TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING

                          BIG FIVE                                                           MID-SIZE & LARGE                                           SMALL PRESSES 

                Who They Are  

• Penguin Random House, HarperCollins,     Hachette, Simon & Schuster, Macmillan     (each have dozens of imprints).

              Who They Work With

• Authors who write works with

  mainstream appeal, deserving of

  nationwide print retail distribution in

  bookstores and other outlets.

• Celebrity-status or brand-name authors.

• Writers of commercial fiction or genre

   fiction, such as romance, mystery/crime,

   thriller/suspense, science fiction and

   fantasy, young adult, children’s.

• Nonfiction authors with a significant

   platform (visibility to a readership).

               Value For Author

• Publisher shoulders financial risk.

• Physical bookstore distribution nearly

   assured, in addition to other physical

   retail opportunities (big-box, specialty).

• Best chance of mainstream media

   coverage and reviews.

               How To Approach

• Almost always requires an agent.

  Novelists should have a finished

  manuscript. Nonfiction authors should

  have a book proposal.

             What To Watch For

• Author receives an advance against

  royalties, but most advances do not earn

  out.

• Publisher typically holds onto all

   publishing rights for all formats for at

   least 5-10 years.

• Many decisions are out of the author’s

  control, such as cover design and title.

• Authors can find themselves unhappy

  with the level of marketing support

  received, and find that their title

  “disappears” from store shelves within

  3-6 months. However, the same is true

  for most publishers, regardless of size.

                   Who They Are

• Not part of the Big Five, but significant in

  size, usually with the same capabilities.

• Examples: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt,

  Scholastic, Workman, Sourcebooks,

  John Wiley & Sons, W.W. Norton,

  Kensington, Chronicle, Tyndale, many

  university presses (Cambridge, Oxford).

              Who They Work With

• Authors who write mainstream works, as

  well as those that have a more niche or

  special-interest appeal.

• Celebrity-status or brand-name authors.

• Writers of commercial fiction or genre

  fiction, such as romance, mystery/crime,

  thriller/suspense, science fiction and

  fantasy, young adult, children’s.

• Nonfiction authors of all types.

                Value For Author

• Identical to Big Five advantages.

               How To Approach

• Doesn’t always require an agent; see

  submission guidelines for each publisher.

  Novelists should have a finished

  manuscript. Nonfiction authors should

  have a book proposal.

              What To Watch For

• Same as Big Five, but advances and

  royalties from mid-size publishers may

  be lower than Big Five.

• Some mid-size publishers may be more

  open to innovative or flexible agreements

  that feel more like a collaboration or

  partnership (with more author input or

  control).

• University or scholarly presses typically

  pay a very low advance and have very

  small print runs, typically with a focus on

  libraries, classrooms, and academic

  markets.             

                    Who They Are

• This category is the hardest to

  summarize because “small press” is a

  catch-all term for very well-known

  traditional publishers (e.g., Graywolf) as

  well as mom-and-pop operations that

  may not have any formal experience in

  publishing.

• Given how easy it is in the digital age for

  anyone to start a press, authors must

  carefully evaluate a small press’s abilities

  before signing with one. Legitimate small

  presses do not ask authors to pay for

  publication.

               Who They Work With

• Emerging, first-time authors, as well as

  established ones.

• Often more friendly to experimental,

  literary, and less commercial types of

  work.

                Value For Author

• Possibly a more personalized and

  collaborative relationship with the

  publisher.

• With well-established small presses:

  editorial, design, and marketing support

  that equals that of a larger house.

                How To Approach

• Rarely requires an agent. See the

  submission guidelines of each press.

                What To Watch For

• You may not receive an advance or you’ll

  receive a nominal one. Your royalty rate

  may be higher to make up for it. Diversity

  of players and changing landscape

  means contracts vary widely.

• There may be no physical bookstore

  distribution and/or the press may rely on

  print-on-demand to fulfill orders. Potential

  for media or review coverage declines

  when there is no print run.

• Be very protective of your rights if you’re

  shouldering most of the risk and effort.               

ALTERNATIVES TO TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING

             HYBRID PUBLISHING                                SELF-PUBLISHING: ASSISTED                            SELF-PUBLISHING: DIY

           Key Characteristics

• Author funds book publication in

  exchange for expertise and assistance of

  the publisher; cost is often thousands of

  dollars.

• Author receives better royalties than a

  traditional publishing contract, but makes

  less than if self-publishing on their own.

• Such books will rarely be distributed into

  physical retail bookstores, although in

  some rare cases, it may happen.

• Each hybrid publisher has its own

  distinctive costs and business model;

  always secure a clear contract with all

  fees explained.

                Value For Author

•Get a published book without having to

  figure out the service landscape or find

  professionals to help. Ideal for an author

  who has more money than time.

• Some companies are run by former

  traditional publishing professionals, and

  offer high-quality results.

             What To Watch For

• Some self-publishing (assisted

  publishing) services have started calling

  themselves “hybrid publishers” because it

  sounds more fashionable and savvy, but

  such companies may be nothing more

  than an assisted self-publishing service.

• Not all hybrid publishers are created

  equal. Fees dramatically vary and quality

  dramatically varies. Research carefully.

       Examples Of Hybrid Publishers

• Curated. These companies are selective

  or may have editorial guidelines to follow.

  Examples: SheWrites Press, Greenleaf.

• Crowdfunding. Authors must raise money

  for the publisher to contract the work.

  Example: Inkshares, Unbound.

                Key Characteristics

• Similar to hybrid publishing: authors pay

  to publish. An older term for this would be

  “vanity publishing.”

• Contractual arrangements vary, but the

  best services charge an upfront fee, take

  absolutely no rights to the work, and pass

  on 100% net royalties to the author. They

  make money on charging authors for the

  services provided (editorial, design,

  marketing, and so on), not on copies

  sold.

• Such books will almost never be stocked

  in physical retail bookstores, although in

  some rare cases, it may happen.

• Many assisted publishing services have

  different packages or tiers of service,

  while others offer customized quotes.

                 Value For Author

• Get a published book without having to

  figure out the service landscape or find

  professionals to help you. Ideal for an

  author who has more money than time.

• The best and most expensive services

  offer a quality experience that is

  comparable to working with a traditional

  publisher.

              What To Watch For

• Most marketing and publicity service

  packages, while they can be well-

  meaning, are not worth an author’s

  investment.

• Avoid companies that take advantage of

  author inexperience and use high-

  pressure sales tactics, such as

  AuthorSolutions imprints (AuthorHouse,

  iUniverse, WestBow, Archway).

   Examples Of Good Assisted Services

• Matador, Mill City Press, DogEar, Radius

  Book Group, Book in a Box, Girl Friday

  Productions. To check the reputation of a

  service, search for Mick Rooney’s

  Independent Publishing Magazine

  website.        

                 Key Characteristics

• Authors manage the publishing process

  and hire the right people/services to edit,

  design, publish, and distribute.

• Each author has to decide which

  distributors or retailers they prefer to deal

  with.

                  Value For Author

• Author keeps complete and total control

  of all artistic and business decisions.

• Author keeps all profits and rights.

               What To Watch For

• Some authors don’t invest enough

  money to produce a quality product.

• First-time authors may not have the

  knowledge or experience to know what

  quality help looks like or what it takes to

  produce a quality book in their genre.

• Bricks-and-mortar retailers, professional

  reviewers, and mainstream media will

  rarely offer help or coverage.

        DIY Print And Ebook Services

• Primary ebook retailers that offer direct

  access to authors: Amazon KDP, Nook

  Press, Apple iBookstore, Kobo. Primary

  ebook distributors for authors:

  Smashwords, Draft2Digital, Pronoun.

  These services offer little or no

  assistance.

• Print-on-demand (POD) makes it

  affordable to sell and distribute print

  books via online retail. Most often used:

  CreateSpace, IngramSpark. With printer-

  ready PDF files, it costs little or nothing to

  start.

• These retailers and distributors operate

  primarily on a nonexclusive basis and

  take  cut of sales; authors can leave

  them at will. There is no contract.

• Some authors may hire a printer and

  manage inventory, fulfillment, shipping,

  etc. and sell via Amazon Advantage.