If you’re not going to publish that book, then who is? Well, some publishers take submissions directly from authors, some don’t. For those that don’t, you must find an agent to represent you to them. The agent will most likely take 14 percent or so of whatever you receive, once somebody agrees to publish your book. At that point, you should receive an advance, which is a payment of royalties before they are earned. A royalty is simply a stated percentage of the sales price of a book that is passed on to he author. Once your royalties have paid back the publisher for that advance, you start to get payments a some interval (could be annual) of your cut of the sales. For a hardback book, an author probably gets a dollar or two for each unit sold. They’ll also usually give you some copies up front to do with what you wish. You can sell them, give hem away, use them to prop up a wobbly table leg, whatever.
The bad news is at very few books actually earn out their advance! Seen from a publisher’s point of view, your new book has failed to significantly help their profitability. Put another way, publishing a book is a risky undertaking. This explains why it can seem so damned hard to get anyone interested in publishing your book. Because paper isn’t free, ink isn’t free, binding materials are not free, boxes to ship books in are not free, shipping is not free, office space is not free, telephones are not free, oh, well, you see where I’m going by now. And even an evil publisher has to eat and pay rent. But, they do all that marketing and promotion, right?
If you mean put your book in their catalog, let it be known to the publishing community that the book exists, and your name of course, they do. If you mean any actual intense promotion that might actually sell a few copies, they don’t. Which brings us to you publishing the book.
Somehow you’ll have to get it printed. Amazon prints books, and if you buy (spend money) an ISBN, you can get copies at (sort of maybe) cost, at least cheaper than full retail, and sell them anywhere you wish. Which means that you have to find bookstores yourself, probably travel around signing copies and speaking to readers’ groups, or writers’ groups, arrange for any advertising, and so on, all this after you’ve already spent unearned money on getting the thing printed. (If you sell through Amazon this doesn’t exactly count, but your royalties reflect the production price one way or another.) You’ll need a “Platform” from which to promote your “Brand.” Books have been written on this subject, not just about book sales, but marketing in general. Is there a “Marketing for Dummies?” You bet there is!
And there is at least one large professional organization for self-published authors. It is the Independent Book Publishers Association, the link takes you to their web site. They, again for a membership fee, have seminars and classes, and offer some help in promotion to libraries and schools.
And you probably will need some help because drafting, revising, polishing, and even printing the book is half the job. The other half is selling it, one way or another. If, in reading this, you think I’ve said that, no matter who publishes the book, you’ll have to promote it yourself, you’re right. I did say that. If you have talent in marketing, maybe you’re better off publishing it yourself. Or if you can build or buy the expertise needed to promote the book, same thing. If neither of things are true, you may be in a world of hurt, and I’d recommend educating yourself on marketing and promotion before you finish that first novel.*
If you do all that, and if your book is good, you may sell enough to make back that advance you got either from the publisher, or from yourself when you bought paper, ink, and ads. I can’t tell you which way to go,** but there’s your choice, and you get to make it.
* I know more than one author who also works in marketing. Handy for them, huh?
** Do not, on your life, pay a company anything to publish your book. If you want to arrange printing, find a printer who does books. They’re cheaper than the “vanity press” anyway.
stevefeythewriter 