How To Publish A Novel?

I think it always depends on what quality you want to publish. For some, an uncorrected PDF version is sufficient. Others then want to do more things right: editor, graphics, cover, ...
You can publish for free, but the result is probably not inviting and certainly doesn't appeal to many people. So if you want to say you have published a book and you don't care about the quality, you can do it for free. Nobody would advise that. Assuming you then write another book, the first one continues to exist with the lower quality. That won't appeal to many publishers.

Exactly. You either need a niche to fill or you have to have some fans or followers. If you have a few thousand followers on Instagram, you can publish any beauty or fashion book. This will be much easier to publish than a really good novel by an unknown author. I think that's a shame and basically you give the publishing house's resources to a person who doesn't really deserve it. Just because there is more chance of success. And unfortunately that is often true. Check out which "celebrities" have published a book.

 

Zonomir, great to hear that your father had such a success with his novel! Will he publish another book soon?

Dax, probably an author never thinks that his novel is finished…I’ve seen a documentary on YouTube and publishing a book is anything but easy! Authors re-read their texts and re-read them again, proofread them, get some feedback from friends and family and so on – I guess meanwhile all this, you can still look for a publisher that suits you! Apparently, it’s super difficult to find a publisher as a new and unknown author…I wonder how famous poets and novelists published books back then before they were famous…now you can publish literally anything you like on the Internet. But back then they needed to print their books in order to sell them.

ZenKarma, as you said, it’s really easy to publish something online, but I would never read a digital book (that is not available printed as well) because quality is really bad. Would you? How does it actually work when you want to publish a book and have an agent? And haha, I’m not surprised that one of your clients got to be a millionaire by publishing a book on how to grow cannabis…was it the first book on the market dealing with this topic?

Zonomir again, I totally agree with you – as I’ve said, anyone can publish a book online, such as an uncorrected PDF version. But if you are a real author, you definitely want to check out services such as editing, proofreading, cover, graphics and so on. Who wants to publish a badly written book if you want to work as an author!? You can lose your name over it. Or would it make more sense to publish a book under a pseudonym when you start writing?

 

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Maybe he will write another book too. I would say it always depends on whether the last book is a success or not. So far, they have managed to see if the book will be a success and then put themselfs together. More priority is now probably in the translation of the books. Completely different languages are also being considered and you have to see if you can realize that or when they will do it.

I would even say that writing is the easiest part. Everyone has a good story in his mind, something has happened to everyone. Of course you have to improve your writing style, but you can work on it. You can't really work on everything that Comes after the writing. If you wrote several books you can possibly learn a little bit, but you don't really see everything that goes on behind the scenes. Alone the contracts between the Publisher and the book stores. As a layman, you can't really see through that.

Perfectionalism is also a big problem in writing. In the end, everyone thinks there has to be a better part, word or sentence. It's hard to let go and say I'm done.

But I also think that there are more and more people who believe they are an author or believe their story must be interesting for others. The internet brings a lot of self-expression with it. This will also be the case with books. In the past you probably had decisive experiences, but you didn't want to share them with everyone. At least not with strangers. nowadays many people share everything and find it has to interest other people. I wouldn't show my vacation photos to strangers. But there are people who even make a living from posting their vacation photos. In that sense it has definitely not gotten any easier for new authors to get under a contract with a publisher. Also under the premise that some are successful with their vacation photos and are then more likely to be taken than completely unknown people.

That is not true. If you listen to some people who have had good experiences with such stories, you will find a lot of good stories. There are lots of good stories, especially for some genres. You can also exchange ideas about this in some forums, for example.

I think that depends on where you want to go. Does everyone who writes really want to become a professional writer? At least I wouldn't say so. It is certainly a dream for many, but for many it is enough to improve and to exchange ideas with others.

A pseudonym is one possibility. Many also use a different name for each genre. Then you only associate the respective name with a certain genre. It would make sense to me to say that there is still a lot to improve. So you get a lot of feedback and can develop further.

 

Bibly, why not! Anything is possible. The best would be to try your luck and see where the stars take you

Zonomir, ok, I get it! I hope that the book will be a success, of course. I can understand that the priority now is the translation of the books. Do you know how many languages would your father like to have the book translated into? And one more question: WHO actually chooses the languages into which a book will finally be translated? Is it the author? Or the publisher? Or both together under agreement? Or even another publisher from another country?

Well, writing can't be THAT easy, because otherwise there would be many more successful authors, I think. If your texts are revised so many times so that your own style is no longer recognisable, then it is questionable whether it is still YOUR book.

But yes, of course, as you say, a lot depends on other factors. Of course, I can't say what is really going on in the literary world. But I’m curious to see if your father can still gain new and interesting insights. If you have any news, let us know asap.

And I agree with you on that point: perfectionism can get in the way of writing. I know this from take-home assignments at university. I'm basically never satisfied with my text and revise it all the time - but the deadline is getting closer and closer and you need to finish your assignment. ;-)

It's interesting how you see the world back then. Do you think that nowadays experiences are always shared? Ok, you can get an opinion much faster, for example on social media, but would you really get the best and most honest opinion?! There is surely a lot of competitivity, and people keep their experiences like a secret which is only given to the closest confidants and children ;-)


Ok, I did not expect that. Well, it is certainly possible to find good stories in digital books, but in my opinion the quality in printed books is usually much better. However, I think that has something to do with the fact that printed books are professionally presented anyways.


If I were an author, I would definitely try to be successful. Who else do you write for? Unless it's really just a hobby. But in my opinion, everybody needs a certain goal in life ;-) Why not publish a book, if you feel like you want to do it?


Your thoughts about pseudonyms and genres are also very interesting! I haven't thought about it like you do.

 

It wasn't his idea. Novum publishing came up to him and said it was worth a try. At least English is now being attacked but also French, Spanish are planned. I think it all goes step by step. So you don't publish all languages at the same time. You also look at the market and whether the book or story fits the respective market. So you make it dependent on where the probability is that it will also be well received in the respective market.

I think writing is easy and everyone can do it. What is not easy and what you cannot really plan is how it will be accepted by others. If it's your hobby and you enjoy it, it probably doesn't matter. But if you really want to publish a book, you will have to follow a few rules. These rules are difficult to know, although you may read a lot yourself. It takes practice and experience. Maybe also advice or coaching.

You also have to be able to let go. Often you think to yourself that it has to be better, but that only makes things worse. I know from my father that it was precisely the areas that he subsequently corrected that were criticized. Then he went back to the previous version and everything was ok again

If everyone tried to become a professional, you would see that in other areas too. Many people go for a run. You certainly want to get better and better. But how many really want to become professional runners? It's a hobby and even if you manage a marathon under four hours, you are still satisfied afterwards. So I don't think that's inevitable.

 

Anything but self publishing!

ANYTHING but self publishing!
It used to be called a 'vanity press'.
You write a book and you have three choices.
1. You submit your manuscript to a Publisher you search out online which doesn't require an editor.
2.You get an editor and let. HIM(or HER) contact the publisher)
3. Self publishing, which YOU pay for (usually very dearly);but that's not the end of it.
Now, you must distribute the book. Sell it to bookstores and other places books are sold, or try selling it online.
You may get your money back, but you will most likely not make much.
I don't mean to discourage you, but that's the truth.

 

Zonomir, oh, I see! It is actually really nice that the publisher sees so much potential in the book! In the English-speaking market there is certainly a lot of competition, but the readership is correspondingly large. Spanish and French could also do well. But then you have to make sure that the book is properly “marketed” so that many people know about it. And it's clear that you always have to look at the local market. Since English, French and Spanish are such widely spoken languages, I can imagine that you could achieve good success with them in some countries…

I am aware that writing is a matter that requires a lot of practice. But like we all know: practice makes perfect. ;-) And I always think that if you have something in mind and it is really a passion, you should somehow complete your project. That is what life is all about, right? …that you experience a lot of interesting things, and in my opinion, people also need a sense of achievement. To hold a finished book in your hands is certainly a goal that many people pursue…

It is exciting to hear how different opinions on texts can be. It is probably really important to always get feedback from others. In this way, you can hopefully quickly see what goes down well and what goes down less well.


Angelmama, thanks for the explanation. It's actually really good that one might think about what he or she wants to achieve and what it's worth for someone in advance. So even better that there are different options! Then, depending on what authors are looking for, they can choose what they think is best. Have you ever published a book yourself? And if so, how?

 

Not yet because I can't afford an editor.
I have written one, though.
The main trouble is, my novel was published as a monthly serial in an online magazine.
Its too bad, because it's actually very good.