how publishing is really working

7 Reasons You Are Better Off Self-Publishing

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Book Staple
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Are you eager looking forward to get a publishing contract or happy you received one?  Finding a publisher who will consider your book idea and then getting your manuscript published is time-consuming and can often be a frustrating experience. Going with a big publisher is not easier than author-publishing.  You will be surprised to learn about the following facts, often the hard way:
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Your Book Has Only 3 Months to Fly Off the Shelves
If your book does not sell within the first three months of its bookstore life, it will be returned to the publishers ware house and disappears from bookstores and could end up at “A Buck a Book”.  Shocking: 90 to 95% of books don’t pay back their advance. Royalty will only be paid if the authors advance is paid back. What you get upfront as an advance is usually all you will ever get.
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Screw Up on Your First Book?  You Are Out!
If you do well with it, publishers will be eager to see your next title.  But if you don’t sell a lot of books, your agent or publisher will not want to read your manuscript when you will offer your second book.
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Traditional Publishing is Very Slow
Unless you wrote a political tell-all, your book is going to ”be in the making” for up to two years until it goes into the bookstores.  You need to be sure your topic is timeless and that you will be interested in publicizing it years from now.
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No Foreign Rights 
Unless you have a savvy agent (preferably speaking several languages) who is trying to sell your book abroad, there is little chance that your publisher actively tries to find buyers in foreign markets.
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Most Likely You Will Only Receive Your Advance
You can get as little as $5,000 or as much as $500,000, but either way, you will have to pay 15% of this amount to your agent, and the remainder will be paid in thirds or quarters over the next couple of years. So you first need to “earn out” the advance, before any royalties will be paid to you.
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Slowest Get-Rich-Quick Scheme
Breaking into big money publishing is like becoming a movie star – being talented definitely helps, but luck plays a big role and the odds might not be in your favor.
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No Publicity for Your Book
Until a decade or two ago, publishers did some marketing for books.  Now, in the best case, they might send out some galleys and wait to see if anyone is interested. Then they focus all their publicity on the books they expect to be a bestseller.  If you want your book to be a success, YOU will have to do ALL the publicity yourself!
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Books don’t sell themselves, as most writers sooner or later find out – often too late. If you are interested in making money or selling your book for a long time, better consider e-books and self-publishing. But in any way, marketing skills or at least the willingness to learn about marketing and PR to promote your book, are essential for an author.
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Self-publishing Seems to be Easy
- if you know what your are doing. Sure, anyone can become a small publisher.  YOU call the shots. YOU retain the rights to your book.  And YOU take home a much higher royalty than you would normally get from a traditional publisher – IF you sell any books… And that’s often the problem.
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Books are Not Sold Automatically
We get emails, often several per day, from writers who have just recently published a book, with the question “what we can do for them.” Well, in almost all cases we have to start with Adam and Eve. And explain to them how exactly (author-) publishing works.
Think and learn first how to publish professionally, so that readers see you as a “real” author.  And learn how to establish your platform and how to market your book – before writing it. You would never start building a house with the roof, before even building the foundation, the frame and walls. Why would you then do it in your new publishing profession?

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If you would like to get more support in all things publishing, have your book intensively promoted and learn how to navigate social media sites – or to learn how you can make yourself a name as an author through content writing: We offer all this and more for only $179 for three months – or less than $2 per day! Learn more about this customized Online Seminar / Consulting for writers: http://www.111Publishing.com/Seminars  Or visit http://www.e-book-pr.com/book-promo/
to advertise your new book, specials, your KDP Select Free Days or the new Kindle Countdown Deals.

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Tagged: getting published, how publishing is really working, publishers don't market your book, publishing facts, traditional publishing is very slow, What Publishers Won't Tell You