When people think of publishing a book, typically the first thing they think of is a publishing house like Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Macmillan Publishers, Simon and Schuster, and even the smaller presses like Tiny Fox Press.
Often the idea of self-publishing comes with a negative connotation, and brings to mind the thought of poorly made books.
But, in today’s industry, with the larger spread of print on demand, and the ease at which to find freelance professionals, its easier than ever to self-publish a beautiful, polished book outside of a publishing house.
There are, however, downsides to self-publishing like a lesser distribution spread, a greater struggle to get into book stores, and no advance in pay, not to mention you foot the bill.
In contrast, self-publishing gives you creative freedom to make decisions on your cover and other design elements as publishing houses take control of that for you, often leaving you out of the loop.
It can also be incredibly difficult to get a book published (taking years just to land an agent), you only make 6-25% of royalties paid twice per year, and all that promotion work you’re doing? You have to do that anyway.
Traditional publishers still expect you to promote and market your book.
Crazy right?
When it comes down to it, it’s up to you, the writer, to decide whether you want to go the traditional route, or self-publish. And, successful self-publishing takes thinking like a publishing house.
So, what does a publishing house do? And how can you think like one?
The goal of a publishing house is to find books that have commercial success, which is why they can be picky about the types of books they accept. Often times a publishing house has editors, designers, and marketing specialists to delegate the work to.
When you self-publish, you are in charge of find these people.
Thinking like a publishing house means that you must take the steps necessary to ensure your book is edited, formatted, designed, and polished just like the books you see on shelves. This requires time, hiring professionals, and a ton of proofreading.
So, first we need to think of the key elements that makes a book sell. What are they?
After some research, I’ve found there are five.
-marketing (or promotion)
-design
-content
-reviews
-and timing
Thinking like a publishing house requires you to market like one.
Marketing was without a doubt the scariest term I heard when I first decided to self-publish. It’s been four years, and I still haven’t mastered it, but I’m learning more and more. That’s what matters.
Marketing like a publishing house? Takes a lot of time, but it’s not impossible if you’re willing to put in the work, especially since a lot of traditionally published authors are also out here doing marketing along side you.
Top three marketing tips:
-Know your target audience. And focus on all your ads, review endeavors, and marketing tactics being based for them.
-Make genuine connections with potential readers (and other writers). Word of mouth is everything.
-Constantly work on your Author Platform.
Thinking like a publishing house requires you to design like one.
I get it, you don’t have a cover designer on hand to make you a super fancy cover at the drop of a hat. But, you do have the internet at your disposal, and that means you have access to freelancers who can do some incredible work.
In addition, you need to make sure the interior of your book is also designed like a publisher would. I suggest getting a freelancer to format your book for you, so that all chapter headings, interior artwork, margins, and such are in good order.
Thinking like a publishing house means you need the content of one.
It can be hard to take a look at your book and admit that it just isn’t ready for publication, but I’ve done it. That doesn’t mean that it never will be. That just means that you need to think about making sure your book is polished, free of plot holes, and enticing to your target audience.
As well as making sure you are hiring a professional to edit (or multiple professionals in my opinion). I suggest hiring someone to proofread, find someone else to look at the story line, and another to proofread again once formatting has been finished to ensure no typos were made in that process. It can happen.
Thinking like a publishing house means you need to get reviews like one.
This is without a doubt the hardest element on the list. Getting reviews can be time consuming, especially if you’ve had trouble marketing. But, if you make a list (a long list) of reviewers in your genre ahead of time, maybe even before you finish the book, you may have a good chance of getting the numbers you want and need.
I suggest making a list that is three times the number of reviews you hope to actually get. Advice I’ve received suggests 25 to start on launch day, so you would want to contact at least 75 reviewers, book bloggers, or other book obsessionists.
Why so many?
People who review books are not paid for it (and no you should not pay them, that would be dishonest). Often times people who review books are incredibly busy with real life on top of the other requests. In addition, they may not be interested in your particular book. So, there are multiple reasons a reviewer or book blogger could turn you down.
My suggestion for success is to reach out to other authors in your genre, especially the smaller names, and ask them for a review. Often times, they aren’t as overwhelmed with review requests, and may be more likely to accept.
Remember to never pay for book reviews.
Check out my blog post about honest ways to get more book reviews here.
Thinking like a publishing house requires you to have the timing of one.
I never used to think about timing when it came to books. I always thought any book could be a great Christmas gift, so that’s probably a great time to release.
In reality, there are odd rules about book release timing that help a book sell well.
January – April: Romance, Self-help, Business books, Cookery
May – August: Adventure, Fantasy, Travel
Sept – Nov: Academic, Horror, Paranormal
Dec – Jan: Children, Cookery, Illustrated, Quiz, Dictionaries and quirky fun books.
Date info from selfpublishingadvice.org.
Lastly, thinking like a publishing house requires you to simply be willing to do the work necessary to get your book out there in front of readers and into their hands.
What works for one book won’t work for another. And what works for another author, might not work for you. It’s all about figuring out what works for your particular situation, and planning accordingly.
Good luck!
xoxo,
Ellie,