{"id":2100,"date":"2016-05-29T20:57:16","date_gmt":"2016-05-29T15:27:16","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/?p=2100"},"modified":"2016-05-29T20:57:16","modified_gmt":"2016-05-29T15:27:16","slug":"publishing-facts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/publishing-facts\/","title":{"rendered":"Publishing Facts"},"content":{"rendered":"

Publishing Facts<\/span><\/h1>\n

Publishing Facts<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

According to a survey conducted by The New York Times<\/em>, 81% of Americans feel they have a book in them. But most haven\u2019t written it.\u00a0So what\u2019s stopping<\/em> them?<\/strong><\/h5>\n

\"publishing<\/a><\/p>\n

I hear people tell me all the time they want to write a book. But wanting<\/em> and doing<\/em> aren\u2019t the same, are they?\u00a0It\u2019s time to shed the myths about book publishing and start facing the facts.\u00a0If you\u2019re one of those eight in 10 people dreaming of writing a book, this might change everything for you.<\/p>\n

Below are the top 5 publishing facts that might change everything for you.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Fact #1: You need an agent<\/span><\/h3>\n

If you want to publish a book through a traditional publisher, you\u2019re going to need a literary agent.<\/p>\n

Sure, you can start pitching your proposal or manuscript on your own, but the fact is authors with agents tend to be taken more seriously and get higher advances.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s in your best interest to hire an agent. You don\u2019t pay this person until you actually get signed (much like how a real estate agent works), so it\u2019s to your advantage to get one.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s always a win-win. He or she doesn\u2019t make any money until you<\/em> do.<\/p>\n

Fact #2: Everyone needs a platform (yes, even fiction writers)<\/span><\/h3>\n

In the case of nonfiction work, your platform is often a blog or some kind of content delivery platform, like a radio show or podcast. It can even be your speaking schedule.<\/p>\n

For potential novelists and the like, it\u2019s your body of work. Which could mean a blog, but more often it\u2019s something you\u2019ve already published. Like a short story in a literary journal or magazine. Or a previously self-published book. It could even be your newsletter list.<\/p>\n

A platform is a way of proving you have what it takes to sell books. In either case (nonfiction or fiction), the point is you can\u2019t succeed without people knowing who you are \u2014 and a platform accomplishes this.<\/p>\n

(Side note: Can you get a book contract without a platform? Absolutely. Is it a lot harder than someone who has<\/em> one? Definitely.)<\/p>\n

Fact #3: The publisher won\u2019t do all the work<\/span><\/h3>\n

A friend who\u2019s been in publishing for decades told me this when I got my first book deal:<\/p>\n

\n
“Assume that the publisher won\u2019t do any of the work to promote your book, that it will all be up to you. And if for some reason, they do something to help you, then it\u2019s an added bonus. But never expect it.<\/em><\/h5>\n<\/blockquote>\n

Publishing is venture capitalism.<\/p>\n

This means that the publisher puts up all the money, taking the financial risks. And you are the investment. You need to come up with all the bright ideas and clever ways to get your idea or story to spread.\u00a0They\u2019re just the bank.<\/p>\n

From what I\u2019ve seen, publishers love it when authors think like this. It takes the pressure off of them to think like an ad agency and instead do what they do best: create great products.<\/p>\n

But make no mistake: the only one who determines your book\u2019s success is you<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Fact #4: Publicity doesn\u2019t sell books<\/span><\/h3>\n

Getting on The Today Show<\/em> won\u2019t sell a million copies of your book. Neither will a ton of ads.<\/p>\n

Think about it: When was the last time you bought something just because someone on TV talked about it? If you\u2019re like me, the answer is never<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Granted, those things can help spread the word, but ultimately what sells books is word-of-mouth. Friends telling friends. That\u2019s it. Nothing special or mystical about it.<\/p>\n

So whatever cute ideas you have about getting your writing in front of a lot of people, try not to veer too far away from this basic strategy:<\/p>\n

    \n
  1. Ask permission.<\/li>\n
  2. Build trust.<\/li>\n
  3. Be generous.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    If you are a first-time author (or about to be), the best<\/em> thing you can do for your book is get a lot of people to talk about it. Even if it means giving it away for free.<\/p>\n

    Fact #5: Publishing one book won\u2019t make you rich<\/span><\/h3>\n

    There\u2019s a popular misconception that once you publish a book, you are now a full-time author and a pretty big deal.<\/p>\n

    This belief hails back to the early days of Stephen King and Michael Crichton when publishing was a different animal. Those guys wrote their first manuscripts and got six-figure advances\u2026 for their first book!<\/p>\n

    It doesn\u2019t work like that anymore. There\u2019s too much supply, too much competition.\u00a0These days, you have to write a few books before you can even call your writing a \u201ccareer.\u201d<\/p>\n

    Even then it can be difficult, because most royalty rates aren\u2019t that great (8\u201320%). That\u2019s why it usually takes years<\/em> to make any kind of meager salary through writing books.<\/p>\n

    The alternative, of course, is to not<\/em> try making money off your books. Instead, consider them a business card \u2014 an introduction to a premium product or service you offer.<\/p>\n

    This could be a course or seminar, even be something like a membership website or a video series. For a lot of authors, it\u2019s their speaking platforms.\u00a0The book spreads the idea and builds an audience; it\u2019s up to you to make money off it<\/p>\n

     <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Publishing Facts Publishing Facts According to a survey conducted by The New York Times, 81% of Americans feel they have a book in them. But most haven\u2019t written it.\u00a0So what\u2019s stopping them? I hear people tell me all the time they want to write a book. But wanting and doing aren\u2019t the same, are they?\u00a0It\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2102,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[38],"tags":[83,64,75,84,85,80,74,86,77,76,82,78,17,81,52,19,79],"class_list":{"0":"post-2100","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-writing-tips","8":"tag-agents","9":"tag-authors","10":"tag-books","11":"tag-editors","12":"tag-facts","13":"tag-novel-promotion","14":"tag-novels","15":"tag-online-publishing","16":"tag-publishers","17":"tag-publishing","18":"tag-publishing-house","19":"tag-self-publishing","20":"tag-tips","21":"tag-traditional-publishing","22":"tag-writers","23":"tag-writing","24":"tag-writing-tips"},"featured_image_src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/publishing-facts-1.jpg?fit=800%2C521&ssl=1","author_info":{"display_name":"Writing Geeks","author_link":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/author\/writinggeeks\/"},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/05\/publishing-facts-1.jpg?fit=800%2C521&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p6uhmH-xS","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2100"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2100\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2104,"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2100\/revisions\/2104"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2102"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/writinggeeks.in\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}