BLOGWORDS – Monday 1 July 2019 – NEW WEEK NEW FACE – GUEST POST – KRISTENA MEARS

BLOGWORDS – Monday 1 July 2019 – NEW WEEK NEW FACE – GUEST POST – KRISTENA MEARS
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NEW WEEK NEW FACE – GUEST POST – KRISTENA MEARS
 
 
After The End

You’re finally finished.

Those months, or years, of toiling over that manuscript has finally come to an end.

You’ve put those two final words at the bottom of the last page and suddenly, every tired bone in your body becomes infused with excitement.

Just moments before you were so tired you couldn’t keep your eyes open, and now you want to run to your Facebook and Twitter page or call every friend in your phone contact list, to announce at the top of your lungs… “I finished my book!”

 

All the hard work is over… or is it?

Those of us that have reached this point know that, in reality, it’s just begun. Now we need to get it published.

So… will it be traditional or self-publishing for you? How do you decide?

 

Both self-publishing and traditional routes have their disadvantages and advantages. They both give the author the ability to work within the publishing industry. Both give the authors a path to share their writing with the world while building their careers. But which road to publishing should you pursue?

 

This is an important decision. It shouldn’t be decided on a whim. Knowing the opportunities and obstacles of each publishing routes is vital to making the best choice for you and your writing career.

Here are just a couple of points to consider.

 

Reputation

 

Let’s start out with the elephant in the room. Face it, there are many people, both writers, and readers, that will only consider Traditional Publication as being legit. There is some genuine justification for this. After all, this is the norm and we all want to be in the “in group.” This line of thought is perpetuated among many writers and writing groups. Often I have entered writing contest that only allow contestants who have never “published with a traditional publisher.” Stating that a self-published book “doesn’t count”

 

Is there justification for this line of thought? I believe there is. I’m not saying that traditional publishing is better, but in this day and age when self-publishing is so inexpensive and easily available, it can often be the lazy way out and books that are self-published may not be up to par with one published through a publishing house. Anyone who has the money can lay down the dough and call themselves an author.

 

I’ve read numerous books that were self-published and loved many of them. But there have also been several that were just mediocre. Some of these have had excellent plots and storylines but the writing itself hasn’t been polished. One series, in particular, I recall having such intrigue, that it kept me picking it up, even after I set it down over and over due to bad grammar and bland descriptions. I had to find out what the heroin did next and how she got out of each trap laid out for her.

To this day I want to message the author and urge her to polish her work.  This could have been avoided if this book was traditionally published. Then again, it could be a reason it was turned down if the author had pursued the traditional avenue.

 

Here I go ruffling feathers. Let me tell you what I have seen and experienced.

 

Personally, pursuing a path of traditional publishing has improved my own writing skills. Having a story rejected and going back to rewrite the entire novel for the tenth time has only improved my book and ability to conjure images and scenes that provide a tantalizing trip for the mind.

Often, we are too quick to accept our own work as being anything but amazing, when we would never approve of a similar work from someone else. This is to be expected. Our book is our own sweat and blood… It’s our baby.

 

Although this is a major drawback, it certainly doesn’t have to be the case. There are many tools that a writer can use to prevent this. Get involved in a proofreading group. Go to writer’s conferences and participate in one on ones and editor critiques. Be willing to let others tell us what is wrong and how to fix it. This can hurt our pride and sting our ego, but it will produce excellence if we allow others to tell us where the problems are.

Remember this doesn’t apply to our Mom and our best friends. They will love everything we write and often, they won’t be willing to give that “knock-out punch” we need.

 

Money

 

The big difference here is that with Self-publishing you will be shelling out money up front, and with Traditional Publishing, you will be paid up front. Advances for debut authors tend to fall between $2,000 and $15,000 USD. This can be a huge determining factor for many of us. Let’s face it. Money doesn’t grow on trees, as the saying goes. In the Traditional Publishing route, the publisher pays for everything. There will be an editor that will weed out all the small blunders in the text. There will be artists to create the cover and any other illustrations needed. A typesetter will see that the book is laid out correctly. And then create a marketing plan developed specifically around the author and the book. Everything will be done without any worry on the author’s end.

 

Self-publishing, on the other hand, can be expensive. Depending on what service is used, the cost can be close to $10,000 just to publish, and the cost can continue if you want to buy books for yourself to use as gifts and book shows. This doesn’t include the cost of marketing that would be covered in Traditional Publishing or the time it takes to research the market and put that plan together. We all know time is money, and much time will be spent on marketing. There are less expensive options such as Amazon and other “free” software, but even this option cost $100 to $300 just to publish. That’s after the cost of editing, cover design, and typesetting. And unless you are proficient in all of these areas, it’s best to pay the price and have them done, then put out under par work. Then, of course, there’s the marketing. You’re all on your own for this.

I’m not here today to cover what self-publishers are the best, but, be warned, not all of them have your best interest in mind. Read the fine print and reviews.

 

Payouts and royalties are also different. Self-published writers normally have higher royalties and are paid out once a month, but many never recover the cost they’ve put in.

Traditionally published books have lower royalties. Most of their sales go to the publisher and agents, but an advance is paid and there are no costs to recover. Everything received is profit.

 

 

So, what’s the best way to go? This is something you must decide for yourself. There’s no one right answer. There’ve been several famous authors that have self-published their works. Among them are names such as: Virginia Wolf, E.E. Cummings, Edgar Allan Poe, Mark Twain, Margaret Atwood. and Steven King.

 

So, self-publishing doesn’t mean second class or obscurity. Both take work. Both take time and neither one is easy. Only you can decide the path that is best for you and your writing career.

The important part is that you follow your passion, listen to your heart and keep your eyes on the reason you’re writing in the first place.

 

Happy writing… and publishing!

 

 

 

Kristena Mears is an award-winning author, freelance writer, blogger, and speaker. Her book Under Penalty of Death is anticipated to debut late this year. She lives in the Cincinnati Ohio area with her husband of 36 years.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#Blogwords, New Week New Face, #NWNF, Guest Post, Kristena Mears