Book Publishing: Detailed Instructions for Publishing a Book

Before we break down the different components of book publishing, it’s worth taking a moment to highlight up-and-coming trends. Knowing what’s likely on the horizon for 2023 and beyond will help you make informed decisions when publishing your own work.

The book publishing industry had to abruptly adapt to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020 and the aftershocks of that event that carried forward.

Audiobooks continue to rise:

We expect authors and publishers to continue their focus on audiobooks as a growing trend. Readers who once listened to audiobooks during their commute are likely to renew the habit as work returns to offices across the country. And those who were introduced to the convenience and comfort of listening to a book while performing household activities aren’t likely to let go.

As Kirkus Reviews notes, self-published authors may be well-served to consider adding an audiobook release to their print and eBook publishing plans to capitalize on this trend.

Diversity matters

One thing that stands out in the shakeups of 2020 is the rising importance of diversity in books. From new author voices to the characters who take shape on the page, readers are hungry for new stories. Sticking to the same, stale, homogeneous voice closes off new opportunities.

Authors and publishers who embrace a variety of representations will find loyal readers who are eager for the diversity and find it enriches their experience.

Hybrid publishing options

We’ll explain a little more about your publishing options below, but it’s important to note the growing trend in 2023 of a hybrid, or collaborative, publishing path, which blends the DIY ethos of publishing your own book with the deep and rich experience of the traditional publishing world. We expect to see this blend continue, with serious-minded independent authors increasingly reaching out to traditional publishing experts on their path to authorship.

You have many choices when it comes to publishing a book. The two main methods are traditional publishing and self-publishing.

Traditional publishing:

With traditional publishing, a publishing company takes complete control of the publishing process. You, as the author, may get an “advance,” which is like paying you royalties ahead of time. You write the book, and the publishing company edits, formats, designs, and prints it. They distribute it to bookstores and handle all of the advertising and marketing. In return, they keep a portion of the profits.

To get published with a traditional publisher typical requires that you find yourself a book agent or literary agent. An agent is someone who works on your behalf, helping you make your book the best (and most marketable) it can be. They pitch your book to publishing houses until one of them agrees to publish your work; the agent also helps you land the deal.

Working with traditional publishers and agents will require you to send out many, many query letters, which are letters that inquire as to whether someone would be interested in working with your book. Therefore, the traditional publishing method is not completely hands-off, but it does mean you won’t have to deal with printing and marketing if you don’t want to.

There are big publishing houses (see below) and small ones. Who you work with may depend on who is interested in your book.

Self-publishing:

This method is a DIY affair. You as the author don’t get an advance from a publishing company — you ARE the publishing company. You’re responsible for editing, formatting, designing, printing, distribution, and marketing. On the other hand, you get to keep 100% of the profits, and you don’t need to work with an agent, either.

Pros and cons

To choose the best publisher requires two things: knowing the biggest names in publishing and knowing your book inside and out. You may be inclined to go with one of the “Big 5”, but competition is heavy and they might not be the best publisher for your work, anyway.

You should pick a publisher that will work with you, is suited to the nature and scope of your book, and will pay you a fair sum (not necessarily a huge one— a fair one).

How to Publish a Book

It’s important to understand the various stages of the publishing process, so you know what to expect.

Writing

The publishing process kicks off with the writing stage. After all, there’s nothing to publish until you have written your manuscript. You may find it helpful to work in several phases, beginning with a rough draft and following it up with one or more polished drafts. Self-editing will be an important part of the writing process.

Pitching and Querying

When your book is complete, you can hire an agent and pitch your book to publishers using query letters.

Finding an agent requires some research into your book genre and the agents available who specialize in your niche. You’ll need to pitch several of them on the merits of working with you and your book. You’ll likely need to have some meetings in order for you both to consider working with each other. As much as you want to find the right agent for your book, agents want to find authors. With enough time and effort, you’ll land on the right one for your needs.

Once your agent is in place, you’ll work together to pitch publishers on your book.

For non-fiction books, you’ll write a book proposal that sums up your idea and the structure of your book. For fiction books, you’ll probably submit the manuscript as a whole.

Editing

Even though you have hopefully self-edited your book as thoroughly as possible, it’s no substitute for a professional view. Not only will your book benefit from beta readers (who make sure the plot or structure make sense and offer feedback from an “average reader” point of view), but also from hired editors.

The editing process can be quite long, even arduous for a writer, and have several “rounds,” which can include:

• Developmental editing (editing or even reorganizing entire blocks, sections, or chapters)
• Copy editing (editing for tone, grammar, and logic)
• Proofing (hunting for typos and other mistakes)

Editing can last from the writing stage all the way (in some form) to the final printed proofs. It’s one of the most important parts of publishing a high-quality, error-free work, ensuring it’s the best it can be.

Publishers will often have a team of editors who take on this work for your book.

Formatting and Design

Once your manuscript is polished and spotless, the production process begins. Designers and typesetters take over, formatting the book for the printed (or digital) page. Formatting a book makes your manuscript conform to common, standard book conventions — chapter breaks, page numbers, title page, and so on.

Book design concerns the aesthetic design of the book, both the inside pages and the cover. And since the cover is what people will notice first, it’s a crucial part of the book design process. Publishers have designers who specialize in book cover design, which is an art unto itself.

Printing

Files in hand, the publisher arranges for your book to be printed. There are many different options for printing, including offset and digital presses. The printing process transfers your words to paper, prints and attaches the cover, and binds all pages together. The final result will be the tangible, physical product you can hold in your hands and sign for loyal readers.

Digital conversion

For digital books, there is no “printing,” but there is a special file format conversion process that takes place. This process insures that your book can be read on eReaders, such as an Amazon Kindle. The eBook conversion process retains basic book formatting and font styling so that the eBook reading experience is as pleasant as the print one.

Distribution

When your book is complete, the publisher will distribute it to bookstores, warehouses, and online marketplaces — wherever books are sold. This gets your book to the bookstore shelves and other places that readers can encounter it. But distribution is only one part of getting books to readers — the other is marketing, which is the process of raising awareness of a particular book with its target audience.

Marketing

Like it or not, marketing is hugely important to the success of your book. If no one knows about your book, they can hardly be expected to seek it out. Marketing your book lets people know what it’s about and why they should read. It may also let them know a little about yourself as the author and what makes you tick. There are many, many methods to marketing a book, but you’ll commonly be expected to have an author website and a social media presence at minimum. Publishers will often have entire marketing departments devoted to promoting a book, but you can promote your book yourself, too.

The book publishing process can definitely take some time. You can expect the process to take several months, with a realistic timeline of nine months or more.

When you work with publishers, there are a lot of moving pieces and back and forth for each stage of the process, including the negotiating stage. If you have a lot of rewriting to do (or if something unexpected like the coronavirus pandemic comes along), it could add to the time frame.

The average cost to publish a book

If you decide to do it yourself, you should expect to spend at least a couple thousand dollars on preparing, printing, distributing, and marketing your book. That figure can easily trend way upwards, too, especially if you hire professional help. However, the cost can easily be worth it; if you establish a professional presence in your work, you’ll be more likely to win over readers and make up the cost in sales.