A Place to Call Home

Happy Monday to you!

After you've written and polished your manuscript, it is now time for you to find it a home. For a lot of writers, this is the scary part. It's important to do your research and find the best home that works for you.

Publishing Options

There are options in the world of book publishing. It's important to research this topic carefully. Below is a list of your choices with a brief description. For the next few weeks, I'll go into more detail about each option.

Traditional Publishing

There have been big changes when it comes to traditional publishing. Have you heard of the "Big Five?" There are now five global conglomerates:

1. Penguin Random House
2. Simon & Schuster
3. Macmillan
4. Hachette
5. HarperCollins

These publishing companies have many imprints under them who used to operate independently. For example, Putnam and Delacorte Press are now a part of Penguin Random House.

Literary Agents

A literary agent's job is to find the perfect blend—the right author plus the right publishing editor equals publication. Good agents usually know by reading your manuscript which publishing houses would be a good fit. They submit your manuscript for you and will help negotiate your book contract.

Small Presses or Independent (Indie) Publishers

These companies, which are much smaller than the "Big Five" focus on releasing fewer books each year. A lot of them are driven by a passion for literature. They are more open to taking on new, unpublished writers.

Vanity and Hybrid Presses

A word of caution comes with these two presses. Vanity presses charge you a fee to print and publish your book. Hybrid presses will sometimes share the cost and your profit with you. I've heard many authors state that if a publishing company wants to charge you to publish your book, you'd be better off choosing another option.

Self-Publishing

Many years ago, this was the only option for authors that couldn't get published by a traditional publisher. Times have changed. I have author friends who have traditionally published for years and have chosen to self-publish. Print-on-Demand (POD) has become an economical way to publish your book without huge amounts of money going out.

What to Consider

You'll need to ask yourself some important questions before you get into the submission and publishing part of your journey. First off, why do you want to publish your book? Is it for the thrill of giving it to friends and family, or would you also like to get your book out into the world? Do you only want to focus on writing, or would you be comfortable with the production of a book including marketing? Whatever you decide, there is a publishing method with your name on it!

Next week, I'll be writing about the "Big Five" to try and clear up some of the mysteries attached to them.

Happy writing!