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This rejection made me smile
I just received a rejection from Legend - after more than a year. They enjoyed my work very much, but it wasn't what they are looking for. If I have any other material they'd be happy to consider it. What made me smile, though, is the fact that my novel is due out next month from Solidus.
Comments
what your novel about ?
http://www.soliduspress.com/
and there's bits and pieces about writing it on my blog:
http://snigsfoot.blogspot.com
And congratualtions on the publication :))
PS - what exactly does Print on Demand mean? I know there have been freds on it before but I can't seem to retain the information. Do you have to pay to get your book published by Solidus? Or is it really 'Getting a publishing deal' in the sense I understand?
;)
Congrats.
Some publishers (who offer a standard publishing deal) have started using print on demand for their books- costs are cut because large print runs and storage space for the books is not needed on the same scale.
The big boys are starting to use POD [MacMillian], but not in the same way as the indies.
the Society of Authors model contract. They publish about nine or ten books a year.
There are quite a number of small publishers now and it's always worth trying them instead of concentrating only upon the big companies. But do you homework properly because there are some dodgy ones out there as well as the really good one.
Now comes the hard work of promoting yourself and your book...
It's not a bad way to start. Prove you can sell, then try the big boys again.
If you're being 'commercially published' editing and marketing should be the same as if you were dealing with the big publishers.
A lot of self-publishing companies use POD, so yes the author pays and has to do all the editorial and marketing work.
My first publisher employed an in-house editor - whose job was basically proof-reading - and every change she made involved a phone call to me. My publisher asked for a few minor edits to tighten up the story and to highlight a couple of aspects. I worked on the suggestions and my edits were accepted without quibble. And my book is far better for this.
As for marketing - it's never a good idea just to sit back and let the publisher do all the work. Self promotion always pays off.
Anyone can pay to have their work published but it's not the same thing as 'getting taken on' by a 'proper' publishing house (ie Orion) is it?
I must be very old-fashioned on this one. My novels may never publish, but when they do, I'd prefer that they were bought from me (as with my short stories). Somehow, paying to have one's own work put out there ... don't know why but it sticks in the proverbial 'craw'. Even if there's not much dosh involved, I would prefer the 'kudos' of the traditional route, it proves someone thought there was saleable merit in my work. And if it isn't good enough, then it will never be seen (probably a good thing, that!)
Times they are a'changing ...
There are some companies which are basically printers offering additional services to produce books which you can then market and they will take any manuscript you want to get published and turn it into a book. Some of these include various marketing packages which you can purchase.
And there are publishers of the traditional sort, some of which are very big and some of which are very small. The big publishers use litho printing and will produce an initial print run of several thousand copies of a book. This involves a huge investment in each title which is which the small indpendent publishers tend to use POD technology. That makes unit costs greater, which squeezes profit margins. But it does make it possible for publishers to be more adventurous in what titles they will accept for publication because the risks are not as high.
In the end there is no short cut for the author. You have to do you homework - check the track record of the publishers you approach. How long have they been in business, what other nooks do they publish?
And, as a rule of thumb, I would say avoid any deal which involves paying to be published. And, yes, be prepared to get involved with a lot of self-promotion whether you are with an small independent publisher or a big corporation.
On another note, it would be good to hear from those involved in their own publicity which methods they found most fruitful. Local press releases ? I have had excellent results from these with community campaigns but never tried with writing.