The business of publishing

I’ve said it before, many times, and I will say it again: All writers and authors, whether they are traditionally published or self-published, print or ePublished, need to learn something – as much as they can, actually – about the publishing business. The more they know about the “business” of writing and publishing (because it is definitely a business if you hope to sell what you write) the more effective you will become in producing, publishing, and selling a quality product of which you may be proud. I don’t suggest that you enroll in a publishing program or learn everything there is to know about the business in order to become a publisher yourself, but you should at least know what goes into publishing a book, all the people who are involved, all the steps taken towards publishing and selling a book, and to know where you, as the writer, actually fits into the equation. The more you know the better equipped you will be to find new readers for your work.

The easiest way to gain some knowledge is by keeping abreast of publishing news, so that’s why on this blogsite I offer writers and authors interesting links to whatever I discover online that I think you should know about, too.

I’m devoting this post to links covering the “Business” side of publishing a book – ie. everything except the writing of it. I hope this will help with gaining more of an education. If you have any similar links to share, please post them in the comments below.

First off, check out this great infographic, The Publishing Highway over at YA Highway.

Terms you should know: Literary Terms Defined: The Common and the Uncommon by Chuck Sambuchino from Writer Unboxed

A brief description of Publishing in Toronto: Books Abroad: Book Business and Publishers in Toronto by Shannon Kobran from Publishing Trendsetter

A new publishing company: Figure 1 Publishing’s Second Rights by Kristen Hildeman from BCBusiness

Be prepared to work hard – really hard! – at preparing that manuscript: Critique by Suzanne Lakin (listing here is not an endorsement of blogger`s critiquing service)

What you need to know to successfully submit manuscripts to publishers:
How Writing a Proposal is a Lot Like Teething by Sarah Joy
AND Pitch Your Book Like It’s a Movie (The One Sentence Synopsis) by Kimberly Vargas from wordserve water cooler
AND The #1 Reason for Query Fails – How to Avoid Automatic Rejection from a Reviewer, Agent, Editor or Blogger by Anne R. Allen

How publishers are faring these days: Independent Penguin Goes Out on High Note by Jim Milliot from Publishers Weekly
Harlequin eBook Sales Account for 24.5% of Total Revenue by Michael Kozlowski from GoodEReader

Dealing with your rights: Getting Your Rights Back From the Publisher by Rachelle Gardner from Books & Such Literary Agency

When it comes time to promote and publicize: Anakana Schofield: publicising a novel – the problems from The Guardian
AND What J.K. Rowling and Robert Galbraith Can Teach Us About Author Platform by Joel Friedlander from The Book Designer

Selling copies – or as I like to call this, “Finding New Readers”: The End of Discoverability and the Rise of Merit by James Scott Bell from The Kill Zone
AND Is Seasonal Publishing Dead? by Judith Rosen from Publishers Weekly
AND eBooks Change the Season Concept in Publishing by Molly Pilkington from GoodEReader
What You Can Do When Your Books Aren’t Selling by Daphne from The Self Publishing Toolkit

On the business of bookstores: Borders Bookstore to Launch Once More in Singapore by Michael Kozlowski from GoodEReader

On the business of libraries: My Local Library Has an Espresso Book Machine by Nate Hoffelder from The Digital Reader

And finally, from Kate Hart there’s How to Get Published: A Flowchart

Any questions, additional information, comments? Please post below and let’s start a conversation!