The Publishing World is Vast

Traditional Majors:

In past years, these giants were the backbone of the industry. Dedicated to the printed word. Lovers of books. Patrons of their authors. Unfortunately, today that has changed. As these companies have been swallowed up by huge conglomerates, their dedication has shifted to the bottom line, and that pretty much means a closed door to newcomers and even to many authors who have been previously published. Save your time and effort and try elsewhere unless your book is truly unique.

Indie Publishers:

Estimates run as high as 80,000 independent houses in operation today. These range from tiny one-book publishers to highly successful small companies with placements on Best Seller lists. Generally, these indies are far more supportive of their authors and actively welcome newcomers to bring fresh, undiscovered talent into the industry. Many literary agents now work closely with indies, although the majority of houses do not require an author to retain an agent in order to submit a manuscript.

Publishing on Demand (POD):

Relative newcomers to the publishing scene, these houses can be a great blessing to first-time authors. For a relatively modest production fee up front, they will perform all of the pre-publication services necessary to produce your book. These include creating a cover, formatting the interior text, obtaining an ISBN and Library of Congress Certification, printing your book and placing it with a major distributor. The cost to do all this yourself can run into thousands of dollars. The POD house offers you a personal discount on books you buy for your own use. These really are businesses, not publishing houses. They vary in quality. So just be cautious and study the contract carefully before you sign up.

Self-Publishing:

Growing at a healthy pace, this approach is being adopted by many experienced authors. It does mean that you will have to accomplish each of the pre-publication tasks that were outlined above in the POD section, and therefore requires an upfront expenditure. In return, every penny of profit goes directly into your pocket. I recommend this approach only when you are savvy about the publishing industry.

Publishing an E-book:

Every day, this new digital technology grows in popularity, spurred by the invention of a variety of digital readers. The e-book industry posts annual growth in the area of 150% that has continued into 2010 with each month showing these remarkable results. The technology requires specific formatting for many of the readers currently on the market. That creates a serious problem for authors who want to format their books themselves. However companies like Smashwords are available to take a Word document and convert it to a variety of formats to fit all of the most popular readers.

About the Author:

Charles Jacobs' writing has been honored with numerous awards from the Society of Professional Journalists, Working Press Association, Garden State Journalists Association, Florida Publishers Association and the North American Travel Writers Association. Visit his website at www.wisewriter.com

Article reprinted with permission from www.wisewriter.com

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