State of flux - where we are now

I draw your attention to this excellent overview of the changing situation in publishing vs self-publishing. Libby Fischer Hellmann has used both avenues, and therefore knows of what she speaks. She compares how things were eighteen months ago with how things are now, listing changing pros and cons of each route to publication.

My message has always been, "Whatever you do, do it with eyes wide open" and that blog post will really help clarify things, I believe. It also has links to other useful posts.

I think she speaks great sense and I like her calm analysis.

To remind you of my own position:

• As you know, I have been published many times (around 90) by trade publishers - publishers whose role is to take all the financial risk (apart from my considerable time) of production and distribution and invest in the editing, copy-editing, proof-reading and marketing of my books.
• However, a) most trade publishers now invest far less in all of those roles for most authors, including me b) published authors are expected to do more and more for less and less return and c) some books are eminently suitable for self-published, at least by clued-up authors.
• Therefore, as you know, I am also doing some self-publishing, under Crabbit Publishing. I have so far published Tweet Right, am about to republish Mondays are Red (details very soon!) and then will publish my in-progress ebook on how to write a great synopsis.
• However, I still want to be published by trade publishers for some of my work. I think I am very well-placed to know which is the better form for each book of mine.
• And I want to continue to share that knowledge with you and help you make the right decisions, too. Through Pen2Publication,  I am also currently helping a client who intends to self-publish a novel.

So, there you have it.

Oh and one more thing: I don't care about my sales as much as perhaps I should. I care many times more about putting out books I can be proud of. Commercially, I care very much that my books sell enough to keep a decent publisher happy - because otherwise I won't stay published - but riches? You can stick them.

Luckily.

A PUBLISHING TIME-LINE

I was driven to write this post by two things: people nagging me politely suggesting it and the horrible moment the other day when someone tweeted that she'd just pre-ordered Write To Be Published on Book Depository and that it would arrive on her doormat in 246 days. Which, considering I have only just finished writing it and it hasn't been edited yet, which it badly needs, is very seriously scary.

She then freaked me out by saying she was also planning to pre-order my book on writing for children. Which is apparently going to arrive on her doormat in 429 days, despite the fact that...brace yourselves...not only have I not written a single word of it but also I also didn't know I'd agreed to write it. So keen is the fabulous Emma Barnes at Snowbooks that she's played a blinder of a tactic. Basically, Book Depository and Snowbooks say I'm writing it, so I must be. Bugger.

Note: I have now agreed to write it, but Write for Children is not the title, and nor is Dec 2011 the pub date. It's to be called So You Think You Can Write For Children? and will be published March 2012. AGES away. Relax.

Anyway. Let's talk about the length of time it takes to publish a book.

Here are two things which don't happen:

A. Author finishes book, sends to publisher, publisher says yes, book goes through editing and production process and is published when it's ready.
NOR
B. Publisher says, "Yes, we like your book proposal idea - when do you think you can write it by? Christmas? Lovely. So, we'll arrange our publishing schedule to fit your time-scale. Cheers."

Here was my first actual publishing schedule:

1. Egmont commissioned me to write a series of home learning books, based partly on some books I'd self-published. Series to be called I Can Learn. (Which I mention because it became and still is, very successful. And I'm very proud of it. So there. I don't earn much from it, as it's the sort of thing that's based on fees, not royalties, but parents email me and tell me I taught their child to read. So, that's nice. More money would also be nice but you can't have everything.)
2. At the initial meeting, Egmont said they'd like to publish in twelve months. Lovely, I said.
3. But the design, illustrations and production would all need to be done after I'd done the planning, layouts and writing of the content, they said. Fair enough, I said.
4. And all that design, illustration and production would take ten months.
5. Leaving me with two months? For twelve books?
6. Um, no, they said.
7. Oh, so, more than that, somehow? I said
8. Um, no. Less. See, we need you to do the plan for each book and have it okayed by the team first.
9. Leaving me with four weeks. For twelve books. From scratch.
10. Yes.

Readers, I did it.

Is that normal? Not exactly, because home learning books are not like full-length books.

Let's look at two more examples
1. My recent publishers for fiction and some full-length non-fiction, Walker Books, introduced an exceptionally cautious publishing schedule a couple of years ago, meaning that I/we had to deliver the MS of a novel 17 months before publication date. SEVENTEEN MONTHS?? WTF?

2. Write to be Published, with Snowbooks, had a delivery date of Oct 1 2010 - done! - for publication June 1 2011. That's a low-normal amount of time and I wouldn't want less time between delivery and publication. After all, my delivered MS could be drivel and need massive editing.

"Normal" is anything between the Snowbooks and Walker examples. 

So, what has to be done during the time between delivery of the complete but unedited MS and publication? (Bear in mind that a huge publisher may need more time than a small one, because they have more books to handle and you do need to make sure that yours gets enough attention at every stage. And YOU should be informed and involved at every stage, too.)

• Editing - including perhaps a major revision. At this stage, you and your editor may send the MS back and forth several times until you both agree everything.
• Copy-editing - and more going backwards and forwards as the 12-year-old copy-editor suggests foolish changes to your MS and also some very important ones that you really should have noticed.
• Proof-reading - when tiny typos and widows and orphans and double spaces and wrong sort of commas are spotted.
• Cover design - and its approval by all parts of the company, and you.
• Back cover copy.
• Advance Information sheet with info for Amazon and all booksellers - this AI info is crucial and if it's not right it will be not right for ever and a day.
• Wooing of major book chains.
• Marketing plans.
• Typsetting and production.
• Insertion into appropriate catalogues.
• Bribery, corruption.
• Nail-biting.
• Sales conference.
• Sending it to lots and lots of reveiwers who use it to prop up a table.
• Lots of things to do with distribution which I don't understand.
• Quite a bit of getting cross because things could always be so much better.
• The realisation that you've actually written a terrible book and everyone's going to hate it.
• Eating of chocolate.
• I've probably forgotten a few things.

Which perhaps explains why it's not quick.

Learn the art of Zen.