News & Blog
Publishing Books
Writing | Posted by Carole on Wednesday 28 February 2007
I got an email from a reader who asked me if it costs anything to get a book published. I thought it was a good question and other aspiring writers might be interested to know the answer.
A writer doesn’t have to pay a publisher to print their book. Writers have expenses of course (I have to pay for paper, ink cartridges, books, train fare to the library etc.), but when a publisher accepts a book that you have written or has commissioned you to write, they pay you for the right to publish the book. The writer gets an ‘advance’, an amount of money before the book is in the shops. (Though it usually isn’t enough to live on for a year or however long it takes to write the book.) Then the writer gets a percentage of the money earned from book sales.
It is the publisher who pays to get all those books printed. They are the ones who invest money in a book. I only invest my time. The publisher pays for the paper the books are printed on (an expensive item for a print run of thousands of books), cover design, marketing, distribution etc.
Some people think that it is the writer who owns all the books that you see in the shops. That’s not the case. Though the writer still owns the story, it is the publisher who owns the actual books. As part of the contract between the writer and the publisher, the writer gets a number of free books (I get 20).
Self-publishing is another way to get a book published. That’s when you pay for the printing yourself. I don’t know much about self-publishing, but I imagine that (unless you are very rich) you would print something like 500 books, a lot less than a publishing company would print.
9 responses
Posted by Krystal on Wednesday 28 February 2007
…wow…I’d never be able to manage that…
My respect for you has just gone up to a whole new level.
Posted by Ryan on Friday 2 March 2007
Wow. That’s some great info. Thanks Carole.
I am writing a book called SPIRIT RISER and it is the first book in The Spirit Risers Series. All six books are planned. They are about the Spirit Risers’ who are on a journey to save the land of Duskvelden from the powers of the evil Lord Raven. I am loving writing. Have you got any tips and also, how can I make my work longer. With 6 chapters there are 15,000 words but I am aware that a book is 50,000 minimum.
Posted by Steph on Friday 2 March 2007
Hey Carole. I live in Melbourne Australia too! I have completed Dragon Keeper and Garden of the Purple Dragon. They are Awesome! Thanks for the info on publishing books. Great stuff. Can’t wait for Dragon Moon!
Posted by Carole on Sunday 4 March 2007
Krystal, Ryan,
Glad you found the info interesting. Good luck with the book Ryan. The only tip I have is ‘keep writing’. Who says a book has to be a minimun of 50,000 words? I’ve written books that are 35,000. Novellas can be shorter than that. A book should be as long as it takes to tell the story and no more.
Posted by Carole on Sunday 4 March 2007
Steph,
Good to know I have readers in Melbourne!
Posted by Alaska on Wednesday 11 June 2008
hi
i`m going to start write writing a advedture fantsy with dragons in i love drogon stories.
it starts with a ordany tea picker who sees sommething snuggeld up in a bush and at first thincks its a snake then realises its a drogon!
Posted by Carole on Wednesday 11 June 2008
Alaska,
Sounds good. Good luck with that!
Posted by Sarah on Monday 21 July 2008
hey! i’m also writing a novel and i find myself terribly flexible with my writing plan! i think i change the plan a bit every week or so. not sure if it’s a good trait for a writer, what do u think? and i also have problem with getting my character out of a sticky situation.
Posted by Carole on Wednesday 23 July 2008
Sarah,
Everyone has their own way of doing it. I like to be very firm about beginning middle and end and be flexible with the bits in between.