Goodreads Authors/Readers discussion
Nonfiction
>
Reached the summit! First published book out this weekend (finally)
date
newest »
newest »
Did you self publish, or do you have a publisher?I started off searching for an agent. When I found one, they wanted me to publish with what I would now describe as a vanity publisher, but they called a hybrid. They wanted several thousand dollars to publish my book.
I 'sacked' the agent and declined the offer as I couldn't afford it! I then self-published rgree fantasy novels.
I had some good fortune in that I responded to the author of a book I'd read, pointing out a geographical error she had made about my area of England. She graciously responded and recommended her publisher. I sent the latest book to him and had it accepted. He then asked to publish the ones I'd self-pubbed. Since then I've had all subsequent books published by him.
It wasn't an easy task, though. I have the obligatory rejections from agents and publishers. But serendipity always helps. If I'd not contacted that author I would probably still be self-pubbed and struggling with covers, edits, marketing etc.
Having a publisher already, getting 2books published during the pandemic wasn't a problem. It was before that it was hard.
Congratulations, Nathanial. I am climbing the publishing hill as well. It is confusing but exciting, rewarding but frustrating.
V.M. wrote: "Did you self publish, or do you have a publisher?I started off searching for an agent. When I found one, they wanted me to publish with what I would now describe as a vanity publisher, but they ca..."
That's a great story! Mine is much less interesting I'm afraid.
I was pitching to agents for what seemed like an eternity and hit a wall of rejections. I tried self publishing too (different titles) but that never went anywhere, probably because I'm terrible at graphic design and can't get the covers right. Eventually I began sending pitches straight to publishers. Just as I started to get a nibble, the company was bought by a larger one, and because of that everything froze. But I kept at it and eventually landed a deal, only to see COVID upend everything again literally one week after I submitted my draft. We had to revise things because of it, and there were lengthy delays, but I finally reached the peak last Friday. It was well worth the patience and effort.
It's a great feeling, and I wish you and other authors/aspiring authors the best. Thanks for sharing!
Penelope wrote: "Congratulations, Nathanial. I am climbing the publishing hill as well. It is confusing but exciting, rewarding but frustrating."Thanks Penelope. Keep at it and don't give up! Wishing you the best of luck.
Nathanial wrote: "V.M. wrote: "Did you self publish, or do you have a publisher?I started off searching for an agent. When I found one, they wanted me to publish with what I would now describe as a vanity publisher..."
Yes, it's a great feeling to see your hard work in print, digital or 'real' book.
I'm not a fan of agents. I submitted direct to publishers eventually. Agents just take a chunk of money from your hard-earned cash. Agents in any form, dramatic, sporting, writing, wharever, are middlemen. Why are they necessary? OK, some publishers won't take submissions except from an agent, but I still think they should be unnecessary.
Indeed I also heard that many publishers will only talk to agents. So I approached agents first because that's what I was told to do. Maybe I talked to the wrong ones, but I noticed that they only wanted to hear about things that match their (often narrow) interests. They didn't seem all that curious about what others might be interested in reading. Publishers seem to have a better sense of the variety of interests out there. For example, I don't read science fiction but I instantly get why others love it and why that genre is so popular. A publisher would of course consider science fiction titles, but an agent who has no interest in that genre simply won't give that budding author the time of day.
Nathanial wrote: "Indeed I also heard that many publishers will only talk to agents. So I approached agents first because that's what I was told to do. Maybe I talked to the wrong ones, but I noticed that they only ..."Absolutely. There are a few publishers who will only talk to agents, though.
It's football (soccer) agents that have put me off them, really. They seem to destabilise their clients into wanting to move so they will get a huge sum of money in the transfer!
It's a wonderful feeling! Congratulations.Now get back to work!! When is the next book going to be published? :) :) :)
Nathanial wrote: "It has been an incredibly drawn out process, made worse by COVID, and extremely eye-opening but I am happy to have finally achieved my long-sought dream of becoming a published book author. But it ..."congratulation!
John wrote: "It's a wonderful feeling! Congratulations.Now get back to work!! When is the next book going to be published? :) :) :)"
It's looking like Spring 2023. The second one will be longer and more technical so I'm happy for the extra time.
Kana wrote: "Nathanial wrote: "It has been an incredibly drawn out process, made worse by COVID, and extremely eye-opening but I am happy to have finally achieved my long-sought dream of becoming a published bo..."Thank you Kana!
Congratulations. I on the other time have reached the bottom of the pit. My publishing company has gone belly up. I don't mind so much that I have probably lost royalties. i mind that neither the paperback nor the ebook can be ordered. I have been called by a few people who have tried to order in one or the other formats. The worst part is that I don't know how to get my books moving again. Is there a solution?
Bruce wrote: "Congratulations. I on the other time have reached the bottom of the pit. My publishing company has gone belly up. I don't mind so much that I have probably lost royalties. i mind that neither the p..."That's terrible. You have my sympathy. I suppose that's one good thing about self-publishing.
I'm afraid I can't help you with getting your books moving again. Do you have the rights? I hope you didn't sign them away. I'm no lawyer, but I suspect if you did, you might have to go through the courts. If you still have the rights, then maybe you can re-publish. With new covers etc. I don't know if you would need a new ISBN.
But as I said, I'm not a lawyer and have little knowledge of these things. I suggest looking into it more deeply with a real lawyer.
I do own the rights. I wonder if its possible to get some the publisher to pick up at least the ebook rights and make it available. Can that happen?
About my book-- Anthill Economics: Animal Ecosystems and the Human Economy
Described by one reviewer as "out-of-the-box theories of economic relativity that would intrigue Albert Einstein." My wife arguably has the best take: "Nature tells us why we are having fewer babies, why the economy sucks, and how to tackle waste and pollution."
https://www.amazon.com/Anthill-Econom...
https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/anth...
Any other published authors out there who had similar uphill climbs trying to get a book out during a pandemic? I would love to read your stories.
Thanks!
Nate