How To Publish A Novel?

Hey guys,
last weekend I’ve met an old friend of mine which I haven’t seen in a very long time… while we were talking about the past few years, he told me that he started to write a novel and is now looking for a publisher. I was pretty surprised about his ambitions and wished him good luck… but now I have some questions about writing and publishing a book he couldn’t answer me
So I was hoping some of you might have experience with this and can tell me something about it? Did you already published a book or know someone who did? How do you find a publisher at all and do your really can make a lot of money with?
I hope you can tell me a bit about it

 

I suggest a book called "The Well Fed Self Publisher". The author covers the material very well. Plenty of authors self-publish because of the demands of publishing firms and they get tired of rejections. Publishers expect you to market your work. An author I saw at DragonCon one year was Sherrilyn Kenyon, in a booth, selling her books. I think we all have the romantic notion of the publisher who pays all the bills while eagerly awaiting your pages of pure gold. Thank Hollywood for that fantasy. Self-publishing has been normal for centuries, finding a sugar daddy publisher is RARE.

Publishers do promote unknown writers, a very small percentage of their overall business. Partly because it's a fishing exercise, hoping to find a rare gem. But also because a new author might actually be a hit. But they could just as easily be a 1-hit wonder, so unknowns are treated like dirt with all manner of banana peels and brick walls put into their path. I'm only saying this to defuse the idea that getting published is the end all answer. It's somewhere in the middle of the process.

 

Heya. I am surprised your friend didn't know the answers considering he is the one who is planning on publishing a book
Anyways, I'm not an expert myself, but I do like to write a lot and publishing has been one of those dreams that are at the back of my head. I'd say you have two options: either self-publishing, or going with a publishing house. Both have pros and cons. The main advantage of going with a publishing house is that you are being taken by the hand if you don't have much experience. Which sounds like the situation of your friend. Whether you can make a lot of money... yes you can. But the mystery of success is very deep - some books are instantly popular and some never make it. So not a question I can answer really. Especially since we don't know the genre of your friend's future book - that play a big role.
Hope this all helps a little!

 

If you hire a publisher, you'll lose some of your potetional profit, but also have someone to guide you and your success.

The other route that's very easy to take in this day and age is self-publishing.

It's as easy as going to amazon.com and uploading a document for them to distribute digitally or physically by your preference.

 

Yeah, your are absolutely right, but that’s the reason why I have to ask you guys the main problem is, that my friend hasn’t found a publisher yet… he already got rejected by a few publishing houses (due to the lack of reputation and so on) So I was wondering, what opportunities an unknown author like him may have… His book seems to be very interesting and sounds like a romance novel to me (boy meets girl under mysterious circumstances, they have to face several challenges, her family is creepy, his family is nerdy and so on) I really don’t know how those things work, but thanks to you I understand the process much better But although he already got rejected by some publishing houses, self-publishing still may not be an alternative for him… do you know someone (unknown author) who managed to publish a novel like this? How to find a publishing house that accepts unknown authors?

 

Oh I see. Well I don't know lots of them, but I have heard about Novum publishing, who seem to publish a lot of early career writers, so it would match your friend's profile at least. Maybe he already knows of them , but always worth mentioning it to him! As far as I know they have accepted mainly authors who were not known beforehand. It's always a tricky thing, but best to give it a go. I wish your friend lots of luck to make it. Sorry I cannot be of much help, but is there anything else you would like to know? I would read his book not a completely new story idea, but always entertaining

 

Publishers seldom if ever accept an unsolicited manuscript and self publishing will only put money into someone else's pocket.

The best way to go is the literary agent route. If the manuscript has "blockbuster" written all over it an agent will run with it.

Golden rule is not to give up and if it is rejected to submit it again and again. Of course if it sucks it won't find a home no matter how many agents you send it to.

 

@aglae: Ok, thanks! novum publishing sounds interesting and I’ve never heard about them before… but good to know, that they are publishing unknown writers too I am not an expert myself but I can understand, that becoming a “serious” writer demand a lot of effort and patience :/ But I have already looked up for this publishing house in the Internet and they exposed many success stories… maybe they can help my friend too and take a look at his manuscript
I only got one last question: On their Website, I’ve read something about production cost sharing… do you now how this works and how high his share will be?
@Jamie darke: Thanks a lot for your advices too! But isn’t finding an agent as hard as finding a publishing house?

 

Oh yes. But like I said, if your manuscript has merit and the opening sentence/paragraph grabs the reader by the throat and the rest of it is a "page turner" ... It will find an agent.

 

True that! But let's all remember that JK Rowlin's Harry Potter got rejected before it found its publishing house - so always good to persists, and not to give up too quickly.
HappyElena: Yes they did have a lot of success stories indeed. So worth mentioning it to your friend, he can always just have a chat with them if he fancies it to ask any questions, I'm sure they would be happy to help.

 

@Shangamareebap: Ok Thanks, I see your point In my opinion, it definitely is a well written and a cracking good story… let’s hope that the publishing houses will agree with me

@aglae: Yep, you are absolutely right… maybe those publishing houses, that already rejected him, weren’t just right for him and his novel. I am pretty sure, that he won’t give up that fast and will try a few more publishing houses. I even told him about Novum and he will call them next week I am really excited what they will tell him and what suggestions they might have for him Thanks anyway for your advices!
You guys were really helpful with this special issue!!

 

Check out Createspace.com. It's a self publishing website that prints on demand. They do all of the work for you, and you just sit back and collect royalties.

 

@HappyHelena: interesting info! As my auntie is desperately looking for a possibility to publish her first book, this publisher you mentioned might be also a chance for her. Have you already got feedback from your friend? Would be very cool to get more news
My auntie is not quite young anymore and really not motivated to do all by herself. I mean, there are also quite a lot of selfpublishing tools which look quite good, but everything has to be done by yourself. So I really doubt that she wants to do that if you know what I mean. So if you have some news, please share it with us!

 

@HackySackyBoy: Yeah, I have already seen your thread and I am always happy to help As I mentioned before, Novum seems to be a suitable publishing house for everyone who haven’t published anything yet, like your auntie and my friend We have met last weekend (wasn’t easy talking to him during Christmas holydays about that stuff, but somehow, it worked out ) and he told me that he already met with some people from this publishing house and that they have had a very good conversation about his manuscript… he has told them a bit about his story and they have been discussing over an hour about his “future book”. He was very satisfied and people there where very friendly! They will meet again in a few days to discuss further details (and maybe, sign the contract) but he is pretty sure by now, that he will go with them

I can assure you, that your auntie doesn’t have to worry about her age! If he needs help with all of this stuff, she will get it from her personal custodian They won’t let her do anything by her own, but won’t do anything without her permission! So, she doesn’t have to be a computer genius or a specialist in graphic design… they will do everything for her and she will just sit back and look over their shoulders. If she doesn’t like anything, she can always say “no” and they will adapt it until everything looks fine to her I hope this will help you and your auntie and if you want to need more about the details, you can always look through their website or simply call them

 

@HappyHelena: oh, just seen you last post. Thank you so much! So there is a personal conversation included, which definitely speaks for this publisher. My auntie is a quite sceptical person and always! has a lot of questions, which can be quite annoying. But that's how she is ;-) On the other side, there is quite a lot of money involved in this process, so it's better to ask before starting the whole publishing process than afterwards, when the money is spent without excuse. That sounds really good - finally one clear suggestion with added value. Thanks a lot! I will look it up and sit together with her. if necessary, I will join her to the personal meeting - better than leaving her alone

 

No worries, as far as I am able to, I am always happy to help Yep, that’s what I thought too… it is very important to have someone to talk to (especially when you have absolutely no clue about anything due to your lack of inexperience ) I am pretty sure, that your auntie will esteem the services of Novum very much and in case of an “emergency”, she can also phone them whenever she needs their help. However, I wish you and your auntie all the best and good luck for her book She must be very happy and proud, to have someone like you, that cares that much for her!

 

Also here, thanks a lot for your help @HappyHelena, a general support and real person that is always there to help whenever it is needed, is a thankful thing for my auntie. I will forward her your infos! Well, family issues are mostly important, especially those of my auntie. It's a nice thing to help her ;-)

 

My father was in the same position years ago. He wrote a novel and wanted to publish it. As a new author there are only few chances. You need at least a small community behind you, possibly be a well known writer in a literature forum or have followers on social media. Then it would be easier.
He was able to publish his work with novum publishing. He also had a success with the book. You could even buy his book in bookstores and he was invited to book fairs. They wanted another book from him and he sat down and wrote another part.
I never thought that he could be so successful. He is now working on his fourth book. The previous parts are to be translated into other languages so that they can also be sold in France and English-speaking countries.His books are in german.
He enjoys writing and now he has enough time to pursue his hobby.

 

I can't help but wonder how much it costs to self-publish. I know someone who self-published a comic, and it cost him a few grand. Don't remember how many copies he had made, though, but he did later offer it digiltally.

 

"...he started to write a novel and is now looking for a publisher ..." This means zilch ... no publisher will give you the time of day if you "started writing a novel." Finish it first or forget about getting published.