In today’s market, authors have three major methods or channels through which they can see their book published and sold.
1. TRADITIONAL
2. SMALL PUB (OFTEN EPUB, OR EBOOK FIRST)
3. SELF PUBLISHING
TRADITIONAL
We know the drill here. Or do we? In the traditional publishing world, where we would submit to the big 6 (don’t know who they are and what they are about? Check them out here http://www.fictionmatters.com/2010/03/05/who-are-%E2%80%9Cthe-big-six%E2%80%9D/ ) or a mid level publishing house like Harlequin.
There are those that bemoan the big publishers, but I bet secretly if they were offered a deal they would go for it! Yes, the royalty rates are smaller. But you sell so many more books. Some people feel that breaking into a bank would be easier than getting your work into one of these publishers. Maybe not anymore.
A lot of the really big names are now going it alone, leaving more room for mid list and new authors. But often you need an agent before you can have your books submitted. Even there you have to check every single imprint because requirements can vary widely.
For instance – YA publishers (because I happen to be looking at YA and a couple of you are too) that do not require agents, are part of the big 6 or mid-list, and who are accepting submissions:
Sourcebooks (Sourcebooks Fire) http://www.sourcebooks.com/authors/submission-guidelines.html
Harlequin Teen http://www.harlequin.com/articlepage.html?articleId=1403&chapter=0
Still feel you need an agent? These are YA agents that have made recent, respectable deals for YA books from new authors (and there are hundreds more):
| Deborah Warren | East/West Agency | ||||
| Tina Wexler | ICM | ||||
| Kate Schafer Testerman | KT Literary | ||||
| Tracey Adams | Adams Literary | ||||
| Leticia Gomez | Savvy Literary Services | ||||
| Stefanie Von Borstel | Full Circle Literary | ||||
| Victoria Marini | Gelfman Schneider | ||||
| Miriam Kriss | Irene Goodman Agency | ||||
| Martha Millard | Martha Millard Literary Agency | ||||
| Kevan Lyon | Marsal Lyon Literary Agency | ||||
| Kristin Keene | ICM | ||||
| Ammi-Joan Paquette | Erin Murphy Literary Agency | ||||
| Stacey Glick | Dystel & Goderich Literary Management | ||||
SMALL PUB
The newer breed of publisher, the small pub, the epub, the e-first pub. These guys are quickly evolving. They offer much higher royalty rates than their traditional big brothers, but sell fewer copies through smaller distributions. Some offer both e-formats and paper, some just epub. Most do not require agents but will work with them if you have one.
Examples:
SELF PUBLISHING
The final frontier. Maybe. In this ever evolving business it is hard to say for sure. Especially when a ‘traditional’ (ie it’s been around for a couple of years) venue for self pubbing, AMAZON, suddenly becomes one of the big boys. Perhaps to be one the big 7? With others like KOBO following suit.
So – you write the book, you get it edited, get a cover, get it formatted and you put it up for sale at a number of forums. Amazon, Smashwords, a ton of other places.
But I want my book in paper! That’s okay, you can do that too. Where? Here’s an excellent article on forums. http://mashable.com/2009/03/01/publish-book/
But really, the problem with self publishing is the distribution. Yes, you get most of the money from the book, aside from a few fees. But where do you sell those paperbacks except for Amazon. That my friend, is the problem.
Nancy
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