Asked & Answered by Jennifer at Your Book Is Your Hook!

QUESTION:

I have been considering submitting my book to publishers without an agent. I don't want to self-publish my book. I'm confused. Some of them have requested my manuscript to review; some of them require a fee, and some of them say they are a "hybrid" publisher. How do I know they really want to publish my book and not just charge me fees for publishing it?

ANSWER:

The short answer is... you need to review each publisher individually.

MYTHBUSTER:

Not all publishers are the right publisher for your book. Just like literary agents, publishers also seek certain types of books to publish.

Like agents, some of them seek more than one category or genre of books. Others only seek one type.

Depending on the publisher, their financial model varies depending on how they acquire the books they publish.

WHY?

While going directly with a publisher skips the steps of finding a literary agent, it doesn't mean that every publisher is looking to publish a book like yours.

Publishers are seeking books in the categories and genres they want to publish. This means they have editors, designers and staff who are knowledgeable about working on these projects and they have good experiences and sales of those types of books.

The way they do business and how they offer their services may reflect their financial models so pay attention.

THE TRUTH:

It's easy to determine what types of books publishers are seeking to publish. You can simply look at their catalogues and clients' books on their sites to get a better sense of what they publish. Others have paragraphs or bullet points listing the categories and genres they publish.

Some publish only romance books, while others only thriller, mystery and horror. Others publish books for women or written by women, and still others only nonfiction.

Hybrid publishers put forward that you as the writer author will pay a portion of the publishing fees and should state how your royalties will be paid.

Other publishers may be interested in acquiring your book to publish without any cost to you. Read the fine print at these publishers. You may need to submit a full package including your full manuscript in order for them to determine if they are going to publish it.

If you are selecting especially a small publisher for this, do your homework. Look for feedback about them on the internet. Find out how long they've been in business. Look at their websites at the books they have published. Look up their published authors on Amazon. All this information is available on the internet.

Understand what is being said about their services on discussion boards and reputable association and writers organizations' websites.

SO WHERE SHOULD I START WITH MY BOOK?

Decide how you want to publish your book.

If you want to have guidance and support with your submissions to larger publishers, then you'll want to seek out and submit to literary agents who cultivate relationships with acquiring editors at the publishing houses. The larger publishing houses limit their submissions to literary agents to reduce the submissions they receive to those from the agents they know and trust.

If you opt to seek out publishers directly, then you will opt out of your opportunity to get a literary agent as agents will not be willing to take a book that already has a publisher, since that's one of their main roles -- to get the book published.

If you plan to be a "one-book wonder" or if you plan to publish books in the same category and genre, then getting a smaller publisher may be a good option for you.

If you are seeking a larger publishing name on your book, then going direct to a publisher is probably not for you.

For example, if you have a business book, there are many business book publishers. You can tell from their websites. You could also get a literary agent and publish with Random House, Simon & Schuster or Wiley.

If you have a thriller book, again you could get a literary agent and publish with Tor/Forge, Minotaur Books or St. Martin's Press. You could also find a publisher directly and can identify publishers who publish these books from their clients and catalogues.

Same with sports, cooking, mysteries, memoirs, poetry and more.

Before you decide to publish with a publisher, determine whether you want to get a literary agent. Then determine the right publishers for your book and understand their submission requirements and guidelines. Before you submit, do your homework to verify they do what they say and that their terms to publish are clear, including how and when you will receive royalties. Be sure to verify the "termination clause", your clause to cut the cord, and understand how to get your book and rights back.

Aren't sure whether to publish with a publisher -- and which ones?

Schedule an Office Hours Appointment with me so I can help you better understand how and when to submit to publishers for your project with a referral.

Write an amazing book.

Opt to publish with a publisher.

Publish with confidence with a publisher you can trust.

Cheers!

Get Your Ask On!

Ask Jennifer a question by submitting it to her at [email protected].

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