7 answers
Mina
Student
Japan
5
Questions
Asked
1444 views
Translated from Japanese .
How do you publish books you write?
How do you publish books you write?
I want to publish my books to see what you guys thoughts and opinions about the book I am writing
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7 answers
jose pimienta
comics and storyboarding
15
Answers
Burbank, California
Updated
jose’s Answer
There's usually two routes: Ether your book is picked up by a publisher OR you self publish. Both options are great, and each has their pros and cons.
To be published by a publisher, there are a lot of ways for that to happen- you can send your manuscript to literary agents in hopes for them to find a publisher. In order to find an agent, look up literary agencies, go through their agents and see who represents authors who write books you think yours would be a good fit with. This can be a long process, but when you find an agent, they become your champion. Once your agent finds a publisher, then more work because your work with an editor to make sure the best version of your book is the one that will be released.
Self-publishing is a different animal, because you're responsible for the whole process. You have to raise the money to cover the cost of printing, which means you have to look for the printing house, which means a lot of phone calls, emails and testing things out. Compare prices, compare quality of papers and figure out how long it will take to get your books in their roster. After that, you have your printed book but you have to promote it and distribute it as well. What that means is, you're responsible for promoting your book going to events, contacting media outlets that would like to talk to you about your book, finding podcasts who would be interested, going to events, doing readings, and so on. And for distribution, well... similar story. You have to call book stores and ask if they'd like to sell your book. It's a lot of work, but you keep all the earnings after fronting all the costs.
And that's how you publish books you write- in a very basic way.
To be published by a publisher, there are a lot of ways for that to happen- you can send your manuscript to literary agents in hopes for them to find a publisher. In order to find an agent, look up literary agencies, go through their agents and see who represents authors who write books you think yours would be a good fit with. This can be a long process, but when you find an agent, they become your champion. Once your agent finds a publisher, then more work because your work with an editor to make sure the best version of your book is the one that will be released.
Self-publishing is a different animal, because you're responsible for the whole process. You have to raise the money to cover the cost of printing, which means you have to look for the printing house, which means a lot of phone calls, emails and testing things out. Compare prices, compare quality of papers and figure out how long it will take to get your books in their roster. After that, you have your printed book but you have to promote it and distribute it as well. What that means is, you're responsible for promoting your book going to events, contacting media outlets that would like to talk to you about your book, finding podcasts who would be interested, going to events, doing readings, and so on. And for distribution, well... similar story. You have to call book stores and ask if they'd like to sell your book. It's a lot of work, but you keep all the earnings after fronting all the costs.
And that's how you publish books you write- in a very basic way.
Thank you, jose for the advice.
Mina
Kevin Ernenek
Writer
1
Answer
Cancún, Quintana Roo, Mexico
Updated
Kevin’s Answer
The best way to start in case you do not have an investment of at least $745 USD to publish with an editorial group, is to publish your books by yourself for free in Amazon kdp. You will need to create the cover of the book and upload the manuscript without spelling mistakes. You will be guided through the website. You could use the marketing campaigns that Amazon kdp offers to authors in the same platform and invest the money you want to destinate for their duration to make them known to people. I hope this information could help you, Mina.
I wish the best for your career as a writer!
I wish the best for your career as a writer!
I appreciate this, thank you for the advice.
Mina
Gregory Glading
Novelist
5
Answers
Polk City, Florida
Updated
Gregory’s Answer
Getting traditionally published takes luck, politics, and checking off the right DEI victim groups. I have published nine novels. I publish with New York Book Publishers as they have proven efficient and competent. You also retain all copyright, publishing rights, and marketing rights. My novels are at least in book form and have an internet presence. I have landed an agent. She has a deal in place for a traditional publisher to republish my novel, Darka’s Quest
Thank you for taking the time to help.
Mina
Eric Scott Gold
Entertainer
35
Answers
Newtown, Pennsylvania
Updated
Eric Scott’s Answer
About three years ago, my wife showed me a four-page summary from her cousin, who was planning to write a cookbook. This summary was like a preview of what the book would cover, including the topics, features, and whether it would include text or illustrations. It was in a Word document, but you could also share something similar through a URL for easy access. We both read it and provided feedback. After that, her cousin shared it with her husband and others to gather more opinions. Because it was short, many people were willing to read it and offer helpful suggestions. You might want to start with a brief introduction of your project, writing about three or four pages. Let others review it and give you honest feedback, then make adjustments based on their input.
I appreciate this, thank you for the advice.
Mina
Ratika Mishra
Senior Content Strategist
9
Answers
Bengaluru, Karnataka, India
Updated
Ratika’s Answer
Being an author myself, I would suggest first- finish the book you are writing with the thought that "Everyone is waiting to read my book, so let me make it the best book." as first time authors tend to be a little insecure and not believe in themselves. Next, you can either self-publish or go with a traditional publisher. Once, the publisher is finalised , try thinking about the book summary, book cover everything. Also, think about how you are going to market it. Marketing your book is the game half won. Once you are able to market it properly and place it in all the retail stores that's when your book will start to sell. But remember to write your book first with complete authenticity and belief in your self.
Ratika, thank you!
Mina
Helen Grimmett
Product Manager
7
Answers
Slough, England, United Kingdom
Updated
Helen’s Answer
First- Congratulations on writing a book! That is such a great achievement.
Writing a book and publishing it is a very different thing. You should not publish your book to get feedback on whether it is good enough. You should only publish when you have had it professionally edited and you know it is as good as you can get it. As an author you have to be thick skinned, because folks can be mean if they pay good money to buy your book and then your book is grammatically incorrect, has plot holes, is written badly.
The reason you need a professional editor, is because writing is a craft like any other profession, and you have to learn how to write a good story. Without external eyes on your work before you publish you won't be aware of silly mistakes, unknown biases, classic mistakes early writers make like telling instead of showing etc. The one thing you should invest in is an editor. The more you write, the more you learn, and the better you will get. My eleventh book is way better written than my debut novel for example!
Then you can explore whether to go traditional or self- published. There are pro and cons to each.
Traditional - someone else does the cover/publishing work for you, you get an advance, but you need an agent (who takes a cut) and once you have an agent they have to sell your book, which could take years. This is a long term plan. You give up control of your book, names, titles, plot etc. Publisher could tell you to change whatever they don't like. They bought the book, they own the rights.
Self-published - you do all the work yourself, you only make money if your books sells. But you can publish when you choose to, you retain control of your book, choose your cover (and pay for it! cost for an ebook cover range from $135- too whatever you can afford!). Editing is the expensive part. There are different types of editors and price varies dependent on how many words in your book.
There is a huge amount of information out there. The one thing to remember is that you should never pay someone to publish your book for you. They shoudl pay you!
Good luck on your writing journey.
Join a writers group, where you can get free advice. Or online writing communities who are willing to share information and experiences, there are many on facebook.
Writing a book and publishing it is a very different thing. You should not publish your book to get feedback on whether it is good enough. You should only publish when you have had it professionally edited and you know it is as good as you can get it. As an author you have to be thick skinned, because folks can be mean if they pay good money to buy your book and then your book is grammatically incorrect, has plot holes, is written badly.
The reason you need a professional editor, is because writing is a craft like any other profession, and you have to learn how to write a good story. Without external eyes on your work before you publish you won't be aware of silly mistakes, unknown biases, classic mistakes early writers make like telling instead of showing etc. The one thing you should invest in is an editor. The more you write, the more you learn, and the better you will get. My eleventh book is way better written than my debut novel for example!
Then you can explore whether to go traditional or self- published. There are pro and cons to each.
Traditional - someone else does the cover/publishing work for you, you get an advance, but you need an agent (who takes a cut) and once you have an agent they have to sell your book, which could take years. This is a long term plan. You give up control of your book, names, titles, plot etc. Publisher could tell you to change whatever they don't like. They bought the book, they own the rights.
Self-published - you do all the work yourself, you only make money if your books sells. But you can publish when you choose to, you retain control of your book, choose your cover (and pay for it! cost for an ebook cover range from $135- too whatever you can afford!). Editing is the expensive part. There are different types of editors and price varies dependent on how many words in your book.
There is a huge amount of information out there. The one thing to remember is that you should never pay someone to publish your book for you. They shoudl pay you!
Good luck on your writing journey.
Helen recommends the following next steps:
Thank you, Helen!
Mina
Dr H
Dr. H's Research
1432
Answers
Australia
Updated
Dr’s Answer
Hey Mina,
Girl, That’s brave, beautiful, and something to be really proud of. ✨ I am proud of you for wanting to go on right now.
Firstly, If you’re still working on it, don’t rush — take your time building your world, your characters, your voice. And when you’re ready to start sharing (even if it’s just a chapter or two), there are friendly platforms where you can test the waters and get supportive feedback. One I highly recommend is Royal Road! My brother’s actually posting his novel there — he uploads around 2000 words a day — and he’s slowly building a reader base in his own chill way. It’s a great place to grow, learn, and be seen. My sister as an artist and writer she also started using this site and I even would be happy to read what you got cooking because every story shared is somthing to read and feel.
So go for it, at your own pace. Your story matters.
Now ofcourse there is ways to publish them, one is traditional way and second is self publishing.
First, you could try traditional publishing, where you send your manuscript to publishers or literary agents. If they like it, they’ll help you get your book out there! But, it can take time, and sometimes you might face rejection before getting a yes. It’s a bit of a journey, but so worth it if you love the process.
Then, there's self-publishing — you can upload your book to platforms like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing or IngramSpark. It gives you a lot of creative control and faster results, but you’ll be handling everything yourself, like marketing and formatting.
Either way, it’s all about getting your voice out there, and I’m sure readers will love your work. If you ever need advice or tips, I'm always here for you!
https://www.royalroad.com/home
Girl, That’s brave, beautiful, and something to be really proud of. ✨ I am proud of you for wanting to go on right now.
Firstly, If you’re still working on it, don’t rush — take your time building your world, your characters, your voice. And when you’re ready to start sharing (even if it’s just a chapter or two), there are friendly platforms where you can test the waters and get supportive feedback. One I highly recommend is Royal Road! My brother’s actually posting his novel there — he uploads around 2000 words a day — and he’s slowly building a reader base in his own chill way. It’s a great place to grow, learn, and be seen. My sister as an artist and writer she also started using this site and I even would be happy to read what you got cooking because every story shared is somthing to read and feel.
So go for it, at your own pace. Your story matters.
Now ofcourse there is ways to publish them, one is traditional way and second is self publishing.
First, you could try traditional publishing, where you send your manuscript to publishers or literary agents. If they like it, they’ll help you get your book out there! But, it can take time, and sometimes you might face rejection before getting a yes. It’s a bit of a journey, but so worth it if you love the process.
Then, there's self-publishing — you can upload your book to platforms like Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing or IngramSpark. It gives you a lot of creative control and faster results, but you’ll be handling everything yourself, like marketing and formatting.
Either way, it’s all about getting your voice out there, and I’m sure readers will love your work. If you ever need advice or tips, I'm always here for you!
Dr recommends the following next steps: