A Note about Publishing

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A NOTE ABOUT PUBLISHING

There are many routes to having a published book. Until recently, the only acceptable and respectable route was that of the traditional publisher. Months were required before the author would see the rough draft (called a galley or ARC), and then it would be many more months before it hit the bookshelves. The author would have little to no say about the cover of the book, and would be afforded very little involvement in the actual creative production side of the material. The author was required to make themselves available for interviews and be willing to travel to promote the book.


Now, of course, eBooks have come onto the scene, as well as the self-publishing of hard copy books. This has set the traditional publishing houses on their proverbial ears and much of their backlash against self-publishing was, initially, justified. They claimed that the due diligence that was provided by a host of editors and publicists and other support personnel was not provided or existed with self-published books, meaning that the quality would be less.


In all honesty, initially, this was true. Some of the worst books were put into print that should never have seen the light of day. Rife and resplendent with spelling mistakes, grammatical mistakes, and plot lines that sagged, they made the case that self-published authors were publishing sub-standard work and should be avoided by the savvy consumer like the plague. This is no longer true. Many companies have come forward to help the neophyte writer with the formatting, cataloging as well as offering other support staff services, such as editing to the new writer. This insures that the end product is as good as their high rise cousins.