I just want to write. I hear that often from writers I work with.
That’s great, and it’s not hard to do at all. Simply sit down at the computer (or with pen and paper) and write.
But be honest with yourself. You want to publish that book. And now we enter the arena of what’s involved in publishing a book.
What you really mean to say is you want to write and let someone else do the work to get your book published and marketed.
That can happen too, but you must be willing to pay others to do those jobs. However, most of us don’t have the dollars necessary to pay an editor…and a designer…and a publicist.
So make it easier on yourself and stop saying “I just want to write.”
What’s Involved in Publishing a Book Traditionally?
In short, here are the basics involved in becoming a traditionally published author…
- Write your book
- Build your author platform while you are writing your book
- Write your book proposal
- Shop your proposal to various traditional publishers or an agent (the process is the same)
Once you gain a publisher…
- Work through publisher edits
- Continue to build your platform
- Build buzz for your book while it’s in process with the publisher
- Market your book
Even the big box publishers require their authors to market their books. You cannot escape it unless you budget well ahead of time to hire a publicist to do that work for you.
What’s Involved in Publishing a Book Independently?
- Write your book
- Build your author platform while you are writing your book
- Budget for a professional editor, cover designer, and someone to do your interior layout
- Work through the editor’s edits
- Hire a designer to create the cover and interior layout
- Continue to build your platform
- Build buzz for your book while it’s in process
- Market your book
As you can see, there’s not a whole lot of difference. The biggest differences are the control you have over your book’s production and the dollars you earn with each book sold.
Questions to Ask Yourself
- How badly do I want to be published?
- Do I have what it takes to persevere to get published?
- Do I have the time, energy, and desire to learn some of the skills needed to publish independently?
- Is it truly my desire to “just write” for my own pleasure?
I’m not trying to be a killjoy. I’m encouraging you stop and think about your desire to write and whether getting published is truly what you want. If it is, you must come to terms with the work involved that will take time away from your writing.
But you can do this!
Whether you have an 8-to-5 job or not, schedule time for your writing. Otherwise, you will never get it done. Be sure to consider all your other commitments before you decide how much time per day/week/month you’ll write.
You must also schedule time for your marketing activities. I was clueless about marketing when I started freelance writing back in 2006. That meant spending time to learn how to do it—BTW, I’m still learning this task. Like technology, marketing is ever changing.
Determine what you will learn to do yourself and what you’ll hire out. Then start saving with each paycheck so when the time comes, those funds will be available.
I encourage indie-publishing writers to hire a professional designer for their book cover, but the interior layout is fairly simple to learn. Here’s a video on YouTube about creating a book layout in MS Word. I find YouTube a great place for tutorial videos on about every topic I need.
Your mindset is crucial. What you believe about yourself and what you can achieve directly impacts whether you accomplish your dreams. Unfortunately our brain can work against or for us.
Many people write their draft manuscript and then flounder and nearly drown in the publication process. If you intend to write for publication, you’ve got to think of yourself as an entrepreneur and treat your writing as a business, because it is a business!
What’s involved in publishing can seem overwhelming, but publication is much easier these days with print-on-demand. Do your homework and research self-publishing companies before you contract with them. Search this website for anything do to with the craft of writing. There are 7+ years’ worth of blog posts here about writing, editing, and marketing.
Have a question? Leave it in the comments below and I’ll be sure to answer it.