Traditional publishers are undoubtedly the best route. Very few, however, take scripts that have not come to them through an agent. Of those that do, there is usually a routine of open and closed windows in which they will accept unsolicited submissions. These windows are publicised on their websites or social media sites such as Facebook and will often be specific about their requirements. If you are lucky enough to catch such a window and your script fits, it is always worth trying. Trending genres for 2024 include self help, memoirs, fantasy, science fiction, mystery, thriller, historical fiction and books for young adults especially those dealing with teen issues.
You pay nothing for publishing by this route. You could easily be paid an advance to write your next book. You are in a position to choose your agent, rather than the other way round. Your books will be readily available in bookshops and on the internet and while royalties are only typically 12-15% of the wholesale price of your book, your agent takes care of marketing. You still have to help in terms of events, signings and talks but they will sort these out for you.
Vanity publishers are at the opposite end of the spectrum. You pay a fee, they publish your book and send you a glossy mountain of them, all beautifully produced. Selling them is down to you and is extremely hard work. Some bookshops will take them on a sale or return basis but are most unlikely to pay you up front. After three months or so if your books did not sell, you have to take them back, even if dogeared and damaged. If you sell them on the internet, you will either have to pay postage and packing, or charge the customer which makes the book expensive. Talks are the best route, where you sell signed copies to an arranged audience, and if you can find sufficient numbers of these and enjoy public speaking, many authors have found this a good way to become known.
Self publishing on Amazon is popular. It is a global market and totally free. It even provides a free ISBN. You can choose ebook, paperback or hardback, or all three, set the price yourself, and receive generous royalties. The process to upload your work is straightforward but you do have to have your own cover design ready to upload with your text.
Amazon is publisher and bookseller all in one, so bookshops will not stock your books. The only way they can order them is through Amazon at the full retail price, which means no profit for them, or by you bringing them author copies. These are sold to you at cost, and you can order in bulk, but you have to pay shipping on top, (free and Prime do not apply to author copies) and you do not benefit from the speedy delivery enjoyed by retail customers. You will need to keep a stock so that you can deliver on demand to bookshops, bearing in mind that if they do buy them they will expect a 35 – 40% discount on the retail price to make their profit worthwhile. Do the maths for a 200 page black and white paperback published by Amazon:
- Retail Price
- Discount at 35%
- Cost of Author Copy
- Postage to you per book - variable but say
- Remainder to you (no royalties on author copies)
- Cost of delivery to the bookshop
You are now in the same position regarding your physical books as for Vanity Publishing above but you have paid a lot less for publishing and your royalties are high on internet sales, providing these are not author copies of course.. Many authors do well on Amazon as long as their social media marketing is extensive and relentless. It is easy for a worthwhile book to sink into obscurity amongst the thousands listed in popular genres. All the time your book is talked about and noticed, you can slide up the sales ratings and keep your book on the top pages. Stay focused, allow about an hour a day for marketing, then stop and do something else, such as writing, and your book has every chance of success.
Hybrid publishers, such as Tweedlecoate, are becoming more and more popular. Author and publisher work in partnership together, sharing costs and labour and the result is book sales on Amazon or other internet booksellers, bookshops ordering your books through conventional wholesaler channels, media marketing with a professionally designed cover, and the same support and guidance of a traditional publisher plus agent such as how to register for Public Library usage (PLR). There are no distribution problems or boxes of books in the spare room, you receive both high royalties from internet sales and traditional ones from bookshop sales and a full ISBN (check that this is actually the case) and barcode that will take your book into every marketplace you choose.
If you decide to take this route, draw up a spreadsheet and list the services and benefits provided by the publisher. You may not want all of them but list them anyway. Against their offering, put their fee. Don’t be afraid of asking for a quote – you will not be committing yourself to them. Do this for several organisations before going through the lists crossing out the items you do not need and making notes of things you simply must have in a separate list below.
Finally, check your wants list against the publishers and pick the one which gives most value for money – for your personal requirements. That way, you bypass the sales pitch and find the right hybrid publisher for your book based on pure facts.
Do the maths (aka make a cuppa): How many books do you need to sell in order to break even? Make a profit? Suppose you don’t sell anything like this number? Suppose you do? Suppose you just give up and leave your script mouldering in a drawer? Suppose you go for it, pay whatever it takes knowing you are receiving value for money, and see your book in a bookshop, receive your first royalty payment? PLR payment? Whilst writing your next one exactly as you wish to create it …