We all know that there are pros and cons on all sides of the question. But I was extraordinarily impressed with the time one participant took to answer the question in depth—so impressed, in fact, that I asked her permission to repost her comments here. Take them to heart.

I think that one of the most difficult things for authors to grasp is that finishing the writing part of the book is truly only the beginning of their work …

If I may weigh in on this, from the vantage point of someone who is neither author nor publisher nor IndyAuthor, but works with all of the forementioned…

In my experience, the single biggest obstacle that authors have on the road to self-publishing is themselves, period. I have exceedingly few authors who come through my metaphysical doors prepared to be publishers. Most authors get to the point where they type “The End,” and think they’re done; and many feel that, quite bluntly, they shouldn’t have to do anything further. At most, they think that they should have to suffer through editing their work—but most never think about what is truly involved in publishing, which isn’t the same thing as printing.

Moreover, I’ve yet to meet the client that was legacy-published (advance- and royalties-paid author, not subsidy author) who ever felt that their publisher “had done enough for them.” (This is not a criticism of the OP; this is simply a recitation of the sentiment expressed by and large by over 1,000 author-clients, a very large percentage of whom have been legacy-pubbed.) I speculate that this sensation, by the author, generally (not always) comes from a true lack of appreciation for what publishing actually takes, or how much work is involved.

At Booknook.biz, in fact, we’ve been working on a set of documents or tutorials with a lame working title of “So, You Want to Be a Publisher,” which in very broad strokes outlines all the nine bajillion things that a publisher does that an author doesn’t. It’s a long list.

I am asked by clients daily for recommendations for “publicists” and other fantastical creatures to do the work of publicity for their books. I am asked by authors daily to “get their ISBNs” for them, to “pick the cover designer,” to “upload their books for them,” and while we’re at it, can I find them an editor (who works for less than minimum wage), find a $25 cover designer, find royalty-free fonts to replace the expensive fonts they used in their ms (because finding, licensing and downloading fonts is “too hard”), and can they hire someone to send emails to bloggers to get reviews for their books? I am asked not less than five times a day how much an author should price his/her books at; and can I get them a list of the 50 best book bloggers for their genre, or tell them how to get a review at MBR for their ebook, while I’m at it?

This—all of this—is what a publisher does. Researching everything: from traditional publishing to subsidy publishing to indy publishing; buying ISBNs; assigning an imprint name; researching cover design styles, finding a cover designer, negotiating the fees for the cover, finding and licensing art for the cover, finding and licensing fonts for the cover (if the cover designer isn’t doing that) and for the interior; registering the copyright, determining how you will distribute your book (aggregator or yourself, or only in eBook form?), researching the niche/genre and the pricing therefore; learning how to navigate, use and leverage Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, Library Thing; writing press releases, finding review blogs for your genre, deciding whether NetGalley is worth the price, determining whether KDP select is for you, scheduling book tours, virtual and physical—and, oh yes, doing all the accounting, bookkeeping and tax documents yourself.

This is what a publisher does, indy, small imprint or Random House. Far too many authors, in my experience, think of themselves as “artists,” and not as businesspeople. As hobbyists, not commercial enterprises.

Here’s the bottom line: publishing is a business. If you are not prepared to be businesslike about it, and run your book(s) like a small business, you are probably better off using a subsidy press and not doing much—and don’t expect much (because, after all, the vast majority of “subsidy” or “partner” publishers are really just grossly over-compensated printers, and you could do the same thing at Createspace for far less money, and get better distribution).

If you are prepared to put in the blood, sweat and tears—and reap the rewards—then indy publishing is for you.

Now, none of this will make a bad book good; but not doing any of it will certainly help tank a good book. And the part that most miss is that, promotionally-speaking, this is the same work that legacy-pubbed midlisters have to do every day, so the differences in the workload are really quite small.

I know—believe me!—that many authors are very shy people, and cringe at the idea of all of this–but this is what it takes. Self-publishing is indeed, in our lifetimes (as it was in Ben Franklin’s, and Aristotle’s, for that matter) a brave new frontier; but one has to remove the artist’s beret and put on that entrepreneur’s hat. If you can do that, then it’s a fantastic opportunity to do well.

The author of this post is Kimberly Hitchens (“Hitch”), and one of the things she does is produce ebooks. She’s listed as an Amazon Professional Conversion Service and an INScribe Preferred Conversion Partner. Follow Hitch on Twitter as well, and then you’ll be … beyond the elements of style!

Here’s the point of it all: when a publisher posts submission guidelines, they’re not suggestions. They’re not something you might try if you’re not feeling particularly creative today. They’re not even something the publisher dreamed up solely to make your life difficult. There’s actually a pretty good reason that they were written as they were, and following them shows the publisher a number of things:

1. you’re bright enough to follow directions
2. you know how to read
3. you won’t be troublesome down the line as you’re willing to enter the publisher’s turf and play by the publisher’s rules.

Don’t like the guidelines? That’s your right. But move on. Find someone else whose guidelines you do like.

A couple of months ago a colleague and I decided to create a couple of anthologies. Here are the guidelines that we sent out:

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS FOR A HOLIDAY ANTHOLOGY

Imagine your favorite holiday stories. Chances are good the protagonists are a man and a woman, possibly even with children. But where are the stories that feature men together, or women together, that will also warm our hearts at this special season?

That’s where you come in. We’re collecting holiday stories for two anthologies, one featuring male protagonists/couples/families, the other featuring female protagonists/couples/families, and we’d like to hear from you!

Your story should run between 2,000 and 4,000 words, contain no erotica, and be in a winter holiday setting. The only requirement is that it be historical fiction. We’re looking for tomorrow’s classics in time for next year’s holiday season!

Pay will depend on securing a publisher and will be negotiated at that time for accepted stories. Deadline is June 15, 2012, but the earlier, the better. Send Word docs to Jeannine Allard at jeannine@jeannineallard.com.

If you were reading that, you may have picked up on three relevant points. We’re looking for:

• LGBT stories
• historical fiction
• winter themes

I didn’t think it was that difficult to read. But I got deluged with stories about cousins, pets, grandmothers, and straight couples. Stories that were situated in the future or on another planet. Stories written by people who clearly hadn’t even bothered to read the entire call for submissions, but who just sent whatever they had on hand.

It was all a little insulting. A waste of my time (because I am courteous enough to read the stuff and respond to it) and a waste of the writer’s time, as well.

So that was me, one time. I can only imagine what acquisitions editors or literary journal editors must be thinking when these things cross their desks day after day after day. And I can guarantee that none of it is complimentary to the writer.

Do you really want to shoot your literary career in its metaphorical foot? Do you really want your name to be associated with slapdash work, with not being cooperative, with being difficult? Listen, it’s hard enough to get published as it is. Do you really want to make it that much harder?

Trust me: they’re not going to discover your fine literary talent hidden in the midst of your inappropriate submission. It isn’t going to happen. So consider going back to basics: read the call for submissions, submit exactly what they ask you for, no more and no less, and behave like a professional. And then you’ll be … beyond the elements of style!

The problem, of course, is that up until very recently, much of that resolution is/has been out of your hands. You may get the book into a literary agent’s slush pile; you may even get an offer to represent the book from the literary agent. But even that’s no guarantee of publication, this year——or any year.

The ebook revolution has made self-publishing a more viable option for many, though it carries with it a lot of caveats. Self-publishing is really for those who plan to behave like a publisher, and that includes spending money on outside professionals to edit, format, design, and create a cover for the book. So it’s not necessarily the easy way out, though it does offer the opportunity to be in charge of the process rather than sit and wait for the miracle to happen.

I’d like to suggest a different approach in 2012. You’ve probably heard of the SMART acronym for goal-setting: smart goals are specific, measurable, attainable, realistic, and time-based. And they are, at the end of the day, the only goals over which you’re going to have any control.

So how about breaking down that first resolution, that of getting your book published? If it’s really what you want to see happen, there are some components that will get you closer to it:

• Join a critique group (deadline: January 20)
• Have book critiqued in group; make changes/edits as needed (deadline: March 30)
• Study book proposals (deadline: February 15)
• Create book proposal (deadline: April 10)
• Have book proposal critiqued (deadline: April 20)
• Create query letter (deadline: May 5)
• Have query letter critiqued (deadline: May 15)
• Research literary agents/publishers (ongoing)
• Select 10 agents/publishers (deadline: May 15)
• Send query letter to selected agents/publishers (deadline: May 20)

And so on. You see the difference. Your resolution might be more along the lines of interesting an agent or publisher in your book; but with a set of achievable, measurable goals like the ones above, you won’t be simply sitting around waiting for publication to fall from heaven in a Glad bag.

What are your writing goals for 2012? Can you fit them into the S.M.A.R.T. formet? I’d love to hear about them. Let me know, and you’ll be … beyond the elements of style!

So here’s the scoop on who you should pay, when, and why.

“Literary agents” (quotation marks deliberate) who ask for a fee for editing, or who recommend an editing service, are likely scam artists who have no interest in placing manuscripts with publishers. Run, do not walk, away from this sort of interest in your book. Yeah, it’s exciting to hear their enthusiasm. You’ll be a lot less enthusiastic once you’ve spent time with them.

Legitimate literary agents comply with ethical standards that prohibit them from charging authors a fee (beyond minimal office expenses for postage and copying——many do not even charge for those, and most charge only against advances received).

Agents make their money only on manuscripts sold. Agents pay money to authors; they do not collect money from authors. When your book is sold to a publishing house, your agent will collect an agreed-upon percentage of whatever it is that you make from the book. You should never write a check to your agent.

Now … on to editing.

Authors who are preparing manuscripts for submission to literary agents may wish to take full responsibility for the editing of their submissions. They often belong to peer-editing writing groups, writing workshops, critique groups, etc., and I strongly advise you, if you’re writing a book, to send it through this review process.

While a pass by a professional editor may be a worthwhile investment for the submission package of a few chapters, it is not absolutely necessary.

However, a self-publishing author is a publisher and, like all publishers, is responsible for having the book professionally edited before publication. This is when you write the check, folks. Editing (which may include both developmental editing and copyediting) is a normal part of the publishing process and is best done by skilled professionals, who do not work for free.

So … clearer? Let me know if you have any other questions. Recognizing the various roles in the publishing industry and moving efficiently through them is the best way to be seen as a professional; and it will put you … beyond the elements of style!

*****

Interesting conversation about pitch, which leads me to think what all writers, particularly unpublished writers, need in their arsenal LONG, LONG before they start running around trying to corral an agent, publisher, or self-pub their masterpiece.

• GENRE Identification: Don’t snicker. If you can’t categorize the principle genre of your story, you’ve got one strike against you with an agent, and for some agents, it’s three strikes, and you’re out. GHOST had elements of sci-fi, fantasy, humor, chick flick, thriller, and mystery well integrated into the plot, but at the heart of it, it was a romance (Ditto). Don’t confuse or frustrate the agent. The agent has to sell it to a publisher. And if you self-publish, you will have to categorize your story as well. Fortunately, sometimes you’re able to pick two or three categories as a self-publisher, but understanding your own story is important for gathering an audience.
• Pitch: That 20-second, professional sound bite that clearly summarizes your novel with the 5W’s (who, what, where, when, and why) without sounding like a newscaster on speed. (Yes, occasionally a “W” is understood by inference.) At conferences, more success can be achieved from having that “elevator” pitch while riding the elevator, sharing a drink, going to the bathroom, waiting for a cab, signing in, meeting & greeting, or having pleasant dinner conversation with an agent than anything else. Remember when you write it, that this is vocalized. Practice it so that it feels natural.
• Short (TV-Guide) synopsis (log line): This is your written 25 words (much like the pitch) that sums up your story in one sentence. Don’t say you can’t do it…the TV guide has been doing it for over sixty years for every conceivable novel turned into a movie. This is something that you have posted everywhere so everyone sees that you have a book and this is what it’s about. It’s the tease to ease someone into your lair.
• 100-word synopsis: This is the 100-word synopsis of your story that can be used as the basis of your query. This is the one that is the sales pitch without the ending, making the reader ask the question, “What happens?”
• Long-pitch: This is the expanded version of your pitch. This is the 90-second expansion of the key points in your short pitch. This is the statement you make after the agent trapped in revolving doors says, “Tell me more.” They’re not asking you to ramble on endlessly, they want to know if the initial idea has some legs. Does it have complementary and competing sub-plots? Just how idiosyncratic is your protagonist, antagonist? How unique is the setting? Are there possibilities for sequels? How does the story lead to the climax? Is there a climax after the climax? Have your 10-15 second tag-on ready if they ask how does it end.
• 500-word synopsis: This is the synopsis of your story with the ending.This is about one-page, single-space typed. This is the proof that you have command over your story and is often the next thing after three chapters that an agent wants. While there can be requests for other lengths for different types of books, I’ve only been asked for a longer synopsis once, and that was about six years ago. Bottom line. If you can’t write it on one page, the agent’s going to think that you don’t understand the heart of the story.

Are there other things to have in your arsenal? Sure. You could have a 50-word synopsis, a 200-word synopsis, talking notes in case the agent wants to chat with you over dinner on his tab at a fancy restaurant (hey, we can dream).

But the most important item you need in your bag of tricks, is a completed, well-edited book. And now-a-days, you might carry it around on a flash-drive just in case, just in case. “I do believe in spirits; I do believe in spirits.”

*******

Rick Bylina is a novelist and generally interesting person living in North Carolina. Now available: “One Promise Too Many” and “A Matter of Faith.” Read his blog here, and then you’ll be … beyond the elements of style!