Publishing A Book: Types of Publishing: Part One

once upon After writing a book, many people want to know how one goes about publishing a book. A well-known author once said recently that “it’s no great feat to get one’s book published—it’s no great mountain to climb.” He is right, but his opinion is subjective. To you, reading this blog, it is a huge mountain to climb to get your book published. There are many paths you can take up that mountain, but it is still a huge feat.

So what I would suggest is that you look at the two different types of publishing. Self-publishing and traditional publishing. Both have huge pros and cons—and both differ greatly.

Self-Publishing

Hundreds of thousands of books are published each year on self-publishing platforms like Amazon KDP and Createspace, Draft2Digital, Barnes & Noble, and the list goes on. But what does it actually mean to self-publish? It means that you will have a book on the market for purchase on a platform that will do no promotion for you. You will be promoting your own book, but that’s a good thing because you can control price, keywords, optimization, content, description and all the other goodies that a major publisher probably won’t let you change. You can also run promotions through these platforms and allow your imagination to take over. On the other hand, you will be the one paying for editing, cover design, promotions and the costs that would normally be covered by a reputable publisher. Self-published paperback books are held in disregard by many for being of lesser quality—but as print-on-demand platforms like Createspace grow, their standards have grown, too.

Traditional Publishing

Traditional publishing is the old, tried and tested way of getting a book onto the market. You will, in many cases, have secured an agent who will fight the good fight to get your book picked up by a publisher. The publisher, if reputable, will cover the costs of editing, designing a cover, and to some degree, promoting your book. You will have little control of the way your book is presented, you will be bound by contract to the whims of the publisher, and you will be given royalty statements every six months or so to show progress. You will not get an advance unless you are a very popular author or an author they feel will be very popular, for example a celebrity with a memoir to sell. You will be constrained by being traditionally published but will save on all the costs and headaches of publishing a book.

Dr. Princess Fumi Hancock, DNP, MA, BSN
Your Vision Midwife, Lifestyle Entrepreneur
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