Most everyone feels they have a book in them. Eventually, a small percentage of those people will actually become an author and write a book. It used to be that even a smaller percentage of those who actually wrote a book were ever able to get it published despite the fact that was their goal. However, with advancing technology, anyone who has written a book can now get it published in some form or another. For authors, the world of publishing has blow wide open.
There are basically two types of publishers- the traditional publishers and self-publishers. Traditional publishers are any publisher who pays an author an "advance" in hopes of recouping their money (and more) through sales of a popular book. The traditional publisher model has stayed fairly consistent over the years.
Self publishers on the other hand, have changed and evolved with the times. Initially, self-publishing consisted of subsidy and vanity publishers who pretty much published any book for a fee, no matter the quality of the manuscript. If an author was self-published, their work was not viewed with any credibility. Off-shoots of this idea developed such as co-publishing and shared publishing, where self-publishing companies took an active role in helping the author and were more discerning about what manuscripts they published.
These concepts eventually morphed into POD or print on demand companies who may or may not work with the author, but who only printed a copy of a book when the book was bought. Finally, publishing has evolved most recently into e-books; books that are read on a computer and not physically printed. This e-book niche exploded beyond computers with the advent of e-readers such as the Kindle, Nook or iPad and people can even read books on their smart phones. Nowadays, the opportunities for an author to get their work published seem endless!
Book publishing is difficult no matter how a book is published. And like all industries, there are good players and bad players which can give the different types of publishing a bad reputation. But each method of publishing has its benefits and detriments and you probably can not say that one is better than another. They are just different.
While traditional publishers initially looked down on self-publishing and convinced the literary world that self-published authors were not as good as traditionally published authors, these same traditional publishers have had to scramble to change their business models as their profits eroded to the various different self-publishing models. But the bottom line is that the publishing world has opened up opportunities everywhere for authors to find some method to get their books printed. Authors are no longer limited to just one method of seeing their work. And that is a good thing for writers.
Authors have to find the right modality to fit their work. Books that look great in print may not be e-book material. At the same time, the e-book method may be the only way that some authors can make any money. Authors may only want a few books for just their friends and family, while others may see their book as being number one on the New York Times best-seller list. What all these options do, depending on what an author needs, is to give every author a chance to become published and that was not the case in the past.
With the new and different publishing opportunities come new and different responsibilities for authors. Authors need to be aware of these prior to choosing any one specific method to publish their book. In the other articles in this series, I will discuss the different methods of publishing, their pros and cons. With this information, potential or repeat authors will be able to examine the opportunities now open to them and make better choices on how they want their book published.
Candace C. Davenport is a retired attorney and published author whose love of writing led to co-founding a small independent publishing company, Our Little Books. Our Little Books ( http://www.ourlittlebooks.com ) is dedicated to publishing inspirational, educational and fun little books for pocket or purse. Candace encourages all people to find their inner muse and become published authors with their own little book, either for pleasure or for their business. Sign up for a free report on how Becoming a Published Author Will Improve Your Credibility and Make You an Expert in Your Field at http://www.ourlittlebooks.com/free-report/. Enjoy!
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