Publishing a book

It is difficult getting a book published. There are a few success stories in the publishing world. Like the young hockey players in my elementary school classes, all of them think they are going to be another Wayne Gretzky!

You hope you can write that novel that will propel you onto the charts, like Margaret Atwood. In fact, few of us manage to find a publisher, fewer find an agent. It is a darned hard thing to do. Of course, there is a difference between fiction and non-fiction, but not too much.

My cyberfriend, Andrew, asked me about getting my book published. When I look at it, now, I think it was a big mistake. I spent a lot of money co-publishing. I did have a great editor, as part of the contract, and someone to design the cover.

The company has some contacts, and put out press releases, but to get myself any press is proving incredibly difficult, if not impossible. None of the media want to talk to me. Perhaps, it is my topic: cancer and dying. There are a boat load of books about those who beat cancer, few about dying with cancer.

Book launches you have to pay for by yourself. If you want press, you have to pay for ad space to announce a book launch or a book signing. There are amazingly brilliant stories, like Terry Fallis. His book podcast hit the big time and a book publisher approached him. From there, her found a book agent and it was all history. He sent 10 copies to the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour contest, and won. In his case, he had a great book, by all accounts, and he had industry contacts.

In many cases, your book may not be as good as you think it is. Ensure that you have developed writing skills, have friends read it, ask for feedback from people with education and experience in this area. Publishers do not want to spend a long time in the editing phase. Taking creative writing classes is a good use of your time. Read a lot in your genre. Read the good, the bad and the ugly. I recently read a novel that pretty much leaves out commas and apostrophes. You will see what I mean. It just jars. No one told him how much it needed editing.

There are several places for more information.

Book Proposal
The first thing to do is to prepare a book proposal. Surf around and look for dos and don'ts: FAQs.<= There is a guide on this link.

Find a publisher and/or literary agent
Finding a publisher will a difficult task. If you cannot find a literary agent (this site has much helpful advice), as does this post.

Know your rights as an author. There are many Canadian Author's Federations. Contact them if you need help: Canadian Author's Federations and provincial associations can help you, the Canadian Writer's Guide is good reading.

For many budding authors one is hard-pressed to find a publisher. One option is either self-publishing or co-publishing with a cost-sharing agreement. In this case you either carry, or share, the costs of the editing and printing. One must be careful, however. As there are companies out there with unethical practices. Beware of those advertising on the web, e.g., poetry books, as you risk losing much. It can cost as much or more than $8,000 to self-publish.

I could not find a publishing company at the time despite sending out many Book Proposals. These are the three options for a writer who thinks she has a story to tell. Margaret Reynolds, Executive Director of the Association of Book Publishers of B.C., says that self-publishing companies are actually 'publishing services companies', and are not covered by the ethics of book publishers. One source of info is Independent Authors & Illustrators of Canada.

• Research which companies publish the type of book you have written.
• Do self-publishing with Trafford, or others as a last resort!
  

These Google ads pop up everywhere, do not personally invest in your book if you can help it, or unless you are prepared NOT to get your money back!

Have You Written a Book?Professional Independent Publishing Easy & Fast. Get a Free Guide!AuthorHouse.com

Book Publishing GuideGet A Book Publishing Guide Mailed To Your doorstep At No Cost.www.Xlibris.com/BookPublishing

Book Publishing Made EasyGet Published Quickly. High Quality Books. Get Your Free Guide Today!www.Trafford.com

• BUT: Get an independent editor - Independent editors can show you books they have successfully edited and they have hourly or page rates. Always ask for names of 3 happy past customers!!

• Work with a writing circle for several drafts before submitting anywhere.

Pre-buy a few dozen copies which you will sell at your readings --and personally get the investment back.

• Try publishing chapters as articles or on blogs to build up readership first.
• Do a radio talk show or local cable series on your book.
• Build your audience, even with snippets on your blog.
• Send a query and sample chapter to a dozen companies-- after reading their submission guidelines.
• Meet other published writers--even if it means going to Toronto writing groups a few times.
• CAA's Canadian Writer's Guide--# 12 and # 13 (of course, find the American equivalent if in the US) chapters of basic advice.
• There is no short cut to getting a reliable publisher. But membership in national organizations can save you some grief.
• Research as much as you can: this blog, Nathan Bransford, has great ideas, as well as contact info. In Blogger, you can find other authors, who may have great links, or suggestions in your country.

"Statistics from BookNet Canada, which tracks book sales and publication, show almost 83,000 books were published in Canada in 2008, up more than 6,000 from 2007. There were also almost one million unique books on sale on bookshelves in the country. BookNet does not distinguish between mainstream and independent books."

Read more of the full article at The Financial Post: http://www.financialpost.com/news-sectors/story.html?id=1871009#ixzz0RxqqfmOY

Once you have a book in your hand
This story, which revolves around Terry Fallis' story, points out how important it is to be able to spend a lot of time flogging your book. [Financial Post story ] You always have a box full in your car. At one book signing, a friend only sold 3 books, but spent a lot of time talking about the book with others.

• Donate books to libraries, schools, universities, to put it into circulation and to ensure that it comes up in a search, especially if it is non-fiction.
• Donate books to conferences that feature your topic. Mine I have donated to palliative care conferences. I have tried, also, at these conferences to give the book to a key note speaker to review. You really need someone to endorse it.
• If you belong to a union, or a professional group send it there.
  
• Newspapers will not cover your story unless you have a contact. If you pay for an ad in a small paper, chances are they will, however.
• Develop a Press Kit - see the sidebar for mine. If you search this, as well, you will find many valuable samples, depending upon your genre!