ScitheSpy's journey as a Sci Fi Writer

The Publishing Journey of a Science Fiction Writer

by sciwriter1


Where to start, I guess that question goes through the mind of every writer who steps onto the conveyor belt of publishing. I did the usual rounds of research, checking online and at the local library. I read numerous “how-to” books, but in the end, it is the writer who decides the best course of action to take. No other writer’s accounts can really prepare you for what lies ahead, but they can give a little insight into the world of publishing.

First and foremost, I would say prepare to steel yourself for an abundance of dreaded rejection letters. The idea of submitting your manuscript to the first or second publisher you choose, having it snapped up, and making the best sellers list is a dream, a nice dream, but nevertheless a dream.

Here’s a little something you may not be aware of, J K Rowling; (author of the Harry Potter series, and first ever billionaire author) was actually turned down by virtually every top publishing house. The moral? Never give up, no matter how many of those rejection letters you receive someone will eventually take notice.

The rejection letter is part of an author’s everyday life. I can’t tell you the total amount of times I send out query letters with the hope that maybe this time it won’t be rejected. I lost count of those letters, but there were a few that weren’t rejections.Those few however, where from publishing houses who maintain a financial partnership with the author.

This financial partnership calls for the author to shell out the majority of the cost of publication and to recoup said expenditure from the royalties. I found that the asking price of this financial partnership ranged from different publishers from (these prices are in UK pounds as I’m from the UK) £1,500 up to and exceeding £6,000.

Now, golden rule I’m sure most of you are aware of, never shell out cash to a publisher for publishing your manuscript, they are supposed to make their profit by selling your book, not out of your bank account up front; suffice to say I did not take advantage of these offers.

My journey to publication was gained via the Internet. Since I had an agent who seemed to do absolutely nothing to gain a publisher I decided to give him the boot. This is another area that can be a minefield for an author. Do you need an agent or not? The answer to that question is it really depends on whether you can get a good one.

A good agent will make his money from promoting you and your manuscript, so the same rule that applies to publishers applies to agents. Get a good agent and he or she will get you published and promote you and your work as best they can because this is how they make their living. The more you make the more they make. The main problem with this is, finding a good agent is just as hard, if not harder, than finding a good publisher.

Agents are the first line in publishing; it’s their job to see if your manuscript will actually turn a profit. Bad agents, of which there are plenty, will accept your work, ask fees for reading and the like, or subscription fees etcetera and simply let your work rot on a shelf. All they want is the subscription fee and reading fees. They usually have hundreds of submissions and this is how they make their living.

So after deciding to move on from my agent; (by the way I did manage to learn from an exceptional editor with the agency, how to script a manuscript for film and television, so it wasn’t a total loss) I began searching for a publisher again.

After some time I came across a publisher known as Publish America. After several emails with them and submitting my manuscript, I was eager and quite overjoyed at being accepted that I (without really thinking) signed the contract. I clearly was naïve expecting to become the next big thing in the publishing world.

I have to say that I didn’t fully look into the background of Publish America; although I was aware they expected the author to do the promoting. I will digress here for a few moments on the art of promoting. Promoting is not as easy as one would think. It takes a great deal of time and effort to promote a book enough to garner sales and should not be taken lightly. Once again with legitimate publishers, they will do the bulk of promotion and put their cash behind promoting your manuscript to gain the best sales possible. Having said that there are authors who have accomplished a great deal by self-promotion, but keep in mind it takes cash and extreme effort to get anywhere.

Anyway, back to Publish America. I signed the contract for a seven year period, which I was happy with at the time as there was a “first offer” option on any other work I produced. The actual process of publication I have to say was an enjoyable one. The editors were most helpful and any questions or help required was quickly answered. Their cover artists produced the cover and asked if anything needed changing before going to print. The overall experience through the publishing process was made as easy as possible and the publisher always listened to my needs and views.

Now, having said that, I would not recommend any author going with Publish America unless they wish to embark on the trail of promotion in a big way. Publish American will indeed publish you book. They will have it placed in places such as Barnes & Nobel, Amazon, Ingram, and numerous other distributors, but that is as far as they go. All other promotion is up to the author including any expense incurred via promotion. Publish America also gains most of their profit by author purchases whereby the author buys books to sell through promotion to friends and family. However, friends and family soon run out and don’t really bring in enough money to warrant a large royalty cheque.

The main problem is Publish America has total control over pricing, and with my book I believe they over-priced it and thus priced it out of any market. I did initially receive an order, which was placed by W.H.Smith here in the UK for a quantity of 15,000 copies, great news you’d think. It was until the retailer asked for a discount on the large quantity, which Publish America wasn’t prepared to do at the time and thus the order was cancelled.

We live and learn as they say. Overall, the process of publication was easy and enjoyable while the outcome was not as good. If you just want to see your work in published form, to have that book in a case upon your wall, then Publish America can do that. Mine sits in a glass case on my office wall and a few special people have signed copies.

However, if your sole intention is to strike it big and make money, then I would have to say give Publish America a wide birth. They can give you that much-sought-after instant, “yes I’m published at last” feeling. They can let you hold your book in your hands, and this will cost you nothing, not one cent did I pay. However, as for making money from your book, look elsewhere at the more traditional publishers, and keep slogging on until you are accepted, and never give up the quest.

At this moment, my science fiction book is still available on Amazon, Barnes & Noble and other websites. It's called Space Brigade. Have I made any money from it? The answer to that would have to be no, but I do have my book in its glass case and the right to say I am a published author.

Copyright: sciwriter1


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An interesting response:

Hi Sci. I enjoyed reading your blurb on this.

I have two SciFi novels finished, and several more on the way, so I've been sending out agent queries like crazy. So far, every agent has politely turned me down.

However, I sent a short story to Mystic Moon Press, a royalty-paying electronic publisher. They bought it, so I sent another. I ended up with them contracting a dozen of my short stories, and now a novella.

Sales are pretty slim, with low royalty rates. In a year I've made about fifty bucks in royalties. But at least I had no up-front costs.

The big thing with them now is that they have pretty much told me that they will henceforth buy anything that I write. So now I have a quandary about whether to send them one of my SciFi novels. Publishing it with them will guarantee that it will never appear in print from a print publisher. Big publishers never buy previously published works. On the ther hand, it will be 'published' and generate royalties and another line for my writing resume. Decisions, decisions.

Anyhow, I thought you might want to know that there is another route to publishing: Electronic only.

TimM March 28,09