Getting published – a third way

With the e-revolution fully underway and many writers ‘going indie,’ there’s another shift in the publishing landscape: a new breed of publishing house is springing up, mainly offering e-publishing and inviting previously unpublished authors to submit. I know of several writers (all with decent writing c.v.s but who up to now have failed to get a novel published) who have signed with one or other of these new kids on the block.

Crooked Cat

And so it looks as though the aspiring author now has a third option to add to the existing strategies of a) continuing with the round of submitting to agents and conventional publishers and b) self- or indie publishing.

So how can these companies make offers to new writers when mainstream publishers are being so very cautious? Presumably because the lower costs of e-publishing reduce the risk compared to a conventional publisher who has print and distribution costs to consider. So is the market for books really expanding? Can we have more publishers, more authors, all selling more books and making, in the global sense, more money from them? The answer may well be ‘yes’. I’ve bought more e-books since buying the e-reader than I ever would have bought tree-books in the same period. And I’ve heard others who are readers pure and simple (not egged on like me by curiosity about the competition!) also commenting that they are buying more books for Kindle than they would have paperbacks.

But what about individual writers? Whether we ‘go indie’ or are signed by an e-publisher, what kind of return can we expect? E-books typically sell for up to two pounds for indie publishers and up to three or four  from an e-publisher (allowing for their own mark-up).  Amazon and other distribution channels (as I understand it) also take a cut. We’re all going to have to shift shed-loads to get much of a return. Of course lots of writers have done just that, especially in theUSA. And I’m reminded that unless your book is an undisputed banker,  advances from conventional publishers have fallen off the bottom of the scale.

What I can’t say right now is how the return from indie publishing might compare to going with an e-publisher. How will the royalties pan out? How much will the writer gain from the publisher’s ‘branding’, and what else will the publisher do (design, marketing, distribution) to drive sales?

However you look at it, more publishers publishing more authors sounds like a good thing to me.  And as luck would have it, one writer who has plumped for  the ‘third way’ is coming next week to talk about her experience.

Mandy James’ debut novel Righteous Exposure was published last week by the cutely named Crooked {Cat} Publishers and went straight into the Amazon best-seller lists. – a fantastic achievement! I don’t expect she’ll give away any trade secrets but I’m really looking forward to having her as my guest.

We’re aiming for Tuesday. Hope you’ll come along!