Wednesday Writing

I have been away, and due to poor planning, didn't have blog posts scheduled for Friday, Monday, or Tuesday. The good news is I have a travel story to tell for Thursday.

While I was away, self-publishing became a major topic for people. I was surprised how many people I know are acquainted with people who self-published a book. The person who was talking about me and my publishing journey, was confused as to why I want to go with traditional publishing and why I am going to fight a long fight for traditional over self-publishing.

Self-publishing is a blessing and a curse (like so many things in life). For people who write in their free time and just want to put their writing out, and make some money for it, self-publishing is wonderful. I have read many great books that were published through Amazon.

My decision in what publishing route I wanted to pursue first was solely based on the work load. Publishing is by no means easy, but when you put in your work varies on which route you take. Let's assume you have polished your MS to beyond the best of your capabilities and your ready to journey into publishing.

For traditional publishing, you have an uphill battle up front. You will most likely need to find an agent, who may need to/will find an editor, and then the agent will find a publisher. Each person in the chain to publishing your MS needs to be found through research and luck. As I've learned from other blogs about writing, at any point your MS could be dropped. It's a helluva rollercoaster, but from conversing with success stories, it's worth it. I don't know all the ins and outs of publishing and all the strange things that can happen between signing with an agent and your book sitting in Barnes and Noble.

The other bright side is that you have a marketing team on your side to promote your book. No, they aren't solely for you and your career, but they will work on getting your book in front of people as part of their job. They do this for the benefit of the publishing company, because when the company makes money from your book, you will make money from your book.

Of course, self-promotion doesn't hurt and is recommended. If your book becomes popular, fans will hope to be able to connect with you via social media. So, yes, there is more work to do after your book is released, but if you miss a day or two, the world won't end for you and your soon to be best-seller.

These are just things from my research and my time working in marketing for a publishing company. I'll cover self-publishing next week.