Publishing: Traditional - Hybrid - Self-Publishing

 So you've got a manuscript and you are thinking about publishing. Now what?

In sharing how my book came about I thought I would share a little about the publishing process as experienced by a beginner. This is not advice- this is just the process I went through.

When I completed the draft of my book I thought that was a major accomplishment. In fact, It was. Setting a goal and achieving it is always a big accomplishment, but I hadn't thought a lot about publishing it until I was done. I had given the manuscript to a couple of people to read and had sought some editorial input. A couple of significant revisions had been completed and now it was done.  Right?

Not really.

Through the writing process I always had publishing in the back of my mind but I didn't have a hot clue about the process. I started to learn about querying and how the publishing industry works. I was like a fish out of water. I quite literally didn't know what I didn't know. As I began to learn I realized the publishing industry is a little nuts.

I sought some advice from a couple of people who were published authors themselves. Although they gave me some good advice - they had commented to me how the whole publishing business has changed over the years and much of the success they had as authors came about by chance - being in the right place at the right time. It didn't really help me form a plan as to how to get published.

Of course, we all dream of signing a book deal with a big name publisher but as I learned - unless you have a hundred thousand twitter followers or are some kind of celebrity - attracting a traditional publisher would be an uphill battle. The big publishers DON'T take chances. If they sign an author they want success. This isn't about art - it's about business. They want a sure thing.

I wrote a few query letters to some literary agents and tried to submit my manuscript to some publishers who took direct submissions - but I got - nothing. As a rookie, I didn't really know what I was doing and it felt like a waste of time. I tried to research and try to figure out what I was doing wrong - or if I was doing anything wrong. I started to think that self-publishing was my only option. The trouble with that was I didn't know what was involved with self-publishing either.

If you are thinking of publishing - I would never consider self-publishing as an easy way out. In fact, it is the opposite. To do all of the details you need to make your book really good - you have to do it all on your own. Doing everything on your own - when you are a rookie is exceedingly difficult and a ton of work. How do you get an ISBN number? How do you get your book on Amazon? What about printers? The jacket content? The list is a mile long and if you have never done it before and have no one coaching you it is likely you will end up with something you may not be completely happy with or never publish at all. Self-publishing is a way of getting your book published but it is NOT an easy path to get a quality product. The last think I wanted to do was sacrifice quality.

As I was researching, I happened to find a publishing contest being sponsored by a publisher who happened to be in Winnipeg. Where I live. I thought to myself - why not? The contest was an opportunity to have your book professionally published - for free. With my manuscript complete it wasn't hard for me to complete my submission for the publishing contest. I really had no idea how my manuscript would be received.

As luck would have it, I received an email indicating that I had been shortlisted in the non-fiction category. I was very happy with that because to this point I had received no feedback at all. It was encouraging but it wasn't THE big prize. Being short-listed meant that I would get a discount on publishing my book but the bulk of the expense would come out of my pocket. 

Do I Go Ahead or Not?

In an ironic twist I discovered that I knew two other authors who had also been short-listed in this contest in previous years. Even more of a coincidence - both happened to be my cousins. Our own bizarre little family tradition. I exchanged some Facebook messages and a phone call or two with them to get their feedback.  They told me some of the pros and cons of their experience of what I learned to know as hybrid publishing. Much of the process is still driven by and paid for by the author but you still get professional help with marketing, cover design & content, and most importantly professional editing. It's still expensive and you still have to do the bulk of the work but at least you would get some much-needed guidance.

So What Did I Do?

After a lot of thought and considering my discussions with others who had gone this route I decided that I would pass. I still had lofty ideas of landing that elusive book deal with a traditional publisher. I had been told by those who had read my manuscript that I really had something - that it was good enough to catch a publisher's eye if I was only patient enough to pursue it. That was great encouragement but it didn't solve the immediate problem of what to do next.

At that point, I attempted to put the publishing contest behind me. I sent out a few more query letters but with no response. I had this manuscript that was collecting dust and I really didn't know what to do next. It really seemed like this wasn't going anywhere.

I ended up having a conversation with one of the publisher's Project Managers (from the contest) who were still trying to sell me on hybrid publishing. They didn't do the hard sell or anything but they were persistent. The recurring thought I had in the back of my mind was that this would be one way of getting my book published and get moving on the next phase of the project. Yes, I was impatient. In the back of my mind there was something pushing me to get this done. I think it was the subject matter of the book that was driving me. This was our own very personal story. I had a lot of emotion tied up in this project. I couldn't imagine going 2 or 3 years querying to try to find a publisher. Trying to "sell"  such an emotional story. If this was a fictional book I think I would have likely waited but this was something that I really wanted to move ahead with. Just get it over with.

After considerable thought and discussions with others who had done business with this publisher I felt I was making an educated decision when I finally decided to go the hybrid route with WordAlive Press. I think one of the key factors for me was that anyone who I had talked to about this publisher felt they were reputable - and I don't think that anyone can understate how important that is. At this point I had already had a couple of encounters with what I would call predatory publishers and I was confident that I was proceeding with an honest company. I think that is a huge issue.

Explain It To Me Like I'm Four

As someone who knew absolutely nothing about publishing - working with a project manager and a professional editor was a huge plus. Many parts of the process were explained in detail and I appreciated the guidance. They had these little guidance documents that they would send me that would give you some help with many aspects of the process. How to write a good synopsis, the author profile, and editorial tips. At times it felt a little cookie-cutter, but it was nice to have a document to refer to when you were stuck. You do have to understand the basics - and I readily admitted that this was all new to me. I did have to follow their process which did seem limiting at times but I did have to defer to their experience - they had published books before - I had not.  I definitely think that they made the book far better. 

The funny part about working with WordAlive was that I thought I would have a huge advantage given that they were local to me. Truth is - all of our communication ended up being electronic. We have never met in person. It just goes to show you how some of our assumptions can be completely wrong. 

What About Next Time?

Having gone through this process I definitely feel a lot more confident if I ever do this again. Would I go the hybrid route again? I don't know. There are pros and cons to every avenue of publishing. I have gained a lot of respect for people who successfully self-publish - and yes - some do it very successfully. For my first book, I think I had a good experience. I never felt the publishing process was painful. We always seemed like we were making progress. It was a lot of work and time consuming but I can honestly say I am happy with the end result. 

I know I still have a lot to learn about writing, publishing, and now marketing a book. I think what I am most pleased about is that it got done. The goal I set for myself has been accomplished. Is it perfect? No. Could there be improvement? Definitely. However, this isn't about perfection. For me it was about sharing our story that someone out there might be inspired or encouraged. I'm not sure how you put a price on that.