underthecity
01-14-2005, 10:27 PM
Here's the update for my talk at B&N about getting a book published.
I spoke for about two hours to a group of nine writers of various experience. Most were writing books but not published, one had been published a few times in magazines and had collaborated on a translation for a Hebrew bible, and one had self-published a Civil War history book. More on him in a minute.
I covered all the topics I wanted to discuss and took questions along the way. I emphasized that it can be difficult for an unpublished author to find an agent and/or publisher, but not impossible, and discussed methods of doing so. I talked about Writers Market and how to use it, as well as other books I wanted to recommend for beginning writers on how publishing works. I showed examles of vanity-press books as well as my cousin's book published by a smaller traditional publisher. I discussed Absolute Write and the benefits of experienced and successful writers who post here. I told them about scam-agents and how to research agents and publishers before submitting to them. I discussed the disadvantages and advantages of POD, Vanity, self-publishing, and especially all the various pitfalls of PA. I strongly recommended that they tell all their writer friends to steer clear of PA, and that they can find discussion on these boards.
Although I mostly discussed "traditional publishing," I spoke about when vanity and self-publishing is an advantage--specifically when you write a narrow topic for a limited audience. I gave them the example of hang gliding. I said that if I were a hang glider and wrote a book about hang gliding that I probably would have a difficult time finding a publisher. In this instance, it might be better if I self-published and then put the book on my website and marketed it to fellow enthusiasts. People all around the world who enjoy the sport would probably want to buy the book, but not the average bookstore patron.
There was a man there who had succesfully self-published a regional history book called <a href="http://www.longestraid.com/" target="_new">The Longest Raid of the Civil War</a>. I was glad that he came to my presentation because he offered the perfect counterpoint to what I was talking about. He said that he had spent twenty years researching and writing this book, and when he was finished and started researching and querying publishers. He discovered that he might get 10% royalties, which he said could have average to a dollar or two per book. He felt that he invested too much time and effort into creating the book to pass it off to a publisher, and in turn might not have the results he wanted. So, knowing what he was getting into, he self-published. And the result is a really nice, slick, professional book that has since sold over 15,000 copies, mostly regionally. Yes, it's been a lot of work for him, but it's what he wanted to do and he has not ever regretted his decision. I was impressed.
Now, whether he would have been more successful going with a traditional publisher is a topic open for debate. But, his book is available through the major distributors (by his own efforts) and at all regional bookstores.
All in all, it was a great presentation, and the audience seemed to like it.
Afterwards, I had two different people come up to me to tell me that they had read and enjoyed my subway book. One lady (who had come to an earlier signing) told me that her husband has been showing it to everyone he knows. So, that was real nice.
underthecity
I spoke for about two hours to a group of nine writers of various experience. Most were writing books but not published, one had been published a few times in magazines and had collaborated on a translation for a Hebrew bible, and one had self-published a Civil War history book. More on him in a minute.
I covered all the topics I wanted to discuss and took questions along the way. I emphasized that it can be difficult for an unpublished author to find an agent and/or publisher, but not impossible, and discussed methods of doing so. I talked about Writers Market and how to use it, as well as other books I wanted to recommend for beginning writers on how publishing works. I showed examles of vanity-press books as well as my cousin's book published by a smaller traditional publisher. I discussed Absolute Write and the benefits of experienced and successful writers who post here. I told them about scam-agents and how to research agents and publishers before submitting to them. I discussed the disadvantages and advantages of POD, Vanity, self-publishing, and especially all the various pitfalls of PA. I strongly recommended that they tell all their writer friends to steer clear of PA, and that they can find discussion on these boards.
Although I mostly discussed "traditional publishing," I spoke about when vanity and self-publishing is an advantage--specifically when you write a narrow topic for a limited audience. I gave them the example of hang gliding. I said that if I were a hang glider and wrote a book about hang gliding that I probably would have a difficult time finding a publisher. In this instance, it might be better if I self-published and then put the book on my website and marketed it to fellow enthusiasts. People all around the world who enjoy the sport would probably want to buy the book, but not the average bookstore patron.
There was a man there who had succesfully self-published a regional history book called <a href="http://www.longestraid.com/" target="_new">The Longest Raid of the Civil War</a>. I was glad that he came to my presentation because he offered the perfect counterpoint to what I was talking about. He said that he had spent twenty years researching and writing this book, and when he was finished and started researching and querying publishers. He discovered that he might get 10% royalties, which he said could have average to a dollar or two per book. He felt that he invested too much time and effort into creating the book to pass it off to a publisher, and in turn might not have the results he wanted. So, knowing what he was getting into, he self-published. And the result is a really nice, slick, professional book that has since sold over 15,000 copies, mostly regionally. Yes, it's been a lot of work for him, but it's what he wanted to do and he has not ever regretted his decision. I was impressed.
Now, whether he would have been more successful going with a traditional publisher is a topic open for debate. But, his book is available through the major distributors (by his own efforts) and at all regional bookstores.
All in all, it was a great presentation, and the audience seemed to like it.
Afterwards, I had two different people come up to me to tell me that they had read and enjoyed my subway book. One lady (who had come to an earlier signing) told me that her husband has been showing it to everyone he knows. So, that was real nice.
underthecity