publisher will also likely ask you to publicize your book via social media, Twitter and Facebook and maybe your own website. The publisher of course has its own Facebook and Amazon page and they will publicize your book there, too.
And good luck out there!
The purpose of this thread is to discuss the route to conventional publishing via a “standard” house, not a subsidy or vanity house, and not self-publishing either. My intention is to provide a way for new authors to ask questions about the methods for gaining recognition and a contract for conventional publishing, and I’ll do my best to answer all questions fully and honestly, other than to divulge terms of my contract, which is of course confidential. Suffice to say that it’s a standard boilerplate contract in which the publisher bears all costs and I get paid royalties on print and e-book sales.
What I want to do here is to provide new writers with the necessary info on how they can proceed to get their book accepted by a conventional publisher and what to expect during the process. I’ll continue to update this thread as things proceed.
So... Good news! I just received an email from a publisher to whom I sent my recently completed private detective novel, 3rd in the series. The publisher has accepted not just the new book but the first 2 as well, and will re-edit and publish all three!
This publisher is a standard house, one that pays the author, not the other way around. In other words, not a subsidy or “vanity” publisher. This publisher will edit and work with me on revising my books, and then they’ll be out in both trade paperback and e-book format what I guesstimate will be late this fall.
Naturally, I’m ecstatic but the reason I am posting this is not to brag, but to inform those of you who aren’t yet published that you CAN get this done professionally, by a “real” publisher, not a vanity house or not resort to self-publishing on maybe Amazon.
And furthermore, the stories that circulate here and elsewhere about conventional publishers being predatory are just not true. I’ve been published professionally (paid real money) for years, short stories, articles, essays, and novels. Yes there are scam publishers out there and you’ve got to be cautious. But if you take some time to evaluate things and use good common sense, you will find legitimate publishers who will honestly evaluate your book and perhaps accept the book and offer you a standard “boilerplate” contract. I’ll be happy to provide you any info I can on avoiding scams.
Is it hard to get placed? Absolutely. Is it worth it? You betcha! The prospect of going into a local bookstore and seeing your book on the shelves for sale is an awesome feeling. And yeah, the money’s nice too, but that’s almost secondary to the thought that your book competed with the marketplace and was considered by professionals to be worthy.
Don’t get too excited about the money, either. For a newbie writer, sales aren’t likely to be huge and so your royalties will be modest, a few thousand at most, more likely earning in the hundreds. Of course there’s always the chance that the book will hit the big time. It does happen, just don’t hold your breath.
Another word about pay and writing “for the money” which is often sneered at by some as “selling out” and those folks seem to think that self-publishing is the only way for a writer of such elite, special, and unique talents (ha ha) to lower oneself to the masses. BS. I write “for the money” because that money, however sparse for an unknown author, is a measure of acceptance into the big leagues. But in truth, I’d write nevertheless. When I first started writing my private detective stories, I was just playing around, being a detective fan for years, and thought “I can do that” and proceeded to do just that. So yeah, money is nice but it’s secondary to the idea of someone else publishing your book in the “real world” and stocking it in bookstores and such. There are very few writers who aren’t at all interested in the money and most of these languish. It’s by leaping into the professional publishing market that you can find the true measure of your talents. And if you persevere and keep honing your talents and improving your skills, you can indeed find a genuine publisher and have that first novel on the bookshelves at your local store.
As those of you who’ve been professionally published know, the real work now begins. There will usually be 3 and often 4 edits by the publisher’s staff, and you, the writer, must work diligently with them to see your book onward to completion.
Professional edits include the copy edit, which is just for tpyos (ha ha) and mechanical errors, as well as continuity errors (a character has black hair and partway through the book, has red hair) and also checks for copyright infringement, such as your quoting song lyrics that are ASCAP registered and not in public domain. Next is the line edit, where the publisher’s staff evaluate the story itself, its style, rhythm, flow of the narrative, whether the dialogue is well structured, general stylistic and composition. Then there’s the general edit, usually performed by senior staff. This is an overall look at your plot and characterizations, the whole impact of you novel.
During these edits, the author is very busy. Every few days the edited novel will be emailed to you, usually marked up in MS-Word with markups in the text electronically. You’ve got to review and approve these edits, or make changes and get them back to the publisher quickly.
Some may say, “Well, I heard that publishers take control of your book, change all sorts of things, push you around” and think that self-publishing is the only way to remain “pure” in what you write. To this I say again, BS. If the publisher didn’t like your book in the first place, they wouldn’t have offered you a contract in which they pay all the publishing costs and you get the royalties. Of course, mechanical and grammatical errors are required to be changed, unless of course a typo is part of the story line, like a kidnapper sending a ransom note and misspelling “ransome” by which they find the crook. But otherwise, yeah, you must fix all typos. But stylistic changes? You are the arbiter of this although your publisher may be very insistent on some things. For example, if your book includes sexual predation upon children, you may be asked to modify some of the more graphic sections. Realize however that if the publisher didn’t want to have such in the book at all, they wouldn’t have accepted it and offered you a contract. But maybe some passages are just too horrific and they ask you to tone them down? This could happen.
More likely, the senior editors will say “Maybe you can tell us more about Marie here? A little more description about her would help the reader identify with her.” Things like that, suggestions for improving the narrative or dialogue. “In chapter 8, you have Edgar making a lot of grammatical errors in his conversation with Donna. But Edgar’s college educated and he’s an attorney, so maybe he wouldn’t make such mistakes?” Again, style changes that the editors see as maybe needed. You as the author will be asked therefore to justify why Edgar makes these mistakes. What usually happens is that the editors will make some very good recommendations and you’ll “see the light” and change maybe 2/3 of the places where they ask, and maybe you’ll stick to your guns for the other 1/3 of the suggestions. But you will be asked to justify the areas where there is disagreement, which hones your judgment and provokes you to reconsider things carefully. Realize that these senior editors have seen a lot of books and know what works best, so generally their recommendations are good ones. Do you have to change everything? No, but you may be asked to state why you want to stand your ground and stick by your guns.
As the editing proceeds on the book, cover art and author’s mug shot and such continues, I’ll give updates so as to help new writers learn the process. Aside from editing the text, the cover art will be shown you for approval, and you’ll need to send them an author’s photo and biography, other info.
When the book is in its final preparation stages, the publisher will create what are known as “galley proofs” which are the final page formatting and complete text of the novel. This will be your last chance to change things so you really have to pore over that galley proof to ensure that you’ve got it down pat. After the galleys are approved, if you’ve got changes, they make you pay for them and that comes out of your royalties. This is, again, a standard contract clause.
Copyright? Here’s how it works. Most publishing contracts are for 24 months. Full copyright to your book is assigned to the publisher for that term, and then it reverts to you unless you choose to renew. And part of the contract is that the publisher agrees to actually publish your book within a certain time frame or the contract is void. Any other specific contract questions, please ask. I’ll do my best to reply but I’m of course not allowed to divulge the actual terms of my contract, just general info about it.
So what happens next? Your book will be professionally typeset and it will go to publication, usually both print version (probably in “trade paperback” format -- that 6x9 thick cover larger paperback style, not the little pocketbook style) and e-book, and generally offered to Amazon.
Also, depending on your contract, the book will be publicized in the “trades” -- publisher professional magazines and bulletins. The publisher usually takes out a full page ad and your book is listed on that page in its own box. If the contract is generous, the publisher may give your book a 1/4 page all alone, but this is not what normally happens with new writers. So your book will be grouped along with other new books and all will be equally advertised.
The publisher will also send copies to review sources -- newspapers and magazines, usually genre mags depending on your book. For example, if you’re written an SF novel, they’ll send copies to Astounding SF magazine and so on. The publisher might even pay for an ad in those magazines of the same genre you’re writing.
Bookstore stocking is tricky. Major publishers have existing agreements with the big brick & mortar stores, and these stores will order copies through their wholesale distributor. For small publishers, the type you’re likely to land with, individual stores may or may not choose to stock your book. This is where you will need to pound the pavement on your own behalf, ensuring that your local stores order and stock your book. The publisher will also likely ask you to publicize your book via social media, Twitter and Facebook and maybe your own website. The publisher of course has its own Facebook and Amazon page and they will publicize your book there, too.
And good luck out there!