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So... How does this work?

I only just finished chapter 1 but I like to plan ahead. So I have to ask, how does publishing work exactly? Like, what's the procedure? I'm being completely serious and I'd like answers for both independent and house publishing. Thanks a bunch!
 

skip.knox

toujours gai, archie
Moderator
Traditional pubishing to big houses: get an agent. You do this by sending out letters to agents. There are plenty of articles on the web about this path.
Traditional publishing to small houses: with some you need an agent but with some you can submit your manuscript directly. But it has to be a completed work and as polished as you can make it.

Independent publishing is more complicated. Publishing in itself is simple: write it, format it, upload it, click publish. The options and nuances, though, are legion. Again, do some research; a resource that is excellent for one newbie writer will be a poor choice for another. You just have to slog through and make your own choices. The real kicker for indies is marketing. Getting published is one thing, getting noticed is quite another, and getting sales from those who notice is even harder. As many books and articles there are about writing, there are more about getting published, and still more about marketing. I've been reading such resources for years (but I've also self-pubbed four books; don't let learning the ropes keep you from climbing!).

Have fun!
 
Traditional pubishing to big houses: get an agent. You do this by sending out letters to agents. There are plenty of articles on the web about this path.
Traditional publishing to small houses: with some you need an agent but with some you can submit your manuscript directly. But it has to be a completed work and as polished as you can make it.

Independent publishing is more complicated. Publishing in itself is simple: write it, format it, upload it, click publish. The options and nuances, though, are legion. Again, do some research; a resource that is excellent for one newbie writer will be a poor choice for another. You just have to slog through and make your own choices. The real kicker for indies is marketing. Getting published is one thing, getting noticed is quite another, and getting sales from those who notice is even harder. As many books and articles there are about writing, there are more about getting published, and still more about marketing. I've been reading such resources for years (but I've also self-pubbed four books; don't let learning the ropes keep you from climbing!).

Have fun!
Thank you very much!
 

ALB2012

Maester
Self Publishing:
KDP= Amazon - biggest fish in the pond but a bit snickerty. If you wish to ONLY SP an e-book on Amazon they have something called KDP Select - this means you CANNOT have the ebook for sale anywhere else but for that you get the chance to offer your book for free 5 days in every rolling 90 days and readers can borrow the book and you get paid per pages read. That said many people say it's not worth it for a first book as you're better going wide but that's up to you.
You can upload a well-formatted WORD doc and KDP will convert it to a mobi which can be read on Kindle/Kindle app and other devices. It's worth checking through the reviewer before you hit publish...
Pricing - over 2.99 you can get 70 percent royalties, less than that it's 35%. (Although some countries do 35% even at +2.99 if they don't have their own store.

Read the FAQ CAREFULLY beforehand, and look at the KDP forums. It's incredible how many newbies muck it up as they haven't bothered and then think Amazon is conning them (because they didn't read the payment FAQ), or bet banned/blocked because they breached terms and conditions.

Draft2Digital - much wider choice of stores and you can pick and choose where you want to sell. Mostly it's 60% royalty. You can upload word and they will convert it - and it's great because you get a choice of how it looks.

Smashwords - again a wide choice of book stores but less choice in how it looks. They give coupons so you can sent to people to read for free/giveaways that sort of thing. Their conversion thing is... finickity and usually takes one or two tries but they do tell you why.

You have to market the book yourself.

I have some advice on my blog here Adventures in Self-Publishing – Part 1.1 – The Basics
 
Self Publishing:
KDP= Amazon - biggest fish in the pond but a bit snickerty. If you wish to ONLY SP an e-book on Amazon they have something called KDP Select - this means you CANNOT have the ebook for sale anywhere else but for that you get the chance to offer your book for free 5 days in every rolling 90 days and readers can borrow the book and you get paid per pages read. That said many people say it's not worth it for a first book as you're better going wide but that's up to you.
You can upload a well-formatted WORD doc and KDP will convert it to a mobi which can be read on Kindle/Kindle app and other devices. It's worth checking through the reviewer before you hit publish...
Pricing - over 2.99 you can get 70 percent royalties, less than that it's 35%. (Although some countries do 35% even at +2.99 if they don't have their own store.

Read the FAQ CAREFULLY beforehand, and look at the KDP forums. It's incredible how many newbies muck it up as they haven't bothered and then think Amazon is conning them (because they didn't read the payment FAQ), or bet banned/blocked because they breached terms and conditions.

Draft2Digital - much wider choice of stores and you can pick and choose where you want to sell. Mostly it's 60% royalty. You can upload word and they will convert it - and it's great because you get a choice of how it looks.

Smashwords - again a wide choice of book stores but less choice in how it looks. They give coupons so you can sent to people to read for free/giveaways that sort of thing. Their conversion thing is... finickity and usually takes one or two tries but they do tell you why.

You have to market the book yourself.

I have some advice on my blog here Adventures in Self-Publishing – Part 1.1 – The Basics
I've been thinking about it and I'm leaning more towards traditional publishing but I'm grateful for all the info you presented. I seriously thought Amazon was the only way to go and Draft2Digital seems like a pretty tempting offer. I've also been thinking of starting up my own publishing company online with some friends helping me out, first: do I get to use my own services if I'm top dog and second: how does running a publishing company, one that's completely online no less, work exactly?
 
Self Publishing:
KDP= Amazon - biggest fish in the pond but a bit snickerty. If you wish to ONLY SP an e-book on Amazon they have something called KDP Select - this means you CANNOT have the ebook for sale anywhere else but for that you get the chance to offer your book for free 5 days in every rolling 90 days and readers can borrow the book and you get paid per pages read. That said many people say it's not worth it for a first book as you're better going wide but that's up to you.
You can upload a well-formatted WORD doc and KDP will convert it to a mobi which can be read on Kindle/Kindle app and other devices. It's worth checking through the reviewer before you hit publish...
Pricing - over 2.99 you can get 70 percent royalties, less than that it's 35%. (Although some countries do 35% even at +2.99 if they don't have their own store.

Read the FAQ CAREFULLY beforehand, and look at the KDP forums. It's incredible how many newbies muck it up as they haven't bothered and then think Amazon is conning them (because they didn't read the payment FAQ), or bet banned/blocked because they breached terms and conditions.

Draft2Digital - much wider choice of stores and you can pick and choose where you want to sell. Mostly it's 60% royalty. You can upload word and they will convert it - and it's great because you get a choice of how it looks.

Smashwords - again a wide choice of book stores but less choice in how it looks. They give coupons so you can sent to people to read for free/giveaways that sort of thing. Their conversion thing is... finickity and usually takes one or two tries but they do tell you why.

You have to market the book yourself.

I have some advice on my blog here Adventures in Self-Publishing – Part 1.1 – The Basics
I switched to Google Docs early on in my pre-writing phase, which I'm technically stuck in but hear me out, and there's really no turning back for me on that. Heck, I don't think I have Word on my computer any more. Can I submit the manuscript in Google Docs or does it have to be Word? Can I use the Share feature on the Google Doc to get it to the publisher? And going off my other reply to you, how does me opening up my own publishing house change things?
 
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