{"id":663,"date":"2018-04-02T20:00:45","date_gmt":"2018-04-03T00:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/dremadeoraich\/?p=663"},"modified":"2018-04-02T20:16:03","modified_gmt":"2018-04-03T00:16:03","slug":"non-traditional-alternatives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.dremadeoraich.com\/index.php\/2018\/04\/02\/non-traditional-alternatives\/","title":{"rendered":"Non-Traditional Alternatives"},"content":{"rendered":"

Because the digital age has opened new doors into publishing opportunities, getting your work into print is no longer an either\/or matter \u2013 either you bend your work to the idiosyncracies of the mass market demand or you remain anonymous. That\u2019s definitely a good thing for those of us who hope to make our stories\/novels\/essays available to the general public. These days there are many evolving trends in the business, tides in the workflow that change on a regular basis. It\u2019s almost a full-time job just keeping up with the latest news.<\/p>\n

Unfortunately, the alternative routes to publication are fraught with risk. There are so many writers with the same strong desire to publish, the fields are ripe for scammers who will promise you publication and recognition just to get you to empty your wallet. Many of these companies have zero interest in getting your work out there, only 100% interest in paying themselves.<\/p>\n

Work smart. Stay informed. Don\u2019t jump on the first deal you find. Look around at all your available options before you even think about signing anything. Decide what kind of arrangement you will seek and\/or settle for, and what sort of house or service is best for your particular project. Then, do your homework! Research the companies that catch your eye. Stay tuned to writers\u2019 support sites whose job is not<\/u> to sell you a service, but to keep scammers from giving you the business. WriterBeware<\/a> (a service of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America<\/a>), is one of these. Their site lists a few alternatives to traditional publishing, as well as the red flags that should put your hackles up when researching their services. Fee-based publication is one of those to approach with caution. Some of these companies are legitimate, but the ones that aren\u2019t are plentiful.<\/p>\n

Keep in mind as a starting point for your research that traditional publishers do not charge the writer for any part of the publishing process<\/u><\/strong>. On the contrary, they purchase certain rights with regard to the author\u2019s project. They pay the writer, not the other way around. Of course, the traditional (or legacy) route can afford to be very selective. If you\u2019re like me, and you\u2019ve queried so many agents or houses you\u2019ve had to keep a database to track them all, you know it\u2019s difficult at best to get a publishing deal with a traditional house, especially the large ones. In addition, not every traditional publishing house is author-friendly for us newcomers.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, vanity publishers make no bones about the fact that they charge the author, sometimes exorbitant fees, to produce a book. Their profit comes mainly from the authors, not book sales. Further, the price the writer pays is not only counted in dollars and cents. For example, they often contract rights on an exclusive basis, which means if the writer finds a better deal elsewhere, they\u2019ll be out of luck. WriterBeware has a list of scamming vanity publishers who\u2019ve been in the news. Read it. Bookmark it. You\u2019ll want to refer back to stay on top of whatever new names these bozos are using today.<\/p>\n

\u201cStealth\u201d vanity houses claim to be traditional publishers, yet charge \u201chidden\u201d fees for various reasons: set-up, reading, editing, or the like. In other cases they withhold royalties until their \u201cexpenses\u201d are recouped. There are a dozen different ways these scam artists bilk the writer for costs the publisher should cover. Subsidy publishers are vanity publishers in disguise. Don\u2019t be fooled.<\/p>\n

Hybrid publishers, on the other hand, at least offer fee-based packages that actually carry value for the writer. In addition, genuine hybrid services are selective in what they will and won\u2019t accept in submissions. They take care of the editing\/design\/marketing and distribution, depending on the package you buy, and as part of their payment, they keep a percentage of the sales. Thus they have greater incentive to actively market your work. They also offer the potential for actual distribution of your book in brick-and-mortar businesses. Reputable hybrid services can even offer better royalties to the writer and hold themselves to an industry standard of ethics<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Writers\u2019 service companies charge the writer for various pre- or post-completion services such as copyright registration, marketing on display sites that display a portion of your work for feedback and\/or critique, publicity, query and submission services, marketing, and more \u2013 for a fee. If you\u2019re a busy writer with literally no time to market your own work, this may be helpful to you, but in many cases the work they claim to do for you is work you could do yourself.<\/p>\n

DIY or do-it-yourself publishing is available through companies that offer upload programs which allow writers to go straight to online availability, whether in print (see print on demand) or e-book format. This route involves a lot more work for the writer, and is not necessarily free\u2014at least, not if you want a good product. See below.<\/p>\n

POD, or print on demand, is an option in self- or DIY publishing wherein books are printed one at a time or in small lots rather than the more standard large print runs. It\u2019s more expensive, thus the cover price for such a book must be higher to recoup the costs.<\/p>\n

DIY and POD are both commonly available through self-publishing services, many of which go through platforms that are free of charge; let me repeat that \u2013 you needn\u2019t spend a penny to self-publish this way. The services take their cut from each sale at the time of purchase. However, you\u2019ll want to at least consider an independent editing service, which can be pricey. The deep edit I contracted from a professional editor cost around $6\/page which, in my case, ran to a total of somewhere around $2,400. Believe me, it\u2019s money well spent. A published novel that is full of spelling or grammar errors is not a good reflection on the writer\u2019s professionalism and will leave a lingering bad impression with readers. You know, those folks you\u2019re counting on to buy your books again in the future?<\/p>\n

These are just a few of the options out there. In the last couple of days alone, I\u2019ve come across two suspicious services who claim to be able to help me get my project noticed, perhaps even placed with a big (or small) publishing house, for a fee. I have deliberately not named any individual or company I suspect or might have read about who fall into one of the above red-flag categories because I haven\u2019t done enough research yet to be sure. Others, like WriterBeware and similar writers\u2019 resources sites, have. Search out everything you can find on a company that attracts your interest. Read the fine print. Know who you\u2019re dealing with. Be sure they are who they say they are before you hand over your credit card number. Writers already struggle to make a living at their trade. Don\u2019t hand someone else your hard-earned money before you\u2019re absolutely sure they can deliver a worthwhile return on your investment.<\/p>\n<\/body>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"