Get a Copyright First... Right? 5 Big Myths About Getting Published

Writers -- you expect them to be the most literate, informed people on the planet. Yet editors are continually astonished by how little new writers bother to learn about the publishing industry before they send their work out. Writing is an art and a craft, but publishing is a business, and publishers expect writers to approach them in a professional, business-like manner. This means that writers must know the rules of the road before they begin. Let's start with some of the common myths that one finds floating around that have the potential of crippling your writing career before it even begins.

Myth #1: You must get a copyright to protect your work so editors don't steal it.

Fact: Under U.S. copyright laws, your work is protected as soon as it is in tangible form. You do not need to apply for and pay for an official copyright before you submit your work.

But should you do it anyway, just to be sure?

No. And here's why not.

Reason #1: If you are submitting to real editors at real publishing houses as you should be (not vanity presses or so-called "subsidy" presses), your manuscript will be just one of thousands of hopefuls in a staggeringly-high slush pile. Ahead of your manuscript in the line are manuscripts that were pre-screened and submitted by agents (who also have staggeringly-high slush piles in their own offices). If an editor has that kind of overabundance of material on hand, what incentive is there to steal?

"But," you protest, "what if the editor decides to publish my work under the name of a famous author so the publisher can make a lot of money?"

Think -- would that famous author really sit still for that? Of course not! Famous Author's lawyers would be all over any editor who tried to pass of someone else's work as that of Famous Author's. Nor is Famous Author likely to form a conspiracy with an editor to steal someone's work and publish it under Famous Author's name. There are too many things that can go wrong, too many careers at risk. Possibly, maybe, under certain phases of the moon and alignments of the planets, this might happen in the music industry. Maybe. If you're submitting songs, get educated about the music industry and how copyrights work. If you're submitting novels and nonfiction, don't sweat it.

Reason #2: So you go ahead and shell out 20 bucks or so to get that copyright. You submit your manuscript. Editor takes a look at your manuscript. First impression: "Hmm. This author copyrighted the work. Doesn't trust me to know not to steal manuscripts. Pah! Amateur!" The reading starts off with a bad impression, and goes downhill from there.

Reason #3: It's 20 rejections later, and you're still shopping your manuscript around. Editor number 21 picks it up and sees the copyright date from ten or so years ago. "Man, this has been out for a long time. Must be a real loser." Again, the reading starts off with a bad impression, and back comes the manuscript with rejection number 21.

The only exception to this rule is if you are self-publishing. Then and only then do you need to purchase an official copyright. Everything you need to know about copyrights can be found at the U.S. Copyright Office at http://www.copyright.gov/

Myth #2: You have to pay a lot to get your book published.

Fact: You don't have to pay anything other than postage costs of mailing your manuscript to get it published. A legitimate publisher pays YOU the going industry rate for the various rights to publish your work. A literary agent gets paid a percentage only AFTER selling your book.

If an agent asks for "reading fees" or other fees other than itemized postage costs, the agent is likely a scam agent. If an agent can make money with reading fees, what incentive is there to actually sell your book?

If a publisher offers to publish your manuscript for a fee, that publisher is a subsidy publisher, known more commonly as a vanity publisher. Vanity publishers accept anything that comes at them. They are little more than a glorified printing service, with one important difference: the imprint on the book and the ownership of the ISBN number belong to them, not to you.

Why is that important? Because if you want your book to appear in real bricks-and-mortar bookstores, you don't want the imprint of a vanity publisher on them. Book distributors and buyers know who the vanity presses are and avoid them like the plague.

If you really want to self-publish, go with a good printing service, such as Books Just Books. Educate yourself about copyrights, ISBN numbers, bar codes, distribution services, marketing, and other business aspects of publishing. You need to know the business side, because when you self-publish, you are starting a business.

If you do not want to self-publish, avoid the siren calls of the "We'll Publish Your Book!" vanity press advertisements in the backs of magazines, polish your work until it gleams, then submit it to legitimate publishers, the ones listed in the Writer's Market.

Myth #3: If you want to break into publishing, start with writing for children. It's easy. Then move up to writing for adults.

Would all the children's writers out there stop howling with laughter? Thanks.

Fact: Breaking into the children's market is harder than breaking into the mainstream adult market, and breaking into the picture book market may be the hardest feat of all.

Part of the difficulty is that everybody and his uncle thinks writing for children is easy, so they dash off a cute little tale in Dr. Seuss rhyme about the fuzzy bunny who saved the day, throw in a heavy-handed moral, and send it off "to get published." Slush piles are knee-deep in these amateur offerings. When 95% or more of the slush pile is unpublishable scribbling, it's no wonder that the odds look so bad when you just look at the numbers.

But even for writers who know what they're doing, who study the market, who read children's books all the time, breaking in is hard. Editors are demanding. Children's books have to be concise. The author must choose words carefully for best effect.

Good writing is good writing. All editors demand good writing. Children's editors demand it even more, because their market is smaller, and adult buyers of children's books are more discriminating about the quality of those books. We're not just talking parents here, either. Teachers and librarians have a big influence over the children's book market, and you'd better believe they demand quality writing.

Myth #4: Once you've published your first book, your writing career is set. From then on, it's easy.

Fact: Would all the authors who have published one book but couldn't get the second published please raise their hands?

Thank you. From that forest of hands out there, it's easy to see that publishing your first book is not the equivalent of opening the golden door to the publishing industry. There's no free ticket to a glamorous life of autograph parties and spots on Oprah.

Sorry.

Myth #5: Getting published is easy once you know the "secret."

You'll hear this from people who have been "published" by vanity publishers (see Myth #2). Often they're pleased with the service -- but their pleasure comes primarily from seeing their writing between two covers and having a handful of sales. For hobbyists, maybe this is enough, provided they don't spend their retirement savings on publishing scams. You may also hear pitches like this from ebook software vendors who swear that you can write a bestselling ebook in seven days using their "secret" method and their software -- never mind that the ebook market is puny at best and the vast majority of books are still sold in book form through bricks-and-mortar bookstores.

Mostly you'll hear this from people who shop the bookstores and say, "Look at this! This is trash! Anyone could write better than this!"

True, there are some pretty poor books out there, and who can fathom the reason for their publication? Never mind the awful books based on cartoon characters or science fiction shows -- those are put together by book packagers and written by freelancers on a work-for-hire basis. They sell on the basis of the reputation of the television show, not the writing.

An editor's and a publisher's reputations rest on the sales for their books, and no publisher can afford to keep cranking out books with poor sales. What sells most books is good writing.

And there's more. Not only do you have to write the book, you also have to sell it to an editor. You have to write top-quality query letters, book synopses, proposals, and cover letters.

There are no shortcuts. No 10 easy steps. No magic tricks. You must be a good writer. You must know the market and the industry. You must write the best book you can. And you must persist. Those are the only secrets.

Karen E. Bledsoe is a children's book author, writing primarily nonfiction for the school and library market. For more information on writing for children, see her website at http://www.gkbledsoe.com

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The Truth About Vanity Publishing

Many authors are choosing to publish their masterpieces on their own terms using vanity or subsidy publishers, otherwise known as "paid-for publishing", "self-publishers" and "self-publishing companies". While these establishments do have their uses, for example for specialty, limited-release books, or private books including poetry and memoirs, there are quite a few drawbacks to their use. Here's the bare-boned truth:

Truth #1: Sacrificial Quality

Most of these "self-publishing companies" do not require editing or professional design for your book. Often they will tell you to use a template because it's cheap, but beware: your book will look like it belongs in a series written by someone else. These companies have a reputation of "ripping off" authors (though most of the time the author just hasn't done their proper research) and several are undergoing lawsuits for a myriad of reasons. If you have a company name on your book that doesn't belong to you, you are at the mercy of that company's reputation. So research very carefully before giving your money to any vanity/subsidy publisher.

Truth #2: Royalties and Up Front Payments

Like it or not, subsidy or vanity publishers are not in business to publish your best seller. They are here to make a profit, pure and simple. Luckily for them, their simple business model has worked quite well. Unlike the average author, which makes a profit by selling books, these "self-publishing" houses make a profit by convincing authors to use their services, pay fees and often give up a hefty percentage of the profits for the services provided. However, they are kind enough to give the author "royalties", thus graying the terminology between a vanity/subsidy publisher and a traditional house.

These publishers will convince authors to use their services by claiming to be easier to use, offering more autonomy than traditional publishers and a ease-of-use that seems to be second to none under first inspection. However, if someone were to look a little bit closer, the great deal offered often looks a little less great the more it is studied. For example, in most cases:

* The author is responsible for format: typesetting, graphics and book cover design, either by themselves or by hiring someone to do it. If the vanity/subsidy publisher is asked to help with the task, there is an upfront fee, sometimes in the thousands of dollars for a fully custom format.

* The author is responsible for all edits, or for having someone edit their manuscript. Again, if the vanity/subsidy publishing house is brought on board, there is an upfront fee, in addition to the cost already cited for publication and distribution.

* Even if the author chooses to complete the formatting, editing and marketing all on their own, they are still required to give somewhere between 60% to 90% of their profits to the vanity/subsidy publisher, and resort to making a meager "royalty".

Like it or not, these vanity/subsidy publishing houses will make money off of your hard work To be fair though, there are some subsidy publishers who have much better and fairer terms of contract. Unfortunately they can be very hard to find.

Truth #3: Who Really Owns the Rights?

Believe it or not, one of the biggest and most damaging mistakes that authors make when dealing with vanity/subsidy publishers is not knowing what they're getting into, and not carefully reading the terms of contract. Most authors believe at the end of the process, they will own the copyright, distribution rights and everything related to the printing of their book. Sadly, though, most subsidy publishing agreements will provide the copyright to the author, but give exclusive distribution rights to the publisher. That means that without careful consideration and negotiation on the part of the author, they are limited in how, when and where the book is distributed. Depending on the various agreements of the vanity/subsidy publisher with their distributors, the exposure of your book could be very limited. This also closes the door to a vanity/subsidy book being picked up by a major traditional publisher. According to a few editors I met at the Blue Ridge Writer's Conference in June, traditional publishers hate fighting vanity/subsidy companies for distribution rights to a book, so more often than not they will simply not accept that book for mainstream publication, even if they want it.

Truth #4: Bookstore Sales Won't Happen

Unless a vanity/subsidy publisher sets a book up properly, you can say goodbye to brick and mortar sales. Many of these publishers won't even promise these sales to you anymore, because they know their name is "red flagged" by major bookstore chains. In order for a book to be accepted by a brick and mortar store for stocking and to have the author in for a book signing, three criteria must be met:

* Wholesale discount-A discount of a minimum of 45% must be given to the distributor. Most vanity/subsidy publishers offer 25% - 35%.

* Price point-The book must fit within consumer guidelines for pricing. Vanity/subsidy publishers make money off the back end, especially "free" publishers. They mark the price of the book up (first they tell you that you set the price, then they say "within our guidelines") to make a profit on the print cost, then in order to meet the wholesale discount it must be marked up again so they don't lose money on the back-end. Example: I priced out my 120-page book, Financial Survival with a popular "free" vanity publisher and my minimum recommended price point was $16.95, a price no one except maybe my mother would pay.

* Returnability-Here's where most vanity/subsidy publishers really fall short. In order to meet bookstore guidelines, the book must be labeled as returnable. One popular vanity publisher actually charges $800/year for this privilege and then destroys the books as they are returned instead of sending them on to you, the author, to resell.

There are a couple vanity/subsidy publishers that meet the above criteria without additional fees. But once again, they are hard to find.

Where's the Hope?

So what is an author to do? There are a few options open to those who wish to publish their books, and one of them is to go straight through traditional publishing channels. There is a reason why this has been the standard for so many years. With patience, a killer proposal and a large author platform, it is entirely possible to be traditionally published. However, if you feel that self-publishing is your best route to becoming an author, or you don't want to wait 3-5 years to see that book in print, it is possible to truly self-publish. Many printing houses will provide the use of their printing services for a fee, and most are extremely reasonable. You can even open a publishing company of your own. Then, it is a matter of getting an ISBN for the book for $125.00 (or $250 for 10 of them), contracting a quality editor and designer and using the services of a print house to print and bind the books.

By publishing on your own (independently), you broaden your potential for distribution and keep many marketing doors open that would otherwise slam shut. Many indie-published authors will use a combination of online sales, marketing to brick and mortar booksellers, "back of the room" sales and distribution through friends and family to move the majority of their books. Plus, if a publishing house takes an interest in your book, the current book or next edition just might be published through their company, giving you the power to negotiate a bigger advance and better contract.

Please don't misunderstand-true self-publishing ("indie") is not for everyone. However, if you know that your book is worth publishing, it is definitely worth a look into publishing it completely under your own terms!

Kristen helps you get the book out of your head and into print. Visit http://www.kristeneckstein.com for free author resources, training, and more!

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To Self-Publish or Not to Self-Publish - Thoughts About Self-Publishing

Out of curiosity, I hosted a survey about self-publishing on a writing site. Many people have self-published their books; others have considered self-publishing; and some would never consider self-publishing.

Answers to the questions in the survey varied considerably. One thought that seemed rather consistent was most people didn't know the difference between self-publishing and vanity press. In today's publishing world, the two differ, but they also seem to overlap each other at times.

The survey contained six questions or remarks. I will quote or summarize the results and in places add some information found through other research.

1. What is the definition of self-publishing?

A summary of comments include self-publishing is where the author has enough faith in his own work to underwrite the cost of publication. The author does not go via a commercial publisher, but arranges everything directly with the printer.

Self-publishing is where the author takes on the role of publisher, editor, layout specialist, publicist, marketing guru, production coordinator, and sales manager. For an author who is skilled in these areas, cutting out the middleman and keeping more of the profit makes a lot of sense. However, if an author is not skilled in all of these things, the end product can be a disaster.

According to definition, self-publishing is the publishing of books and other media by the authors of those works, rather than by established, third-party publishers. Although it represents a small percentage of the publishing industry in terms of sales, it has been present in one form or another since the beginning of publishing and has seen an increase in activity with the advancement of publishing technology, including xerography, desktop publishing systems, print on demand, and the World Wide Web. Cultural phenomena such as the punk/DIY movement, the proliferation of media channels, and blogging have contributed to the advancement of self-publishing.

2. Is self-publishing the same as vanity publishing? What is the difference or how are they the same?

One person answered, "No! But they do tend to carry the same stigma, for the same reasons. Too many people are too eager to see their words in print and too impatient to carefully attend to the details, so 'self-publishing' and 'vanity press' and 'subsidy publishing' all share this image of high price and low quality. I doesn't have to be that way, though."

Other remarks supported the first statement. In some respects the two are the same, except some publishers found ways to blur the lines. At least one "publisher" doesn't require the author pay anything to have a book published, but the author receives little or nothing in return. Only the most surface editing is done, and the book is not promoted. The royalty fees are low, and the author's rights are kept for seven years or more.

3. Have you ever self-published, or will you in the future? Why or why not?

The first group of comments deal with "no" answers. "No, though I easily could. But a writer shouldn't have to force himself on an audience ... But then, John Grisham is noted for self-publishing his first effort to sell out of the back of his care."

"No. I'm a bookseller. We resist vanity presses (considers self-publishing and vanity press as synonymous) all day, every day. Here's why:

The lack of an impartial selection process.

The (likely) lack of an editor in the mix.

My prior experience of hideous uncommercial amateur jacket art - do not let anyone tell your jacket design is irrelevant to a book's chance of selling.

The fact that Sale OR Return won't be happening, so if the vanity press title does not sell, the cash that purchased it is tied up in increasingly scruffy stock on the shelf.
owe it to the world to get my work into print, and they'll help me do that for just $4995, I'm going RUN, not walk, the opposite direction."

"I think a small or independent publisher would treat my work with far more care and dedication than a major publisher."

"Small publisher = smaller slush pile."

6. Comments:

A person should decide what he wants from being published before deciding what kind of publisher wanted.

From the bookseller: "I'm not sure that writers get how intensely booksellers despise vanity presses. You cannot imagine how abysmal the stuff they put out can be. ... The big commercial house put out enough bilge."

"My opinion is not formed by experience, but I have seen enough to sense that the 'times they are a changing.' A number of artists, mainly recording artists, now produce and distribute their own works, bypassing the stranglehold and limitations of the established producers."

The bottom line is whether or not an author has the means to have his work thoroughly edited, to have a quality design for book block and cover, and is will to do all the promoting necessary. If so, he might consider self-publishing. However, once the book is printed, the hard work begins: getting bookstores to accept the book, marketing it so that enough copies are sold to create a profit.

However, as noted above, getting work accepted by a traditional publisher is also extremely difficult. Even if an author is fortunate enough to have a quality agent accept him, persuading a publisher to accept a manuscript is hard.

Small publishing houses might be the answer for beginning writers, if they are good writers. Self-publishing may be answer for some authors and some types of writing.

After teaching composition for twenty-five years and becoming an author on http://www.Writing.Com/ a site for Poetry, Vivian Gilbert Zabel produced Hidden Lies and Other Stores, Walking the Earth:, The Base Stealers Club, and Case of the Missing Coach, which can be ordered through most book stores and on Amazon.com.

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