Raising Your Publishing Bar
By Gail Richards - Aug 05 , 2008
I often find myself engaged in conversation about the best path to publication. If you’ve had any sort of conversation yourself in this direction, you know that it can lead down a slippery slope.There’s traditional publishing, where the publisher takes on the risk and invests in you. There’s self-publishing, where you, the author, carry the risk and make the investment. Then there’s that pesky gray area in the middle.
I’m not going down that particular slope today. But a conversation I had recently about those three paths bears sharing—not only because it’s truly amusing, but because it clearly illustrates the importance of keeping one’s priorities squarely in focus when weighing options.
An author shared with me that in her own quest to make the best choice for her book, a “publisher,” or at least someone at the other end of a phone at a publishing-related firm, told her, “We would be happy to publish your book.”
She proceeded delicately. Shouldn’t it matter what type of book she had written? Wouldn’t a publisher want to know anything about the material?
When she explained what her book was about and asked again if they published that type of work, she received the same answer, “We would be happy to publish your book.”
She tried a different approach, asking what types of book were their specialty.
“We publish pretty much everything.”
“Everything?”
“Well, we won’t publish pornography.”
Wow. Let’s not raise that bar too high, shall we?
No matter what kind of book you have or what path you are considering, I’m assuming you have standards. And I’m guessing—well, okay, hoping—that they are higher than putting your book in the hands of someone who will accept it without discernment.
So as you consider the choices you’re faced with as your book comes together, stay true to your standards. It’s the simplest, clearest way to make the best decisions.
What are your standards for editing? For cover design? For branding?
What are your standards for the other members of your publishing team?
What are your standards for research? For progress? For detail?
Now, let’s up the ante where your standards are concerned.
How much more could you accomplish in the next twelve months if you raised or changed them?
Write on!
