1. Publish a book at the expense of the publisher
Being published by a major publishing house is the preferred way that any aspiring writer dreams of. Not only will your book be published, handed over to stores, promoted and advertised, you will also receive a fee for your work. The fee in large publishing houses is, as a rule, 7-10% of the cost of the book. No, not from the price at which it will be displayed in the store, but from the wholesale price at which the book publisher sells it to its partners. It is 3-4 times lower than the store. But still nice, right?
What does it take to be published by some publishing giant? The answer suggests itself: “To be a brilliant writer,” but no. The modern book world does not benefit from lone writers, no matter how talented they are. Books are sold in series or as projects, and if your work does not fit into the series, publishing analysts will consider that it will not be sold, which means that there is no point in publishing it.
Want to make money writing? Explore the book market, see which series and projects are selling out the most actively now, and write in them! Yes, on order. Contact the publisher, let them know that you want to work on a specific project, discuss the synopsis with the editor and go ahead.
What is a series and what is a project? A series is books by different authors connected by a common theme. “Girls’ Favorite Books” – detective-romantic stories for teenagers, “Magic Academy” – magical detective stories for slightly older girls, “Other Worlds” – fantasy for both sexes, more serious but still necessarily romantic. There are many series. Choose! Maybe the book you conceived will fall under some kind of series anyway? Maybe you don’t have to adjust?
The project is books by different authors, united by one universe. The universe of “Patrols” Lukyanenko, his own “Borderlands”. “S.T.A.L.K.E.R” based on the game of the same name, “Ethnogenesis”. Right there, just write to order, merge into the world invented by someone. Yes, it is more difficult, but if the world is interesting, it will even bring you pleasure.
2. Raise money for a publication on a crowdfunding platform
You won’t have to adapt to anyone, write to order – too. Write your masterpiece the way you see it. Tell the world what you want to say. Contact the printing house, ask them to calculate the price of the book for different editions, and by creating a project on a crowdfunding platform, try to interest the maximum number of people in it.
What is the principle of crowdfunding? People sponsor this or that project. Buy a book before it is published. Or a movie disc before it’s shot. You promise, for example, that whoever pays for one copy will receive an autographed book as a gift. Whoever pays 10 will receive not only copies, but also a blueberry pie baked by you personally. Be original, try to stand out among other projects.
Thus, you will find yourself in a much more advantageous position than the publishing house. It, publishing a book, risks money and does not know whether this novel will be sold. You, having raised the money, have already sold the entire circulation in advance.
There are no risks. By collecting a smaller amount, you can simply reduce the circulation. Without even collecting the minimum circulation, you simply return the money to the project participants.
Some pluses? No, there is one downside. It’s not easy to spread the word about your project. It’s not easy to get people interested and persuade them to buy your unpublished book. But you are a writer! You are the creator of the worlds! You are a creative person! You can do it if you want. You will succeed!
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3. Publish a book at the expense of a sponsor
The same crowdfunding, but in reality. Contact large companies, again, already having a finished, written book in your hands and a breakdown of the cost for various circulations. Promise them advertising on the back cover. Promise them a mention in the work. Promise blueberry pie to the principal. Do not forget to mention that the published book is an information occasion that can be used for mention in the media.
This benefits both you and them. But yes, it will take all your charm to bypass the secretary, reach out to the manager and convince him to invest in this long-term advertising.
It will be an additional advantage if you discuss with bookstores how you will sell this book before going to potential sponsors. And not only with shops. Get to know local literary clubs, libraries, discuss with them the possibility of organizing your creative evenings with the sale or distribution of books. In a conversation with a sponsor, operate with numbers. “You invest 100,000 and the book with your advertisement will be distributed in such and such a circulation!” or “You invest 100 thousand and 70 thousand of them I expect to return back on sale in the first month!”
You risk nothing again, and if successful, you find yourself the author of a book that has been published and sold in good circulation.
4. Get a book edition as a gift
The method is not simple, and indeed, it is conditionally a “method”. Taking into account modern publishing technologies, the price of publishing a book becomes comparable to the price of a good laptop or vacuum cleaner. And many publishers have long been selling gift certificates for their services. Do you have friends who want to give you a really nice, memorable gift? Hint…
5. Find a literary agent
A literary agent will do all the work described in the first three paragraphs for you for a certain percentage of book sales. In the West, the profession of a literary agent is common and highly paid. There are only a few of them in Russia so far, but they exist. Have you written a book that you think is really talented? Look for a literary agent. Convince him to sell your book, sell you as a brand, and if he takes it, he will. He already has established channels of communication with publishers and sponsors. That’s why he’s an agent to do his job well.
6. Participate in literary competitions
Of course, one must participate in them in principle, without being tied to a specific task of publishing a book. A prize in the “Debut”, for example, dramatically increases the interest in you of both publishers and users of crowdfunding platforms, and in general the influx of readers to your page on the network or public on a social network. The famous “Ragged Hot Water Bottle”, in which the story must be written in a very short time, on a narrow and original topic, and often starting with a certain sentence and ending with a certain sentence, will not only attract attention to you, but also help you discover new facets of talent .
Well, in general, the publication of a book by one author rarely becomes the prize for participation in the competition. Much more often this is a collection of short stories, but nevertheless, this is a publication, this is an edition of a book, albeit not completely yours.
Monitor websites and public publishers. There are often announced contests of short stories and novels for certain dates. By May 9, someone will launch a contest of stories about the Great Patriotic War. For the birthday of a famous poet – a competition of poems or stories inspired by his works. To the launch of a new book project – a competition of stories about the world of this project. Monitor the websites konkursy.pishi.pro and vsekonkursy.ru. Something will find a response in your soul, you will definitely want to participate in some competition.
7. Become a publisher yourself
This method can be attributed to the publication of the book for free only conditionally. Will have to invest. Find money, contact a printing house, print a book, conclude an agreement with bookstores, organize creative evenings, negotiate with literary clubs and libraries and sell the entire circulation, not only recouping costs, but also making a profit.
It’s possible and it’s real. Only, of course, you don’t need to invest in circulation, and only then go to bookstores. First, outline a plan, collect preliminary agreements, and only then act. Remember that in modern printing houses, the acceptable price of one copy of a book does not begin at all with a circulation of several thousand. You can start by publishing fifty copies, or a hundred. And see how they sell.
And most importantly, before you start all this, let a good friend read your book, and then ask him: “Only honestly, tell me, would you buy this?” And if the answer is no – think about it, maybe you should write something better first?