The New Way To Publish

The New Way To Publish

The average author finds it very tough to secure a deal with a traditional publisher so let me tell you about the new way to publish a book – the alternative way.

My own experience has been very different. I’ve had publishing contracts with a lot of mainstream publishers – the likes of Angus & Robertson, Allen & Unwin, Macmillan Education, Heinemann and others.

Traditional publishers

You hear about the painstaking efforts authors have trying to get a publishing deal and how they struggle to get past the traditional publishing gatekeepers.  You hear about the rejections that an author gets, and the discouragement, after trooping the streets and knocking on the doors of publisher after publisher.

I was one of the lucky ones because publishers approached me, and my partner. We never had to knock on the doors of publishing houses or go through a literary agent. 

Why were we successful? It was timing. At the time we had the knowledge and that is what the publishers wanted.

Benefits of traditional publishers

When we got a contract to write a series of books we worked with a team of professionals: editors, designers, and marketers. Our role was to create and write the content. The publishers did the rest.

The publishers took on the financial responsibility for the editing, the designing, the production, and the marketing a collaboration that was often time-consuming. There was a lot of communication that went on to and fro with the publishing professionals.

What I valued most of all was that the publishers took on the distribution of our books to libraries and schools throughout Australia.

Disadvantages

Most authors find it very hard to secure a deal with a traditional publisher. Not only that, if you are lucky enough to get a contract, the publishing process can take a long time – many months, if not years –  before the book ever gets into production and into the marketplace.

The author has no control over the publishing process; there is no creative control, and royalties are very low.

A different world

Today, the publishing world is different. Any aspiring author with an internet connection can write. When they have a completed manuscript they can self-publish their book for free or for a very low cost and make it available to a world of readers.

Authors, these days, can enjoy the challenge and freedom of self-publishing and the control they have over the publishing process.

The Print on Demand model (POD) model has released substantial economic barriers to self-publishing of the past.

In essence, today authors create their manuscripts, prepare them for publication, set up a free account on Amazon.com, and then list and publish their books.

Print on Demand has transformed the way an author can publish a book. It’s certainly been a game-changer.

Marji Hill

Author and Coach

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