How to Publish a Book, Novel or Series: Writer's Solution Series, #1

By Sandra Haven

"How to Publish a Book, Novel, or Series" is book 1 in the Writer's Solution Series, and provides over 130 pages of specifics that can help you effectively publish your book. It includes what you need to know and what to avoid to understand the publishing process:

- Finding your niche in the reading world

- Steps to traditional publishing

- How to attract/find an agent

- The advantages of small presses

- The freedoms and burdens of self-publishing

- Secrets behind the successful Indie author

- Your iBook, Kobo, Barnes & Noble, Google Play, and Kindle publishing options (and more!)

- Understanding copyrights and ISBNs

- Determining how to have your books printed Print-on-demand options

- What digital formats are all about

- Your choices in book distributors and outlets

- What e-book aggregators, like Smashwords and Draft2Digital, can do for you

- How to price your print or e-book

- Understanding hybrid and co-op publishing options 

"How to Publish a Book, Novel, or Series" includes links and resources to successfully follow whichever specific path to publication that you choose. Make the best decision that fits your budget, time, and preferences with this book's guidance.

All the necessary detailed information required to make an informed decision on publishing is provided in this book. Additionally, a companion workbook, "How to Publish Workbook," is also available for FREE for those who wish forms to use as they make their decisions.

Take that next crucial step in getting YOUR book published. Order "How to Publish a Book, Novel, or Series" today1

• Language: English
• Publisher: Bristol Services Intl.
• Release date: Nov 23, 2018
• ISBN: 9780965135849

Sandra Haven

Sandra Haven is a Developmental Editor who has spent the last couple decades helping writers turn their dreams into reality, their stories into books, and their books into series. From self-published writers to authors with traditional publishing contracts with the Big Five publishers, her joy has been seeing others express themselves and succeed in sharing their words. As Senior Editor for the in-print magazine Writer's Intl. Forum, Sandra was instrumental in helping authors world-wide become more successful in their writing endeavors. The magazine was recognized in Writer's Digest as one of its Top 50 Fiction Markets for three consecutive years. Her article "The Writer's Secret Weapon" was featured in the "Novel & Short Story Writer's Market" published by Writer's Digest, and she was profiled as a leading editor for inspiring young writers in their "Market Guide for Young Writers." Her personal writing has been published in the United States and Europe--from short fiction to human interest articles, and from mainstream to genre, including humor, mystery, romance, satire and science fiction. Today she provides developmental editorial services for fiction and memoir writers from around the world as well as serving as a freelance editor for book publishers. The bottom line is that every day for years she has answered questions, made suggestions, and acted as a writing coach to writers. She now shares that expertise in how to write, how to publish, and how to touch readers in her “Writer’s Solutions Series” books.  Claim your free PDF “Writing Master Keys” and get an email whenever she releases a new title by going to https://haven4writers.com/keys (just copy and paste into your browser).

Book preview

Introduction

All You Need to Know About Me

Here’s all you need to know about me: I’ve been a developmental editor for over 20 years. If you want more than that, check out my website at www.haven4writers.com to see my background, endorsements, etc.

I’m pleased to work as a freelance developmental editor for traditionally published authors contracted with large publishing houses and equally pleased helping my private clients who go the self-publishing route. I have seen writers publish in many different ways, and I know the questions they’ve needed to have answered.

Why I Wrote This Book

I’VE HELPED WRITERS hone, clarify, and strengthen their stories. When we are finished working together to get the book written, they all ask, What now? Each writer’s needs and goals are different, and the best path for each one may be very different as well.

Every approach involves potential fees, time, and/or effort and how much of each varies tremendously. This book gives you the insight and facts you need to sort through the clutter and find your path.

I realized the best help I can offer writers is to compile information to give them every option, not just answering a single question at a time. This is the only way to offer a full spectrum of the publishing world for writers. Basic, clear, and NOT geared to any specific publishing path.

Special Features: Keeping it Real

I ASKED SOME OF MY long-standing clients as well as writer friends to share with you what they have gone through in their efforts to get published. Throughout the book, you’ll find their real-life experiences in Keeping It Real sections that help to show what can—and has—happened to writers.

A heartfelt thank you to all who shared so generously with me and the readers.

Chapter 1 - The Preliminaries

The Slippery Slope of Terms

It seems simple enough : you write a story, publish it, and people read it.

Even the intermediate terms (printing, marketing, etc.) used in this process seem simple—but don’t be deceived: the terms can be slippery.

Today the publishing industry is adding terms (aggregators, boutique publishing, hybrids, etc.), while previous words acquire new meanings.

What is Involved in Publishing:

HERE IS WHAT YOU MUST know in order to understand this whole concept of publishing:

•  Writing - Okay, you know this one: It involves a great deal of your time and effort, but the concept seems pretty simple: Write the story!

•  Editing - This one word could mean any (or all) of several services, each of which is specific and distinct. Not every manuscript needs every level of edit, although every type of editing can serve an important purpose. Traditional publishers used to cover all these levels in one way or another. Some still do, but many now rely on the authors to already have these edits done. Self-publishing authors often skip some (or, sometimes, all) of these steps—which is really NOT a good idea!

•  Developmental editing - This is also called structural or substantive editing. It involves the structure of a story, like character development, pacing, story arc, audience, how everything functions together as a unit. This is structure-level editing.

•  Beta testing - Not really editing at all, but this is often another step involved when considering revisions. This might be considered reader-level editing as it takes into account what readers, not editors, see as strengths and weaknesses in the story overall.

•  Line Editing - Sometimes called stylistic editing. It involves evaluating the writing for clarity and flow. It can also involve moving sentences around so that your meaning is clear. This is paragraph-level editing.

•  Copy Editing - also spelled copyediting, is sometimes the final editing that a manuscript goes through before its published. It involves grammar and punctuation and spelling. There are various style guides (most popular are the Associated Press Stylebook and The Chicago Book of Style) and each publisher will have its preferences and a stylesheet of their own as well. The copy editor will use that stylesheet as the final guide. This is sentence-level editing.

•  Proofing - Also called proofreading, this kind of editing addresses typos, repeated words (like the the), spelling, punctuation and formatting issues. This word-level editing.

•  Printing - This is strictly the act of turning your manuscript (today that would be a computer file of some sort) into a printed book or a downloadable e-book to read on an e-reading device.

•  Distribution - This is delivering those printed books or e-books to sites (stores or websites) where readers can see and buy them.

•  Marketing - This is announcing that the distribution is done and telling readers to find the book. Marketing involves anything from emails and newsletters to printed catalogs.

•  Promotion - Promotions may include book fairs, guest spots on radio, television, or podcasts, or any direct contact with the public.

But wait ... where is publisher in all this?

What are Publishers?

What Publishers Do

THE TRADITIONAL PUBLISHER handles everything after you have done the writing and polished it ready for submission. Cool! Which is why so many writers would prefer to go that route—let the publisher handle all these other factors, like formatting, production, and distribution. The reason traditional publishers facilitate so much for you is that they need your book to be a success.

They do not ask you for money; they will only make money if your book sells and sells well. So, they use their expertise to give your book every chance of succeeding.

However ...

Getting a contract from a traditional publisher can be quite the job in itself. After signing a contract, the writer will still be actively involved in several steps in the traditional publishing process. On top of that, today’s traditional publishers prefer, or even require, that authors participate in marketing and promotions.

What Publishing Services Do

THERE ARE NUMEROUS services available to writers which are fee-based.  You pay a fee and they print your book. Or distribute it. Or market it. Or maybe do several steps. Great! They are there to serve you and fulfill something that you need to have done.

However, they are NOT publishers if they require fees from you, although they may imply they are publishers. They may do a few of the steps involved in publishing—and maybe do them very well. But with a publishing service, you are the only one invested in the success of your book—not the company.

Summary of Differences

A PUBLISHER needs your book to succeed in order to make money. It makes its money from your book sales.

A publishing service has no vested interest in your book’s success. It is making money off of you. This can be fine if you understand what you’re getting and you are willing to pay those fees. 

The bottom line is that neither traditional publishing nor self-publishing is easy. They both require understanding the processes and following through.

Let’s get at it!

Finding Your Niche

IF YOU ARE WRITING a book for a personal reason or for a specific group of people, you already know your audience. For instance, if your book is a memoir or intended as a family legacy, then your readers will be your immediate family. If your book is a corporate history or business promotion book, your readers will be your employees or your prospective clients.

In a case like that, you can skip this section and go right to Chapter 2.

But what if you hope to share your memoir with readers beyond your family? Or share your business ideas with the world? Then you need to know how your book will fit into the publishing world.

Your book’s niche is important. It will help you find your reading audience, no matter which route you take in publishing.

Contrary to what you might believe, your book is NOT a book that everyone will love. Everyone has different tastes and preferences. The better that you understand your reading audience, the easier it will be for you to sell your book to agents, publishers, and readers.

You may already know your book fits a general genre or category. There are numerous sub-genres and sub-categories to also consider. You need to filter down to a narrow niche because, in reality, this will give your book its best chance at success.

If you haven’t considered this before, ask yourself which five books you aspire to compete with.

Study their titles, descriptions, and categories.

Their sub-category reflects your niche.

Their audience is your audience.

If you go the traditional route, you will start your search for either an agent or publisher by looking at the ones who represent the genre that your story fits.

If you decide to self-publish, knowing the niche your book fits is a must, as it will help you list your book in the booklist categories and when describing your book to readers.

Determine Your Niche:

LOOK UP BOOKS SIMILAR to yours on Amazon’s website and review what categories they are listed in under Product Details. You are looking for the deepest of the subcategories. For instance, in the example below see the categories and how specifically the author has identified her book.

Do this with several books similar to yours. You will likely notice that the best-selling books (usually the ones with the most reviews) will be nestled deeply into subcategories.

Now, look at the subcategories available on