How does the publishing industry work?

A book publisher’s fundamental role is to make a writer’s work available to the public. Publishers therefore:

 

  • Select the work that they believe has the potential to sell well
  • Licence the copyright for that work from the author
  • Edit, design and produce the book in a variety of formats; primarily print, ebook and audio
  • Distribute the book through bookshops, library wholesalers and department stores
  • Support the publication with appropriate marketing and publicity

 

The publisher is responsible for all costs in this traditional arrangement, but also retains control of all decisions about the way in which the book is produced and sold.

 

Please note the distinction between a traditional publisher’s role and the role of publishing service providers who assist author-funded publication, discussed in the Getting Published section (see tab above).

On average, it takes at least 12 months from the date of acquisition of the manuscript for a book to be published, which seems a long time for an excited author. Understanding what is happening while you wait to hold your finished book for the first time, can help to stem your impatience.

 

There are two major reasons for this protracted timeline:

 

  • The publisher will have many books in various stages of production at any one time and a finite number of resources, so each book must take its turn
  • Publishers are striving to produce a high-quality product, which requires careful attention to detail, which also takes time

 

Of course, some books take longer to produce than others. Black and white, text-only titles are much simpler to layout and design and can be printed economically in Australia, so the timeline from finished files to receipt of the books into the warehouse can be a few weeks only. A fully illustrated colour book, however, can take many weeks to design and then will be printed offshore for cost effectiveness, which can add another 3 months to the production timeline.

 

A flow chart detailing the process of traditional publishing, from writing the manuscript to availability in bookstores.

You can do your bit to keep the timetable moving along by ensuring that you undertake your author checks thoroughly and in accordance with the publisher’s deadlines.

A literary agent is a person with knowledge, skills and experience in the publishing industry, who represents you as an author, and acts as the go between with the publisher. Ideally, an agent will have:

 

  • Knowledge of the local publishers, along with the ability to target the right company and the right editor/publisher within that company, for your work
  • The skill to put together a compelling publishing submission
  • A good understanding of publishing contracts and the ability to negotiate strongly on your behalf to get the best deal possible
  • A thorough working knowledge of the publishing process to help guide you through the book production
  • A range of international contacts to help secure interest from overseas publishers
  • The capacity and ability to receive income on your behalf, check royalty statements, chase late payments and manage all licences in relation to your work.

Unfortunately, there is no simple answer to this question as the answer depends on several factors:

 

  • Your track record in publishing i.e. previous publications that have sold successfully
  • Your contacts within the industry
  • Your experience regarding contracts and what to expect from a publisher
  • The genre and topic of your book

 

If you have experience in publishing, know which publishers suit your work best, and have direct access to those people, then you may manage well without an agent. If, however, you are a first-time or inexperienced author then it is going to be very difficult for you to secure a publisher without the help of an agent. Not only are the slush piles (manuscripts which have just been sent in by the author on spec) huge, but also most of the larger publishers will only consider manuscripts that they receive through an agent. They do this because they find it difficult to manage the sheer volume of unsolicited manuscripts that they would otherwise receive.

It’s not easy to find an agent, particularly as there are so many authors trying to get published that many agents are now closing their lists to new writers. Good research and informed referrals, however, can help you gain access and can also help you ensure that you are contacting literary agents with the right skills and experience for your work.

ALAA (the Australian Literary Agents Association), the peak national body for literary agents, is the place to begin your research. As only full-time agents qualify for membership however, the list is incomplete, and you will need to undertake further research. We recommend:

  • Joining author blog sites/social media groups etc. Authors are often very generous in their willingness to share information
  • Subscribing to relevant industry newsletters such as Books + Publishing and your local Writer’s Centre

As you begin to build your list, it is important that you focus on the types of authors and genres each agent represents. It is also very important to take careful note of an agent’s submission requirements and then fulfil those to the letter. If they ask for 10 pages, then that is what you submit.

Referrals can be difficult to obtain, particularly for first-time authors, but there are steps you can take to try and secure one:

  • Attend the ASA’s Literary Speed Dating events, where you have an opportunity to pitch your work to agents and publishers
  • Join relevant writing workshops, not only to help you refine your work, but also to learn how other writers may have secured an agent
  • Work with a skilled mentor to refine your manuscript and learn about ways in which more established writers have overcome these obstacles
  • Keep an eye out for any opportunity to attend events where agents will be present in a professional capacity. eg Writers’ Festivals, Writers’ Centres
  • Enter any relevant competitions, as part of an agent’s job is to watch out for new talent emerging on these shortlists

It is, however, critically important to exercise good judgment and behave respectfully. If you are at a social gathering, this is NOT the time to monopolise an agent with a 10-minute monologue about your work. It is also discourteous to ask another writer for a referral to their agent unless they know you and your work well and have already expressed interest in helping you. The publishing industry can be very generous with their time, but it is a tight-knit community, and it doesn’t take long for word to spread if you allow your enthusiasm to overcome your manners.

It is important that you start your relationship by signing an agreement with your agent that sets out:

 

  • The books the agent will represent; specified by title
  • The territories and rights that you have granted them; again, specify a list
  • The financial arrangement: typically, an agent’s commission is between 15% and 17.5% of total revenue earned on the titles/rights that you have granted
  • Termination; usually a month’s notice by either party

 

It is, however, equally important that you understand the way in which this agreement works:

 

  • The publisher pays all your royalty and rights income to the agent, who deducts their commission and then pays the balance to you as the author. They should on-pay as quickly as possible, ideally within 10 days of receiving the money. Ensure that this is specified in your agreement
  • The agent can also deduct expenses such as postage, international phone calls but it is also best to specify these allowable expenses in your contract
  • Although the termination period is often quite short, it is critical that you understand that the agent receives what is called residuals, which means that they continue to receive their commission on EVERY deal that they made while your agreement with them was in place, until each publishing contract expires. They also receive income for any deal that is in the process of being negotiated when you issue notice of termination. As the term in most publishing contracts is life of copyright, the ASA recommends that you try and negotiate an expiry to the agent’s entitlement to residuals, somewhere between 5 and 10 years after the date of termination of your agency agreement, at the end of which time, the agent ceases to have any financial interest in your work.

 

Authors Legal’s contract review service is also available for literary agent agreements and given the period of time over which aspects of this relationship can continue, it is advisable to submit your agency agreement for this assessment.

This is by no means intended as a comprehensive glossary of publishing terms, but rather a quick guide to help you navigate your first discussions with agents or publishers.

Common Formats

In standard text publishing, most titles are published in paperback in one of these formats:

‘A’ format181 x 111 mmMass market genre fiction and classics, becoming less popular
‘B’ format198 x 128 mmThe second format of most fiction and non-fiction
‘B+’ format210 x 135 mmMost commonly used in text non-fiction, literary fiction and anthologies
‘C’ format234 x 153 mmFirst format for both fiction and narrative non-fiction
(same size as a standard hardback novel)

Frontlist/Backlist

Frontlist is the term used for all new publications. They remain frontlist for 3-6 months from first publication date. These are the riskiest titles as they are untested in the market.

Backlist refers to a title that has continued to sell beyond that 3–6-month period, providing regular, stable revenue for bookshops, publishers and authors.

Sale or Return

Nearly all print books that are sold to Australian bookshops are sold on a sale or return basis. This means that the retailer buys your book at a discount off the retail price, (on average 45% +) excluding GST and pays the publisher for that purchase. If the book doesn’t sell, however, they can return the stock to the publisher within an agreed period of time (which is often 12 months) and receive a full credit.

Slush Pile

This is the industry term for manuscripts that are submitted to publishers directly from the author, without an agent and without any personal contact within that publisher. They are unsolicited manuscripts sent in on spec. Slush piles are large and because of time and resource constraints within the publisher, they are rarely a priority, so the chances of success for an author are very low.

Typical Word Counts:

Adult Fiction

Flash fiction is anything from 100 to 500 words

A short story ranges between 1,000 and 8,000 words

A novella between 20,000 and 50,000 words

A novel is typically between 75,000 and 90,000 words

Science Fiction and Fantasy novels are often longer, in the 90,000-to-110,000-word range

Adult Non-Fiction

Narrative non-fiction, including memoir is similar to a novel at around 75,000+ words

Self-help titles and some business titles tend to be shorter, between 40,000 and 60,000 words

Major history and biography can be longer, up to 120,000 words

Children’s

Picture books between 400 and 700, depending on the target age

Early readers, anywhere up to 3,500 words

Chapter books (8-10 years) vary from 5,000 to 10,000 words

Novels (10+ years), 25,000 words

YA, start at 40,000 words but can be up to 80,000 at the upper end of the age range

Whether you are a traditionally or self-published writer/illustrator, these days marketing can be an important part of a professional author’s role. Building an author brand and following is not only an asset when you are being considered for publication but will assist you in maximising your sales and exposure after your book is published.

 

Key Terms:

 

Author Brand

Your author brand is your professional author persona – it is comprised of all of the things that make you unique as a writer or illustrator: the genre you write in, what you choose to write about, your writing/illustration style, your particular perspective on the themes you write about, your values and so on. The key to successful author branding is to be authentic and consistent in your messaging.

 

Publicity

Publicity is how you can generate free word-of-mouth coverage for your book, and publicity activities usually take place on a short-term basis, both pre-publication and post-publication. Effective publicity campaigns are all about building strong relationships.

Publicity activities may include:

  • Pitching a news item about your book to the media
  • Sending out Advanced Reading Copies of your title and a sales sheet to key influencers and reviewers
  • Arranging radio or podcast interviews

 

Marketing

Unlike publicity, marketing campaigns cost money, and involve long-term strategies for your book and author brand.

Marketing activities may include:

  • Paid advertising across online and print media
  • Promotions and discounts
  • In-store posters and merchandise for bookstores
  • Social media, email and content marketing
  • Book launch events
  • Partnerships and cross-promotion

 

The most important thing you need to know to create effective marketing and publicity strategies for your book is who your target market is: who are your core readers? While many writers and illustrators may feel that their book could be enjoyed by a wide range of readers, it is essential to narrow your scope and target a particular audience first, before going on to try and find new audiences for your work. The more specific you can be about your core readership, the more effectively you can build your marketing campaigns to appeal to them.

 

For example, if you’ve written a romance novel set in rural Australia, you may be more likely to generate sales promoting your book on a popular Australian blog about Rural Romance, than placing ads on general book websites. While you might reach a smaller audience on the blog, you are ensuring your book is discoverable by exactly the kinds of readers who will buy and enjoy your book rather than wasting time and money promoting your title to large swathes of people who never read romance.

 

If you are a traditionally published author, you can seek out information about the target market for your book from your publisher. If you are a self-published author you will be required to research this information for yourself. You should try to find out:

  • Who are your core readers on a demographic level – age, gender, income level?
  • Where do they buy their books and in which formats?
  • Which influencers do they follow?
  • Which other authors do they like to read? What are some of their favourite books?
  • Where do they get their book news and information?
  • Which book clubs or literary events do they go to, if any?
  • Which social media channels do they prefer?
  • What are their favourite blogs, podcasts, radio shows and so on?

 

Are you a big reader of the kinds of books you write? (You should be!) Thinking about your own answers to these questions is an excellent place to start.

 

It is essential to think about your core readership ahead of the publication of your book, as just like in a publishing house this information should inform key decisions about your book including the cover and book design, the title, the blurb and the pricing.

It’s expensive for an individual to commission a ghostwriter to write a book. This is why usually publishers engage ghostwriters, once they have made an assessment of the likely commercial potential for the work. Ghostwriting rates vary depending on the experience of the ghostwriter, length of the work, whether research and interviews are required, and whether there will be any travel costs and could be anywhere from $10,000 to $150,000 for a book with a famous subject, likely to sell extremely well. 

 
Carefully consider your motivations to engage a ghostwriter, whether you have the budget to pay for one, and whether the publication is intended for commercial publication. 
 
Both the commissioning party and the ghostwriter ought to consider not only the quantum of payment but how the ghostwriter will be paid; an upfront fee, or less typically, a share of royalties? 
 
Also consider attribution: who will be acknowledged as the author of the work? Some “ghosts” are invisible; their purpose is to write for someone else (often a celebrity or a ‘name’). Some “ghosts” are credited  as follows:
 
  • [Established artist’s name] with [your name] OR
  • [Established artist’s name]. As told to [your name]. 
 
You will also need to decide who will own copyright in the work. (Usually, it’s the commissioning party.) 
 
For further information, please see our Ghostwriting Package in our Resources, which includes an information paper and also a sample Ghostwriting Agreement, which you can customise for your circumstances. It’s important to come to an agreement on responsibilities, timeframes, payment and attribution upfront as it avoids misunderstandings later. 
Who controls the rights? If you are approached by a producer, the first thing to check is whether your publishing agreement requires you to refer the inquiry to your publisher for negotiation (and, clearly you will be kept in the loop). It depends on your particular publishing agreement, but please be aware that publishers very often control the film and TV rights in your work.  
 
If you have an agent and your agent represents your work for screen adaptations, then your agent will negotiate with the producer on your behalf. 
 
If neither your publisher nor your agent control the screen rights, then you may negotiate with the producer directly. 
 
Conduct due diligence: After being approached by a producer, we encourage authors to conduct as much due diligence on the producer as possible, to evaluate the experience of the producer and consider whether this production company is the suitable vehicle to adapt your story.
 
Negotiating a film deal: If an author and producer wish to proceed, they negotiate a Film/TV Option and Purchase Agreement. Typically, the author grants the producer an exclusive option for a period of time to acquire film rights. A typical option period is a year, perhaps renewable for another year, in return for the payment of an option fee (often fairly nominal such as $100 or $1,000). 
 
During the “option period”, the producer might commission a scriptwriter, work up a synopsis, film treatment and screenplay, prepare a budget for the film, engage in preliminary casting and, importantly, raise funds. The inability to raise funds is the most common reason film/TV projects fall over. 
 
If, at the end of the option period, the project has the green light, the producer exercises its option over the work and the author assigns (transfers) certain rights to the producer, including the right to adapt the work into a film and communicate the film to the public. In return for this assignment, the producer pays the author:
  • the “purchase price”, which in Australia is commonly around 2.5% of the film budget and can be subject to a minimum floor and a maximum ceiling; and
  • a percentage share of the net profits of the film (which might range from 2% up to 4%). Although, please be aware that many films fail to make a net profit.
 
The Purchase Agreement should also include an obligation on the producer to include an appropriate credit in the film. For example, you might request that a credit be included in the front titles of the film as follows: “Based on an original novel by [author name]”.
 
The ASA suggests to authors that they have their Film Option and Purchase Agreements reviewed by a lawyer (for example via Arts Law) once the producer has provided a draft for your consideration. 

The Inside Scoop: hear directly from an agent, editor, publisher, publicist and bookseller about what they most want from an author

Hear from Alex Adsett, literary agent at Alex Adsett Publishing Services:

 

“The first thing I’m absolutely looking for is an amazing manuscript, but this is closely followed by working out if the author is someone I am going to want to work with in the long term.

 

In a perfect world, I want an author who understands that publishing is business, – and although it is a business driven by a love of stories and big ideas, we do need to approach it professionally. It is a tough industry to get ahead in and writing a brilliant book is just the first step. You only get one shot to make a good first impression with a manuscript, so it is vital that you submit when it is as perfect as it can be.

 

A cover letter needs to be professional, and you need to have checked and followed the submission guidelines of everyone you are querying (yes, the guidelines are often arbitrary, but they are a test you need to pass to get to the next step). If you are going to break the rules, at least be aware of them, and make sure you are breaking them for a good reason.

 

I need authors who will listen to feedback and guidance, but also push back if it doesn’t feel right for them i.e.don’t ignore advice, but don’t follow it blindly either. Keep your agent in the loop of what is happening, and remember we are always here to help.

 

Authors who stand out for me are the ones who are connected within the industry. If I have met you at writing conferences, or book launches, read tweets about books you have loved, or seen you interact within a network of other authors, I know you are committed to building a vibrant and sustainable writing community for us all, and are probably going to be a lovely person to work with.

 

It’s also a long game. Don’t get frustrated at the first rejection (and definitely don’t rant about it on social media). Sometimes a good first no is the start of a great relationship with an agent, publisher or group of writers. The more you build connections within the writing community, the closer you’ll get to publication, and the more fun you’ll have while getting there.”

 

– Alex Adsett, literary agent at Alex Adsett Publishing Services

Hear from Ruby Ashby-Orr, Editor at Affirm Press:

 

“There are three main things I look for in an author. First, obviously, there’s the raw material: a great story and the ability to tell it well.

 

The second thing that makes a prospective author stand out is some interest in publishing as an industry and an awareness that our job as publishers is to use our knowledge to find the book’s audience. We all get into publishing because we love the art of writing, but it’s still a business. Authors who have a vision for how their book will sit in a bookshop (including suggesting similar titles that Australian readers have loved) and how it will connect with an audience always stand out.

 

Finally, I look for a collaborative attitude. I love working closely with authors, and really relish the back-and-forth you can have with an author who’s open and excited to have a team pulling together to get their book out there.

 

My top tip for working with an editor (or anyone in publishing for that matter) is to come at it with that attitude of collaboration. You’re all working together to get this book as strong as it can be so it can reach its audience, and your publishing team have the skills and experience to give it its best chance. Approaching the process with trust and curiosity will make a big difference.”

 

-Ruby Ashby-Orr, Editor at Affirm Press

Hear from Catherine Milne, Publisher at HarperCollins Publishers Australia

 

“What do I want from an author? The answer is possibly too long to be contained within a single paragraph, but let me try. Firstly, I want an author who reads widely in their genre, and is very clear what they’re writing and who their reader is – that clarity of understanding of your market, genre and readership is gold. Ideally, I want an author who has worked hard on their writing; maybe they’ve got one or two starter novels in their bottom drawer and are now confident with the rhythms of narrative, how to layer in story and build characters – they’ve found their voice and they’re committed to what they’re doing. But they’re also the kind of writer who is not precious, who is open to ideas and suggestions, and is happy to be edited – this is important, because publishing is such a collaborative industry. I also love it when an author has already worked out their ‘elevator pitch’ and comparisons – that’s so useful – as that also tells me they know where their book sits in the market. It’s also great when an author is comfortable with social media (although this is not absolutely necessary) and can talk confidently about their writing, and have built themselves a writerly community of support. And I want someone who loves what they write – they’re personally invested in it. They’re not writing because they think ‘this genre is so hot right now’ or ‘this genre will get me published’. The best writing comes from the heart. And the last thing? I want to be surprised. I can’t always tell you specifically what I’m looking for as a publisher, but I know it when I read it. I love more than anything that feeling when I open a manuscript and think, ‘ah, I haven’t seen anything like this before …’ – so I want an author who writes from a place of authentic enjoyment – write what pleases and delights you, and hopefully it will delight us too!”

 

-Catherine Milne, Publisher at HarperCollins Publishers Australia

Hear from Bella Arnott-Hoare, Publicity Manager at Penguin Random House Australia

 

“You’ve made it to the publicity stage! The bright lights, camera, action! Firstly, a hearty congrats. The journey to get here can take a while.

 

To help your publicist there are a few things you can do. Firstly, think about what’s interesting to the media. What are some things you might like to be asked, or that’d make a good story, and how would you answer?

 

What’s your connection to the work, and how will you talk about it? If it’s a memoir – it’s obvious. If it’s non-fiction, why was it a subject for you? If it’s fiction, the kernels of truth are what I find interesting. How can you draw on your experience to bring the characters to life for the audience? Practice your answers.

 

When your publicist is building your schedule, don’t be afraid to reach out to everyone you know. Let them know a book is coming; put it across your social media channels. Let your publicist know who you know. Build your own website.

 

And now, when you’ve made it to the chair, or the studio, remember to breathe, smile, drink water and read your itinerary. Thoroughly. In fact – read it a few times. Be visible on release – pop into bookshops to sign some copies if you can, but make sure to call them first!

 

Be prepared to get calls at the last moment. Be prepared for some early mornings or late nights for a few weeks or more. Remember why you’re doing this. And did I say breathe? Breathe!”

 

-Bella Arnott-Hoare, Publicity Manager at Penguin Random House Australia

Hear from Kate Adams, Manager at Collins Booksellers Thirroul

 

“If you want your book to be prominently displayed in store upon its release, make sure booksellers have access to an advance reading copy. Drop ARCs into your local bookstores and briefly introduce yourself. We love our local authors!

 

Once your book is out in the world, get on the road and meet booksellers far and wide! Be warm and tell us a little bit about your book—but make sure you schedule your meet-and-greet ahead of time. A positive experience with an author makes us much more inclined to recommend their book.

 

If you want your book to stand out from the crowd, don’t take it upon yourself to move it to a prime position in store. We’ll find it, get cranky, and put it back! Be happy to pose for a photo that can be shared on social media, and make sure you share it on your own.

 

Be willing to do events. Always share event details through your online channels, always arrive early, and please be gracious if the crowd is smaller than you hoped—even big-name authors can struggle to draw a crowd!

 

We know you just want your book to sell, but be mindful that independent bookstores may be miffed if they see you urging your followers to buy from major online retailers. If you want your book to be hand-sold by indie booksellers for years to come, encourage your readers to support their local bookstores, where possible. Support us, and we’ll support you.”

 

-Kate Adams, Manager at Collins Booksellers Thirroul

Getting Published

When you have been slaving over your manuscript for a long time, often years, it is impossible to retain the objectivity you need to be able to judge when your work is ready for publication. Your family and friends are not well-placed to make this decision either, as they know how hard you’ve worked so even if they did have reservations, they may not have the heart to be critical.

 

The best step that you can therefore take is to pay to have your work professionally read by an experienced assessor, who will read your manuscript and provide a report that specifies if they consider your work to be at a publishable standard. If it isn’t, but they believe it could be, they will set out what you need to do to increase your chances of success. A good assessor will also be honest, however, if they consider that your work will never meet publishable standard, either because of your topic, your treatment of that topic, or the standard of your writing. If this is their conclusion, of course it is initially devastating, but for many it is preferable to years of publisher rejections. It also gives you the opportunity to change direction on your topic, adjust to a future of writing for pleasure only, or seeking out writing courses that can help you develop your skills.

 

That is why we have opened up our own Manuscript Service. 

 

The cost of an assessment varies according to the length of your work and the level of experience of the assessor, but a 70,000-word novel would typically cost between $1,100 and $1,300. If a provider is quoting you considerably less than this, approach with caution as it takes time to read, review and report on a full-length manuscript.

For more intense and ongoing mentoring to bring your manuscript to a publishable standard, you might be interested in working one-on-one with one of our experienced mentors.

Because of the significant technological advancements in book production and printing over the last 10 years, there are now a plethora of choices available to you when you complete your manuscript. While choice can be good, for many of you, the sheer volume of options can be overwhelming and confusing. The first step in the process, is to understand the differences between the two major pathways to publication.

 

Traditional publishing

The role of the traditional publisher is outlined in the section What does a Publisher do? (see The Publishing Industry tab). In essence, you as the author, sign a contract with the publisher, licencing them your copyright so that they can produce your work in specified formats and markets. The publisher pays all costs, from the editing, design and print costs, through to the costs of selling, marketing and distributing the finished books. While many publishers will consult you on editorial and design issues, ultimately all publishing decisions remain theirs. In return, the publisher pays you a percentage of the revenue that they receive when the book goes on sale, which is usually an agreed percentage based on the retail price of your book.

 

Self-publishing

Self-publishing is an all-encompassing term covering every type of publishing arrangement that doesn’t follow the traditional model. The common principle among these arrangements is that you, as the author, pay for the costs of publication, receiving a greater share of the revenue when a book sells. Depending on the way in which you choose to self-publish, you are likely to be responsible for all the marketing, selling and promotion of your book.

 

There are two broad types of self-publishing:

 

The first is a true DIY model, where you find an editor, designer and printer (if relevant) and create the book yourself. You then load your ebook onto all the major e-retailer sites and provide print copies to a distributor, who will then supply those print books to bricks and mortar stores in return for a percentage of the revenue. You will be responsible for generating sales, and all the marketing and promotion of your book.

 

The second option is where you use a company to produce your book for you, at your expense. These companies use a variety of different descriptors, such as custom publishing, hybrid publishing, partnership publishing or self-publishing services.

 

Some of these companies only produce finished books, but many offer additional services to take your book to market. Ethical companies are transparent about the services they offer and the fees that they charge, but unfortunately there are some companies that use exaggerated claims to entice authors to sign up. It pays to be cautious and thorough in your due diligence before you decide to engage with any of these businesses and to understand exactly which services you’ll be paying for.

 

The different options available to you are set out in our Paths to Publication chart:

 

 

Our table of Australian paths to publication was inspired by Jane Friedman’s Key Book Publishing Paths which summarises the pathways in the US, which you can look at here.

If you have tried every possible path to traditional publishing and failed to place your work, despite a positive, professional assessment, then you may wish to self-publish. You may also decide to self-publish if you work in a genre that supports self-publishing, such as Romance, Science Fiction and Crime. Carefully consider whether you have the time and resources needed to self-publish as you are effectively taking on all the responsibilities of a publisher.

 

It is important to remember that making the book is the (relatively) easy part. There are good publishing services companies and many excellent freelancers, who can help you produce a high-quality print and digital book that will be indistinguishable from a title published traditionally. The challenge lies in discoverability and accessing sales channels: how do people know about your book and where can they buy it?

Once you have self-published a particular manuscript, it is highly unlikely that a traditional publisher will ever re-publish it.

 

Although there are many reasons for this, the primary problem is that a book is only new when it is released for the first time. That’s when reviews are most likely and sales are at their strongest. If you self-publish your work, and your sales are low, a publisher will consider the work market-tested and won’t want to invest in a book that hasn’t performed. Publishers also want to be the exclusive supplier for a book, so that they can control the way in which it is produced and marketed. If there is a self-published version available, the positioning of the book, including cover and blurb, have already been established and it can be difficult for a publisher to re-position the title. Even though a book can be withdrawn from the market, it is likely that the eBook will be available on many different platforms and it is difficult and time consuming to ensure that a work has been removed from sale on every site, which undermines that publisher’s exclusivity and raises the potential for confusion in the market.

 

Of course there are exceptions to this, as a small number of self-published authors have been successfully re-published by a traditional publisher, but they are rare. This happens when sales indicate that interest is high, but the commercial potential has not yet been realised, or a current event has re-ignited interest in the subject matter of the self-published work, again resulting in unrealised commercial potential, or where a publisher has successfully published an author’s work and turns to their self-published backlist to see if there are any titles that could genuinely be given another chance off the back of strong new title sales.

 

This is why, at the outset, for each manuscript you must be certain about whether you want to self-publish or traditionally publish. If you are hoping for a publisher, try the traditional path first because, once you’ve self-published, your book will no longer be considered new and it is extremely unlikely that it will hold any appeal for any publisher, who will always have hundreds of fresh new manuscripts to consider.

If I decide to publish traditionally:

Finding the right publisher for your work is a similar process to finding the right literary agent, but even more important because you only have one chance to impress a publisher and if you blow it you have eliminated one of your potential publishing partners.

 

By the time they type The End, after multiple drafts and hours of editing, many authors have spent so long writing their book that all they want is to see it published as quickly as possible. While this is understandable, rushing in too quickly often ends in tears. Sending a mass market fiction title to a literary publisher is a waste of time so make sure you research publishers carefully and decide which ones are the best fit for your work:

 

  • Read the ASA Guide to the Book Industry for a list of Australian publishers and what they publish, with links to their submission guidelines
  • Look at your own bookshelves as you are likely to read within your own genre and may start to see a pattern in the publishers you have unintentionally been supporting
  • Roam your local bookshop and note which publishers are dominant in your category
  • Check out the lists of award winners in major prizes, as publishers are likely to feature in their specialist areas
  • Read review coverage and talk to authors working in your genre

 

Draw up a shortlist of the publishers that you believe are most likely to be drawn to your writing and then focus on putting together a very strong submission.

There are many excellent resources available on the preparation of a good submission, a list of which are provided below, but there are some basic rules that cover them all:

 

1. Purpose: The purpose of a submission is not to provide a lengthy summation of your plot, but to engage the publisher’s interest in your work, and present a sound business case for publication:

 

  • How your book stands out in the market (competitive analysis)
  • The size and accessibility of the target market
  • Your credentials as a writer
  • An example of your writing, to demonstrate that you can write at a publishable standard
  • An overview of the way in which your work addresses the needs of the target market (a comprehensive outline of the content)

 

While this is easier to achieve with non-fiction than fiction, it is just as important that you show you understand your market and how your novel can be presented to that audience to generate sales.

 

2. Attention to Detail. Unbelievable though it may seem, it is staggering how many authors submit their work with mistakes including poor grammar and spelling errors. It would be hard to think of an easier way for the publisher to reject your proposal, so be careful. Check your submission and read over your cover letter thoroughly. If you haven’t taken the time to get your submission up to standard, there is no way that a publisher is going to consider investing thousands of dollars in producing your book.

 

3. Submission Requirements. Every publisher will have a Submissions section on their website, where they will itemise exactly what they want to receive in a submission and when they want to receive it. Observe these instructions to the letter. It’s time consuming to have to prepare a different submission for each publisher, but that is precisely what you have to do if you are to have any chance of your work being considered. Just remember that the slush pile is large and the person in charge of vetting the submissions is looking for easy ways to reduce that pile. Submissions that fail to conform to the clearly specified requirements, are the first to be rejected, without anyone having read a word.

 

4. Personalisation. Wherever you can, try and personalise your submission to a specific imprint or person, depending on the size of the publisher. Every imprint will have its own flavour, reflecting the taste of the person acquiring the list, so if you can compare your work to books with which the publisher has had past success, you improve your chances of your work being read. A well-considered cover letter is another way in which you can help make your submission stand out from the crowd.

 

The Don’ts:

 

Here are some warnings which will sound harsh, but we have your best interests at heart! Resist the temptation to include any of the following, especially in the opening sentences of your letter – not only will they not help, but you also run the risk that your submission will be summarily dismissed:

 

  1. That you have spent X number of years writing your book: your problem
  2. That becoming a published author is your dream: irrelevant to the publisher
  3. That you are a great writer, and they will be sorry if they miss out: red rag
  4. That securing a publisher fits your dream: but not theirs
  5. That your best friend/mother thinks you are a genius: utterly irrelevant

 

Resources:

 

The ASA runs a regular course on the best way to pitch your work to a publisher, both in writing and in person, entitled Pitch Perfect. It generally takes place a few weeks in advance of a Literary Speed Dating event and is designed to help writers to present their work effectively.

 

Jane Friedman is a very experienced publishing professional with a website and blog that contains some excellent resources for writers: How to write a book proposal

 

Reedsy is another publishing blog with helpful information on this subject: How to write a book proposal

Unfortunately, this is the hard part, as once you have submitted your manuscript, all you can do is wait. Since it is not uncommon for publishers to take months to respond to unsolicited manuscripts, this waiting period can seem endless. Many publishers will at least advise their turnaround time in their guidelines, so it is wise to always make a diary note of when you submitted to each publisher and when you might expect to have an answer, bearing in mind that some publishers will only contact you if they have further interest in your work.

 

Despite the fact that this waiting seems interminable, however, resist the urge to follow up with the publisher until their nominated time has elapsed. Early contact won’t speed up the process, but it can run the risk of being seen as an annoyance, which won’t help your chances of publication. If you still have heard nothing by the end of the period that the publisher gave as their response time, then a courteous phone call or email requesting a new assessment date is certainly acceptable.

Because of these long waiting times, you really have no choice but to submit your proposal to more than one publisher at a time. Publishers can be sensitive about multiple submissions, however, so it is best to limit the number of publishers to three or four at the most, at any one time. You don’t have to mention this in your cover letter, but if one of those publishers expresses interest in your work, the protocol changes. If the interested publisher asks you if you’ve submitted elsewhere of course you confirm this, but even if they don’t ask, it would be best to say that you have a submission in with other publishers. You should then follow up with those other publishers with a polite email saying that there is interest in your work, and you would be grateful if they could respond to your submission. Knowing that there is interest from one of their competitors will pique the interest of the other publishers and it is more than likely that your work will rise to the top of their slush piles.

Like any business partnership, a strong publishing relationship is based on:

 

  • Mutual respect: valuing the skills of the other party
  • Professionalism: do what you said you’d do when you said you’d do it
  • A shared goal: producing and selling a successful book

 

Author

 

If you are in the fortunate position of having several publishers interested in your work, it is important to assess:

 

  • The quality of a publisher’s publications
  • Their track record in marketing and supporting their books on publication
  • The profile of their books in the market
  • Their reputation among authors
  • The intangibles: do you like the people you will be working with? Do you trust their judgement? Do you feel comfortable with their plans for your book?
  • The detail of their offer, including the advance and royalties. (The size of the advance often becomes the sole focus of the deliberations, and this can be a mistake. In the end, the advance is only an early payment of royalties earned.)

 

If you are not in the fortunate position of having a choice, it is still important to do your homework and to be comfortable with the relationship. You are going to be working together for at least a couple of years and if alarm bells are ringing in the early stages of negotiations, it is likely that the situation is going to deteriorate, not improve, as the stress of deadlines kick in.

 

So, trust your instincts, as a badly published book that does not sell is not going to help you build your writing career.

 

Publisher

 

The publisher is also looking for a good relationship with you as their author as they want the revenue from sales of a book to exceed the costs of production and distribution. Factors that they will be considering outside the actual manuscript will be:

 

  • Your platform. As the number of books being published continues to increase, discoverability is becoming increasingly difficult, even for a well-established publisher. This is leading to greater focus on an author’s ability to support their book once it is published. Depending on the genre, this can include blogs, social media, workshops, events and everything in between.
  • Your credibility. This is where your track record, either as a published author or as an expert in your field, will be important.
  • Your future publishing potential. It takes time, effort and resources for a publisher to market a book effectively and they are going to be much more interested in making this level of commitment if they know that you have the interest and capability to write future titles. Obviously, this is less important if they see significant sales potential in your current work.
  • Ideally, a publisher would prefer you to continue to write in the same genre as this makes it easier for them to build you as a brand.

 

It is important, however, that you don’t pretend to have certain skills or experience because you know that’s what the publisher wants to hear. You won’t be able to fake it forever and you’ll only sour your relationship when they realise that you don’t know your Instagram from your TikTok. So, own up to gaps if they exist, but demonstrate your willingness to learn and take direction.

 

Who gets to decide what?

 

There are many advantages in having a traditional publishing relationship, which include the fact that the financial risk is assumed by the publisher and the fact that they will generally have had many years’ experience in successfully producing, selling, and marketing authors’ work.

 

But be aware that the publisher will have total control over the publishing process. While you will be able to discuss the proposed changes in your work with your editor and have some input into the look and feel of your finished book, the degree to which the publisher will involve you, and more importantly, listen to you, varies significantly particularly if you are a first-time author. It isn’t easy to work out which battles are worth fighting, so you need to navigate this carefully to ensure that you don’t articulate every tiny quibble. It’s also important that you acknowledge that the publisher will know a great deal more about the art of producing a book than you do. But if there is an issue that seriously impacts on your vision for your book, then you should raise the issue calmly and give your reasons clearly as you are the author and it is your creative work.

If I decide to self-publish:

The very first thing to do when considering self-publishing is to understand your motivations and goals for publication, as this should inform all of the decisions you make about your book.

 

If your motivation to publish is personal (for example you’d like to publish a family memoir to give to family and friends) your decisions on print run, design, editing and more will be different to someone whose motivation is commercial.

 

If your goals are commercial, right from the outset you should know whether there’s a market for your book and know your readership well: where do they shop for books? What kinds of cover designs are popular with readers of your genre? In which format do they read? The answers to these questions and more, should guide the decisions you make for publication.

 

Once you have determined your goals, your next task is to think about how to turn your manuscript into a finished book. You can do this in one of two ways:

 

Option A: The DIY route, where you source your own editor and designer to produce print ready and ebook files.

 

This option allows you to control the costs, quality and timeline of the publication, by using some of the many good freelance editors and designers who have the skills and experience to create a book that is of the same standard as a traditional publisher. Editors and designers both have professional associations, which are an excellent place to start searching for experienced help with your book.

 

Institute of Professional Editors

Australian Book Designers Association

 

Quality publishing is a skill and without any experience it can be difficult to know how to even brief an editor, designer and printer. This means that many authors tend not to take this route, finding it both daunting and time consuming.

 

Option B: Engage a publishing services business, which will produce the book on your behalf.

 

As self-publishing increases, so too do the businesses that service this area of publishing. Indeed, there are now so many providers offering such a broad spectrum of services that choosing the right business for you can be both complicated and risky. It’s always important to remember that unlike traditional publishers who only make money if a book sells, publishing services businesses make their money up-front from invoicing you as the author, for the services they have provided. They therefore have little to no vested interest in the levels of sales that your book generates.

 

While there are many variations, service providers fall into some broad categories:

 

  • Traditional publishers who set up a publishing services offer on the side, where they can test books in the marketplace without risk and then can offer to bring across the most successful titles into their mainstream business
  • Traditional publishers who ask for partial funding from the author, often by way of a commitment to purchase an agreed number of books to underwrite the print run
  • Publishing services companies that transparently set out the services they provide and the costs of each of those services. They do not require authors to sign a publishing contract, just a simple service agreement itemising the services, costs and payment terms
  • Publishing services businesses which call themselves hybrid publishers, contributory publishers, joint venture publishers, or partnership publishers. While these companies are charging fees for services, in other respects some may try to present themselves much like a traditional publisher. They issue an author contract, often including the exclusive licencing of copyright worldwide, which is usually inappropriate in a fee-for-service arrangement and their claims about their sales and distribution capacity can be opaque or exaggerated.

 

As your financial risk rises, your scrutiny also needs to increase. Read on for some warning signs that can help you make a safer decision.

  • Anonymity: many sites claim to have a team of highly experienced publishing professionals but none of these professionals are named and their qualifications and experience are not listed. This is a warning sign as a reputable site will generally be only too pleased to highlight their publishing credentials
  • A sub-standard website: why would you want to produce a book with a business that hasn’t taken the time to fix the poor spelling and grammar on their own website?
  • Lack of transparency: if the services on offer and the fees for those services are not clearly stated on a company’s website (or easily obtained), proceed with caution as a reputable services company will have no problem being transparent about their offer
  • Solicitation: if the company has initiated contact or is hounding you, be very wary as traditional publishers and ethical publishing services businesses have no need to “cold call” to attract clients
  • Extravagant or unsubstantiated claims: the range of these is broad but includes claims about ‘worldwide sales’, ‘international marketing reach’ and so forth, in circumstances where the reality is that your book is simply listed on databases. Including your title on a database which is accessible by many booksellers in various countries is a world away from being internationally stocked in bookstores! Unless the business has their own sales and marketing team, it is worth interrogating extravagant claims
  • Appropriation of the term Publisher: many problematic service companies describe themselves as a publisher and use many publishing terms and conditions that are inappropriate when the author is paying for all the costs of making and selling their book. It is difficult to list all these terms here, but one fundamental is to remember that a services business has no need to exclusively control your copyright. If they want to do this, then extra caution is required. Overall, the ASA recommends that you seek independent advice if you are uncertain about any agreement you are asked to sign, or in relation to any agreement which requires you to pay substantial sums.

The key to choosing the right supplier for you, is to research carefully, read between the lines and take sensible steps to protect yourself. Cynicism is your friend. If an offer seems too good to be true, the chances are that it IS too good to be true. Ask questions if there are terms or conditions that are vague or difficult to understand and if you fail to get a satisfactory answer, RUN. The ASA encourages authors to:

 

  • Request a detailed quote for the services that you are being offered
  • Ask for a copy of the company’s standard agreement
  • Get two to three quotes from different companies before you make your decision
  • Seek expert advice before signing. Authors Legal‘s contract review service is an invaluable opportunity to have any author agreement reviewed legally and against commercial industry terms
  • Read online reviews of the company concerned. If a company is behaving badly towards authors, it won’t take you long to discover warnings posted by other authors.
  • There are also websites and blogs set up to alert prospective authors of the risks of vanity presses and companies that use high-pressure sales tactics. A couple of the most well-known are an American site called Writer Beware, and the Alliance of Independent Authors’ rating of self-publishing companies.

If you are prepared to do your research and fund production, you can make a high-quality book that will be the same standard as a title published traditionally, but unfortunately, there are still two major hurdles to overcome:

Channels to market:How do you reach the person who will buy your book?
Discoverability:How does that person know that your book is available?

 

 

Digital Channels to Market: In the digital world, access to market is relatively straightforward as there are a set number of standard file formats for ebooks and a fixed number of major online retailers. If you feel comfortable in the digital environment, you can load your ebooks onto those retail sites yourself and manage the process from there. If you don’t feel qualified to do this, there are a number of options where companies will format your files and make them available on all the major retail sites for a fee. These businesses include:

Ingram Spark

Lulu

Draft2Digital

Print Channels to Market: Accessing bricks and mortar bookshops, however, is considerably more difficult. Some bookshops will stock self-published titles from local authors, but many have had negative experiences with unprofessional or disorganised authors and will no longer accept books directly from the author. If you happen to have a good relationship with your local bookshops, you could be one of the lucky ones, but you need to understand what is involved:

  • The shop will want to take the books on consignment, which means they won’t pay you for a book until it has been sold. The risk therefore rests with you as the author
  • The bookseller will pay on average 45% discount off the retail price excluding GST. So, if your book is $29.95, that is $27.23 excluding GST, so the bookshop would pay you $14.97. This will not provide much margin if you have an expensive short-run print cost
  • They will expect you to deliver the stock, supply them with a tax invoice and collect any unsold copies. It is important that you undertake these tasks in a timely and professional manner, or they may not consider stocking your book in the future
  • The bookstore is not responsible for the marketing and promotion of your book – you should be actively promoting your title and the stories in which it is stocked

 

Even if you can access your local shops, the scale of your distribution will be tiny. To be able to access stores throughout Australia, you need to have a book distributor. These companies have a sales team (usually freelance reps on commission) and a warehouse and they handle the sales and invoicing into the bookshops, the receipt and storage of stock from the printer, delivery of the stock, and credit control. They charge somewhere around 70-75% of net revenue for these services. There are currently very few distributors prepared to represent individual authors, which is why the ASA has negotiated an arrangement with John Reed Books as a way for members to access print distribution. You can find out more about this service here, or a list of other distributors in the ASA Guide to the Australian Book Industry.

 

Discoverability: The other significant challenge for independent authors is how you build awareness of your book in the market. The answer is to prepare effective and realistic marketing and publicity campaigns, and to do that you must know your readership:

  • what publications do they read?
  • Where do they get their book news?
  • Which book retailers do they use?
  • Which influencers do they follow?

 

The more you know about your readers, the more efficiently you can market your book to them.

 

It is important that you prepare your marketing and publicity plans ahead of the publication of your book. Do not wait until after your book is published to think about promoting it – the first three months of a book’s shelf life are critical for building sales momentum!

 

For more information about marketing and publicity see What do I need to know about marketing and promotion? (under The Publishing Industry tab).

It is difficult for you to assess the fairness of the quotes that you receive without some benchmark costs, but these vary widely depending on the length of your manuscript, the standard of your manuscript, the level of skill and experience of the person/s working on your book and the result that you are seeking. If you want to achieve a high-quality book that is of the same standard as one produced by a traditional publisher, some indicative costs, assuming a text-only title of 75,000 words, would be:

 

Editing:$1,000 – $2,000+, depending on the amount of work needed
Proof-reading:$600
Cover Design:$1,000 -$2,000+
Layout Files:$750
TOTAL:Between $3,350 and $5,350 +

 

NB. This cost does not include the cost of printing, sales, marketing, or distribution

 

Publishing services company rates will vary widely from $250 at the low end, up to the “gold” package levels of $10,000 and beyond, but often the more expensive packages simply include more print copies of your book, not a higher standard of editorial and design. In book production, you generally do get what you pay for and if a company is offering to produce your book for a few hundred dollars there will be no meaningful editing or design and the cover will be a template with your title dropped in. The result will be a poorly produced book with little market appeal.

 

Printing costs also vary significantly, depending on format, page extent, binding and whether or not it is black and white or colour. To give you a benchmark, if you printed 100 copies of your 70,000-word book as a trade paperback (the size of a standard hardback novel), with 192 pages and a full colour cover with matte lamination, it would cost you somewhere between $7.00 and $8.00 per book.

 

One of the major reasons given in support of self-publishing is greater return to the author compared with the traditional path, and on the surface of it that seems accurate. In a traditional publishing arrangement, the author gets a standard royalty of 10% of the retail price, whereas in self-publishing, the author is acting as publisher and therefore receives the publisher’s margin. The problem is that this assumption does not take into account the number of copies sold. Despite all the stories you read about self-published books that sell millions of copies, the reality is that self-published titles are estimated to have average lifetime sales of 250 copies, although it is difficult to confirm this with accurate data, as there is very little research into self-publishing in Australia. A huge challenge for self-published books is discoverability in the market.

 

If we therefore continue our example and you print your 100 copies, at a cost of $750, then you add your production costs of perhaps $3,500, you will have spent just under $4,250. If you sell all 100 copies at $15.00 per unit, you will recover $1,500 of the money you have spent. If you sell those copies at full retail, through your website for instance, you will receive revenue of about $3,000. You will need to sell more than 200 copies of your book to recover all your costs, depending on where you sell them. If you use a distributor taking 75% of the bookseller revenue, you will need to sell about 1,000 copies to cover your costs.

 

This is the reason that so many people cut costs on their production, by editing the book and designing the cover themselves. While this certainly saves money, it can make a cheap-looking and unattractive book that will be very much more difficult to sell.

 

Hence, we come full circle. Self-publishing works well when you either have an established audience for your book, or you have the time and skills to provide extensive sales and marketing support to build that community.