Publishing advice

So, you want to write a book? Already have a manuscript? Now what? Find a publisher, of course. First, though, a little homework.

Who would actually want your book and pay for it? That’s harder than it sounds—I get emails that answer this question with “well, everyone who loves Disney!” No, actually not. People need to connect with a book topic in order to get intrigued enough to check it out, let alone buy it. Let’s take Disney as an example. There are millions of Disney fans, but often when they’re shopping for a book it’s to help them plan their next vacation. Does yours help with that? Or solve some other problem or need they have? Is there another button you can push, like an emotional connection? Knowing your potential audience is crucial. The majority of books don’t ever recoup their expenses, meaning they never make money. The same is true for records and other creative products. So be brutal, ask the hard questions, and determine whether you really do have something unique that people will want.

Look at similar books to see how they approach their subjects. How is yours different? What’s your angle? Again, the key is targeting a need or point of interest that will connect in a way that gives readers a clear reason why they should buy your book.

If you get to the point where you’re convinced you’ve cracked the code, your next step is to convince a publisher. Package all of this research and write a clear, concise pitch that doesn’t just describe what your book is about, but provides reasons why the publisher should take a chance on you. It costs quite a bit to turn a manuscript into a finished product, so understand they have to be cautious and discerning when selecting new projects. It’s nothing personal; agreeing to produce a book that nobody wants not only affects them, but also is a colossal waste of your time. And even if you land a contract, there are no guarantees. Nobody can predict if a product will connect with buyers.

Industry Professionals

If you are an experienced professional, you have years of expertise to share with others. You’re also probably looking to build your own brand—garner speaking engagements, invitations to panel discussions, and so on. You’ll invest in several components as part of the process, and having a book of your own is a powerful tool. It demonstrates credibility in the field and often is of more value for this over making any money from selling it. Of course you can sell them too, everywhere you go and on your site.

Some of you have particular knowledge that is invaluable for sharing with future generations—students in school wanting to be you someday. So it’s possible your book could be adopted by faculty for their classes.

Academic authors

There are a few reasons educators want to publish a book: to get tenure, to share your research and experience, to bolster your credentials and credibility, and maybe make a few coins along the way. First, you’re almost certainly not going to retire off the earnings from your book. The market share is too small for niche subjects, so just be aware of that going in. 

All academics think their field of research is the most amazing, life-changing thing ever seen. I hate to break it to you, but most people really don’t care. When I advise graduate students on their thesis projects, my first question to them is “So what?” Why would anybody care about your subject, let alone pay for a copy? Academic journals and bookshelves are too full of esoteric topics that sometimes add to the body of literature (and could be legit for that reason), but are otherwise not interesting, not helpful, and not really worth the trouble. Sorry to burst your bubble, but I’ve lived in this world for decades and it’s funny at times. I’ve always tried to produce work that was practical and helpful for people, connecting my research and experience in ways that enable, improve, and inspire. 

Approach this from the other end—instead of thinking about what you love and want to work on, consider what types of resources would be useful for learners in the field. Is there some aspect of what you know and do that can help students on their journey to becoming professionals? The best angle for non-fiction books is to solve a problem for readers—so provide solutions to students, how-to, and why. Not just “about” stuff.

Finding a publisher

Once you’re convinced you do indeed have a manuscript (or outline) of an idea that could potentially work, start looking around for publishers that travel in your lane. All of them focus on particular genres or subjects. Larger publishing companies have multiple imprints, meaning divisions of the company that each focus on specific areas. Look on your own bookshelf and see where similar titles were produced. Do an Amazon search. Talk to colleagues in your field. The best situation is to know other people who’ve worked with a publisher, so you can ask them directly about their experience. 

Look at the quality of their work. Are their books well-edited, or full of typos? (There are always a few, so be reasonable.) Is the design well-done? A great cover? 

It’s not about getting a contract. It’s about working collaboratively on a project for a long time with a shared goal of producing something amazing. If you don’t get those vibes from a potential publisher, keep walking. 

Academic publishing

Is your book geared specifically toward the education market, or could it be popular with the general public? If the latter, you probably want to go with a regular “trade” publisher. If it’s very education or discipline-specific, then it probably won’t sell beyond the ivy walls and trade publishers won’t be interested. Look for presses that specialize in a certain field or discipline, or consider a university press.

University presses exist to support and promote academic work. They’re non-profit, but they still have to justify the expense of putting a book into the marketplace (back to the “so what?” discussion earlier). They have extensive peer review processes to ensure quality, and their main advantage for academics is the prestige they can offer. But if they don’t know your particular field or discipline, it might not be a good fit. Royalties are generally not great with these presses; see my notes about this lower down the page. My main beef with textbook publishers is that in too many cases the price tag is outrageous. $100 or more for a book? $200? And a book that nobody other than students who have no choice will ever buy? Sorry for being brutally honest, but that drives me crazy. 

Rivershore Press has a niche in the themed experience design field; we have a conduit into this academic and professional community. We can connect authors to potential users (faculty who adopt books for class) and readers more directly than other publishers. You can find examples of this in other fields, so again, it comes down to doing lots of research to uncover potential options for your project.

Publishing options

The book publishing industry is interesting in that some things never seem to change (but ought to). Other aspects have undergone significant revolution in recent years, most notably in the types of publishing arrangements and agreements that you’ll see. Here’s a very brief rundown:

Traditional publishing: The contract will typically specify a percentage of retail price for royalties, usually between 7 and 10% for paperback and hardcovers. The publisher covers all expenses for producing the book and handles distribution. You might get an advance, but if you do it’ll be really small unless you’re a celebrity or something. They might help out with marketing, though much is often expected of the author to do themselves. So don’t expect to get a big check and sit back to watch the sales roll in. Traditional deals can come from large or small presses, so it’s not the size of the company but the approach they take with authors. Remember, though, that the publisher in these situations is investing their resources in the hopes your book will sell enough to break even (most don’t, actually). And so contracts are always designed to protect them while being fair to authors. They will own your book, claim all rights to derivative works (audiobooks, film, workbooks, whatever), and maintain creative control throughout. Can’t stand the thought of this? Read on…

Hybrid publishing: This term means a lot of different things, so you have to do your homework. Some hybrid companies are quite good, the main concept being that the author invests in the project financially. In some cases it’s a split venture, and so the various terms need to be balanced to reward both parties. Some self-proclaimed hybrids are evil vultures, charging a never-ending list of fees and gotchas that add up to a tremendous amount of money. Sometimes you’re required to buy large quantities of your own book. Some of these items can be legit, such as paying a reasonable amount for editing or whatnot. Go to writerbeware.blog to see reports of scammers.

Some hybrids are set up as a service provider rather than traditional publisher. Authors pay for a package, which includes copy editing, proofing, cover design, page layout and so on. If the manuscript requires more in-depth writing development then that usually requires a more expensive package. Once the book is done it gets handed over to the author to do whatever they like with it. All legal rights remain with the author (as opposed to licensed to the publisher, such as with traditional agreements). Some hybrids offer to put the book into retail and distribution for a small slice of sales income. This approach can work very well for some people. For example, if you’re a professional and are looking for ways to indicate legitimacy and expertise in your field, a book is a powerful tool—often just having a book generates other opportunities worth more than any sales income from the book itself. A friend of mine got a couple of speaking engagements once his book was published and they paid for the entire publishing package. And then there are people who just want to have their book out there; maybe it sells, maybe not so much, but you’ve accomplished a significant personal goal. So it depends. Prices are relatively steep, but you need to understand it’s expensive to produce a high quality book. Various professionals are involved, from designers, graphic artists, editors, and so on. You get what you pay for.

Self-publishing: You do everything yourself. Can it be done? Yes, if. If you know how to write and edit. If you know how to determine if a book is marketable. If you know how to design and do page layout. If you know how to design a good cover. If you know how to get the book into distribution. If you have time to do all of this. And a few other ifs. There are very successful self-publishing authors out there, but they’ve been learning their trade for awhile. Most self-published books look cheap and homemade, so my advice is to find someone to work with who can do it right.

Royalties

Historically, book royalties have been based on a percentage of retail price. So, for a hardcover new release you might make up to 10% of retail. Paperbacks are usually around 7%. Beware, as an increasing number of publishers are offering contracts based on this same percentage of “net receipts” or some similar language. This is terrible, as by the time a net amount is determined, that so-called 10% is nowhere close to a cut of retail price. If net receipts is the basis for an agreement, then a much higher percentage should be stipulated. Now, models are changing these days, with academic and independent presses moving away from the percentage of retail. That doesn’t have to be a bad thing, but it’s all in the wording.

Finding an audience / spreading the word

We warned earlier that you need to ensure there’s a group of people who would be likely to buy your book. For academics, that sometimes means requiring the book for classes. Ok, but make sure it is a good fit for your students. Reach out to your network to find other faculty who would consider adopting it for their classes; get feedback from them on early drafts. Speak at conferences as much as possible, not to sell the book, but to make yourself known in the community. Post engaging articles on LinkedIn or Substack. Use content marketing to your advantage, meaning write about your subject and discipline as an expert in the field—not making sales pitches. As an established authority, people will take you more seriously and be interested in what you have to offer. The more name recognition you have the more people will follow your work and consider your book.

Other book production notes

You need a well-written manuscript

Most experts are not writers. But you can’t simply send a poorly-organized, badly-written document to a publisher and say “sell this.” Find or hire a developmental editor to help whip it into shape. Copy editing and proofing will come later, but you can’t expect the publisher to write your book for you. This will cost you money, but you have no choice.

Creative control

When you sign with a traditional publisher, you’re going to give up creative control over the project. They will often just assign a cover design, send you the final version of the manuscript whether you like it or not, even select a title for the book. Many will try to work with you, but they have ultimate say. Always. After all, it’s their money and they know the business.

If you have a deal where you’re paying a package fee in exchange for them making you a book, then you should own everything afterwards and maintain creative control throughout. After all, it’s your book and you’re paying them to do what you want. Now, you should listen to their advice and direction since they know more than you about all this stuff.

At any rate, try to find a publisher you feel good about and believe you can work well with. 

Using copyrighted materials

Authors are always responsible for getting permission to use copyrighted materials, such as images, in your book. So yes, you have to pay any required fees. 

How will it be printed?

In many cases, first-run printings will be done through a printer, meaning an order will be placed for x-amount of books. These have to be manufactured, shipped, and stored in inventory, then distributed for wholesale and retail sales. This makes sense in some cases. For others it’s far more advisable and appropriate to set it up as a print-on-demand product. Advantages include no large up-front investment, which lowers risk, it can be more widely available for far less expense, and it’s better environmentally since no unsold copies get pulped (destroyed). Most titles by academic presses, paperbacks by traditional presses, and nearly all non-first run printings are print-on-demand these days and they look great—as long as the publisher does a good job designing it. (See our point about selecting a quality publisher above.) 

Of course, some titles work really well in eBook format as well. If it’s primarily text, it’s a candidate for an eBook. Others can be done, but with certain limitations. eBooks are great in that there is nearly no environmental impact, you can take and save notes, search for content, and take them anywhere with you.