I get a lot of questions about how to get a publisher. I have
strong feelings about this. You will send your manuscript to
publishers that you can convince to receive it. It will sit there
for months, even years, and nobody will read it. And if they do,
they will want you to completely re-write it.
And then they will tell you, it's still not good enough to
publish. Or if you are very lucky they will print five thousand
copies, with a bad cover design, send you twenty copies, promise
you a percentage of the profits, and then send you nothing but
receipts for their expenses.
And then when you want to promote your book yourself, it won't be
in the bookstores. And when you want your book back to put it out
yourself, they will tell you that they own it and will not print
any more or give it back to you.
The worst story I heard was in Japan. Movie star Tatsuya
Nakadai's wife wrote a book about her husband. She gave it to a
large publisher. They held it seven years without doing anything
with it. When she died, they immediately published it.
Why go through all the above, when these days you can self-
publish your book. (Not vanity press). You can design your own
cover, get an ISBN number, and sell it on Amazon and your own web
site. And when you need more copies you can make a phone call to
your printer and have them in two weeks. Your book will never go
out of print. And you can revise it and anytime you want.
These days you don't have to print thousands of copies. You can
print 200, or 100 or now there is even printing one at a time.
They also have programs for your PC to lay out your book for
printing.
And then you will have something to hand out to promote yourself
or just to share. Something cheaper than cookies to give to your
loved ones on Christmas. And let me tell you it's a great and
satisfying experience. And why wait like Nakadai's wife did? Why
not enjoy having your book out now with the cover design, paper,
and type style you like.
That's what Gene Simmons of KISS did. He first met with a
publisher for his "Kisstory" book. But when he realized they
would take him to the cleaners with their endless deductions
he published it himself.
You probably won't make a profit. Or if you do, it will take
time. But that's not the reason to have a least one book out
that represents you, be it auto-biography, fiction, or whatever
subject. Just call up a printer and get the prices and facts.
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