What I Learned in College: Ways to Publish

            This information comes from my own research as well as multiple creative writing courses I have taken at Colorado Christian University. If you are looking for an online creative writing degree program, I highly recommend CCU. I barely scratch the surface of everything that is discussed in those courses.

            Did you know that there are multiple ways to publish your book? Before I entered college, I thought traditional publishing (through a publishing house) and self-publishing were the only options. I wasn’t aware that there were hybrid companies, vanity presses, or independent publishers. A couple of my courses spent time examining each of these options to better educate us. I won’t go into deep detail, but I will tell you about each option so you can determine which you want to aim for.

            It is important to decide how you want to publish your book before writing it. Each publishing style has its own standards and work. If, let’s say, you decide to self-publish after you’ve finished writing your book, now you have to think about investing in an editor and a graphic designer, researching how to properly market your book, and searching for ways you can self-publish it. That can greatly delay the release of your book and will cost money. Whether you self-publish or not, it is vital to prepare yourself, do your research, and make sure you have resources before you complete your book (unless you want to have a lot of time between finishing it and publishing).

            So how can you publish your book, and what are the differences between these methods?

Traditional Publishing

            This method is classic and the one I want to use when I finish my novel. This is where your book is published by a publishing company like HarperCollins or Simon & Schuster. It could be a major publisher or a smaller publishing company, but either way, you hand your manuscript over to them and they take care of everything else.

            Do you know what the best part is? Traditional publishing shouldn’t cost you anything. You don’t have to hire an editor or graphic designer. You don’t have to pay to have your books produced and distributed. The publisher takes care of all of that. In fact, once a contract is signed, they will give you a royalty advance (payment up front). Once your books begin to sell, you will also receive royalties.

            Usually, you have to find an agent in order to access a publishing company. Once I go through the process of finding and landing an agent, I will write a blog post about it, but according to my college courses, publishers don’t often look at query letters or proposals that are sent directly to them from the writer. They prefer to have them filtered through an agent. But you also don’t have to pay for an agent. The agent usually takes 15% of the royalty advance before passing it on to you.

            The downsides to traditional publishers are that you get less than 30% of the royalties and it takes longer for your book to be produced and distributed compared to self-publishing. That may be an issue for some people, but I personally think that if I can get good quality for free, then it’s worth it!

One may consider the competitiveness of the market another downside. It is difficult to land an agent and a publishing deal. However, if your book contains strong writing and you have done your research concerning the market, you have a better chance at accomplishing these.

I do want to mention independent (indie) publishers, which are small presses that work outside of the major traditional publishing companies. From what I have collected from a MasterClass article, these small presses follow the same process as traditional publishing, but their teams may be more limited or even shared with other indie presses. It is difficult to access these companies without an agent, so it is still wise to find one.

Self-Publishing

            Self-publishing is the complete opposite of traditional publishing. In self-publishing, you do everything yourself and invest in everything yourself. If you want to produce a good quality book, you have to hire an editor and a graphic designer (unless you create your own book cover), take care of all the marketing, and hope the money you invested will come back in your royalties (you do get more of those than in traditional publishing). It is a lot of work, but some people love the creative aspect of it and how much control they have over the process. Thankfully, there are many online programs (like Amazon KDP) that help you format and produce your self-published work. Nowadays, self-publishing is the most popular method because it just takes a few clicks for your book to be available. But like I mentioned earlier, if you want to have a good quality book, you have to put more work into it.

            I have a little experience in self-publishing. To be honest, I was skeptical of this method, but after self-publishing my short story Heirs of Power, I am much more open to the idea. I loved how creative I got to be, and creating my own cover was so much fun (my college required me to create my own book cover). I used Amazon KDP, and they are thorough, and it doesn’t take long at all for you to submit your manuscript. The only thing is that you have to research which keywords and categories fit best for your book.

            Most self-published books are eBooks because that is an easier format to work with and authors don’t have to worry about distributing the book. But various self-publishing programs provide different options, so I encourage you to do your research to see which is best for you. Amazon KDP is one I recommend, though I know Blurb and Canva help with book formatting as well.

Hybrid Publishers and Vanity Presses

            The next two publishing types are a little more complicated to explain because I did not know about them before college, and they sound very similar. But a hybrid company is a mix of traditional publishing and self-publishing. They will produce the book and distribute it, but you may be responsible for selling a portion of the books yourself (a number I have heard is 5000). According to a Writer’s Digest article you invest in the process yourself, but the publisher treats you like a partner while producing your book. You also get higher royalties than if you were to work with a traditional publisher.

            Like traditional publishers, hybrid companies usually only focus on a few specific genres. In self-publishing, you don’t have to worry about that, but if you want to work with a hybrid publisher, then you will need to research which one fits your genre. You also must make sure your book is promising, because hybrid publishers are more limited in how many books they accept per year (like 10 books a year). No matter which style of publishing you choose, it is important to make sure you present your best work.

            I am mentioning vanity presses so you know about them, but I do not recommend (so this is a warning). Vanity presses are like hybrid publishers, except they care less about the quality of the book. According to the same Writer’s Digest article I mentioned earlier, vanity presses ask for a lot of money but do not produce good quality books. From what I have collected, they’re only really there to produce and distribute your book (if they even do so). A few companies have been sued for scamming authors. I know I keep repeating this but do your research. If it sounds too good to be true, it might be a scam.

            Those are the different types of publishing (that I know of)! One last time, I encourage you to do your research and find what’s best for you. Each type has its pros and cons, risks and rewards. Either way, unless it is a scam, your book will be published and sent into the hands of readers. A lot of consideration goes into choosing which method is appropriate for your book, and if you are at that step in your writing, then I wish you luck!

Bibliography

Colorado Christian University. ccu.edu

MasterClass. (2022). Indie publishing: How to get started with indie publishing. MasterClass. https://www.masterclass.com/articles/indie-publishing

Warner, B. (2016). What is hybrid publishing? Here are 4 things all writers should know. Writer’s Digest. https://www.writersdigest.com/self-publishing-by-writing-goal/what-is-hybrid-publishing-here-are-4-things-you-should-know