So You Want To Publish A Book? Start here...
Let’s break down the steps from book idea to published author.
Congratulations! You’re here because you have a book idea and now don’t know what the next steps are.
Originally a blog post, with longer form content including a section of Frequently Asked Questions, on my website.
THE THREE PUBLISHING PATHS
Self Published – When an author independently publishes their own work with their own resources. If you choose this path, you will pay for everything out of your own pocket (art, marketing, printing, etc.).
Independently Published – Independent publishing houses are not multinational corporations and because of this, sell under a certain amount a year. When people say something is “indie published”, it can cover everything from houses that run on larger scales (that look like traditional publishing houses) to single-person small houses (that look more like one person’s self publishing company).
Traditionally Published – When a book is published by a large multinational publishing corporation to be distributed in the traditional “trade” markets. When people refer to traditionally published authors, they are often referring to authors published by the Big Five publishers (Penguin/Random House, Hachette Book Group, Macmillan, Harper Collins, and Simon and Schuster).
TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING STEPS
Finish your book! Did you know an estimated 81% of Americans want to be authors (source: NYTimes Opinion Article)? However, 81% of Americans aren’t authors… That’s because finishing your book is arguably the hardest task. You can’t query an agent or submit a book without a book, no matter how genius your idea is. Just like you can’t get a grade on an assignment without finishing the assignment. While there are always exceptions to the rule, you cannot bank on being the exception in one of the most competitive industries in the world.
Query a Literary Agent – After your manuscript (if you’re author-only), portfolio (if you’re an illustrator-only), or book dummy (if you’re an author/illustrator) is done, you will need to query a literary agent. There are many ways to find agents from googling “literary agents” to using websites like Query Tracker or Agents For Illustrators. Compile a list of your top 10 agents, make the query like they suggest you make it (each agent has different requirements), make sure the agent is taking submissions, and start the querying process. Don’t be surprised if this takes months to years and you have to query 100 agents! It’s a numbers game and this industry is competitive.
Hire an Agent – If an agent is interested in you, they will let you know by asking for more work or asking to talk to you. Your agent is a representation of you, so take your time to decide who is the best for you. You will sign documents to agree to representation by your agent and your agent shouldn’t take more than the industry standard of 15% of what you earn. They get paid when you get paid.
Work on your manuscript with your new agent – Congratulations, you have an agent! Now you and your agent will get to work finessing your manuscript, portfolio, or book dummy into selling shape. This means rounds of revisions and time to get the book “right” to sell. It took me two years working on my first book with my first agent to get it ready to sell. So don’t be surprised if this step takes time!
Submit your manuscript to a publishing house – You and your agent will work together to pick where to send your book out. Then your book will be submitted to an editor at a publishing house for their consideration. Many things can happen at this stage including an editor liking your book, an editor rejecting your book, or a multi-house auction. Your agent will guide you through this.
Get a book deal – Congratulations, you have a book deal! You’ve been made an offer from the publishing house for the rights to print your book (you maintain copyright). Your agent and the publishing house will go back and forth until they get an agreement they like on paper. This process can take weeks to a full year. Then you sign on the dotted line and get paid your advance against royalties.
Work on your book – You and your editor will work on your book together. If you’re an author-only who sold the manuscript alone, your editor will work with an art director to hire the illustrator for your book. At this stage if you have an artist you’d like them to hire, you can suggest it for their consideration but it is ultimately up to the publishing house who your illustrator is and that decision is made by several people with a lot of considerations. If you’ve sold a book dummy, you will work with the editor and art director to get your book into publishing shape. There will be many rounds of revisions and this step of the process can take years!
Your book will be published! Congratulations, you’re a published author! Once your book is ready to be published, the editor and publisher will pick a season for your book to come out and your book will go to print. The printing process can take 6 months to a year. Then your book gets a publishing date, or book birthday, and your book will appear on bookshelves everywhere that day!
ADVANCE AGAINST ROYALTIES
This is the number one thing you should know about traditional publishing, I think. When your book gets purchased by an independent or traditional publishing house that offers you an advance it’s also called an Advance against royalties. This means that you will get an advanced payment. For argument’s sake, let’s say it’s a standard first book advance — $15,000. You never have to pay back this $15,000. It’s yours for the rights to publish the book. However, the publishing house is giving it to you in the hopes you will earn out your advance.
In order to earn out your advance, you need to sell 15,000 dollars worth of your book to get royalties. Once you sell that 15,000 dollars worth of your book, you will earn a small royalty percentage on every book sold. This percentage can range between 1% to 20% per book. Once you have earned out your advance, you will get royalties on every book sold in perpetuity or until they put your book out of print. This can mean passive income for many authors and illustrators. However, it’s very important to note that only an estimated 25% of books published ever earn out their advance.
While it isn’t crucial to earn out to get another book deal, it is better for an author and illustrator’s career longevity if they earn out. I see it as a credit card (though it’s not a loan and you get to keep your advance). If I don’t earn out, my credit score is lower. Earning out should be a goal and because of that, you as a creator have to weigh when getting a big advance is beneficial versus detrimental to your career. Smaller advances are easier to earn out because you have to sell fewer books.
WHAT IF I WANT TO SELF PUBLISH?
That’s a perfectly fine path to take, however, remember if you choose this path you will need to pay for everything yourself. While this can pay off big time if you have success (and some genres have more success than others), it’s often even harder for self published authors to have monetary success as they have to do all their own printing, marketing, and distribution. With a traditional publisher, they have teams of people who work to sell your books from getting it into bookstores and retail chains, to getting it in front of trade reviewers, and schools and libraries… you don’t have to do that yourself or hire anyone to do it unless you want to.
If you choose to go the traditional publishing route, you will also need to hire an illustrator either for your cover or for your picture book. Artists are trained professionals, and their prices, like lawyers/doctors/plumbers/landscapers (or anyone else with set rates based on expertise), have industry standards. According to the Graphic Artists Guild Guide, children’s book illustrations go for no less than $150 a page ($300 a spread). The cover is a separate price and not a “page”, but a “cover”. I would argue that the GAG Guide prices are too low and have not accommodated the post-pandemic inflation. So pay should be more like $300 a page ($600 a spread).
Whoever you hire to help you self publish your book, you need to pay fairly and appropriately for their time and expertise. Remember that it’s your dream to make your book and not theirs. Their labor and time are worth something if you believe your dream book is worth something.
Seedlings
Seedlings is an early look at my process from shared early snippets of things I’m writing, to pages from my sketchbooks, to writing prompts, and tips on how to cultivate an illustration practice.
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