What Are Traditional, Royalty-Paying Publishers?

Often you hear the term "traditional" or "royalty-paying" publisher. This is a publisher who accepts submissions of specific genres (nonfiction, Christian fiction, literary fiction, science fiction, etc.) according to the publisher's guidelines. In the publishing industry, these publishers are known as commercial or trade publishers.

In many cases, an editor may first review a query letter and a synopsis (a brief summary or outline of the plot or main points of the book). If the query letter and synopsis piques the editor's interest, s/he will request a complete manuscript. After reading the complete manuscript, the editor will decide whether to acquire the rights to publish the manuscript. Only a small percentage of the submitted manuscripts are chosen for publication.

In print publishing, traditional publishers typically pay an advance against royalties when the publishing contract is signed. However, advances are almost unheard of in electronic publishing, though a few e-publishers pay extremely small advances.

Royalty percentages vary greatly depending on the publisher, the experience of author, the genre, whether or not the author was represented by an agent, and other factors. Print royalties may range from 6% to 12% or more. Electronic royalties may range up to 50% or more.

Production costs are less for electronic publishing than for print publishing because there are no printing or warehousing and shipping costs. Also, sales volume is usually less for titles published by small electronic publishers than from larger established print publishers, so the higher royalty rates help offset the lower sales to some degree.

A writer should not be required to pay any expenses with a traditional publisher, although publishers might offer optional services for writers at reasonable costs if the publisher provides everything required for publication at no charge. For example, a traditional, royalty-paying electronic publisher may offer its authors a print publication option as a service for writers who want to be published in print. Since the company is not primarily a print publisher, it could legitimately charge a nominal set-up fee for print if this is an additional optional service and there are no charges for electronic publication.

After the contract is signed for the publisher to acquire the rights for a specific term (usually one or two years), and ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is assigned, the work edited, the cover and internal layout designed, and the book prepared for distribution in one or more electronic formats. All of this - and more - will be done by the publisher as part of the publication process.

You will find publishers on the Christian E-Author site. Links to publisher members of EPIC, the Electronically Published Internet Connection can be found on the organization's Web site. A directory of publishers is available on the Publishers We Love. However be aware that both of these directories includes publishers in all genres and are not necessarily endorsed by Christian E-Authors.

Selling by Stalking

Selling by Stalking
Tonight I had a book signing at a bookstore. I set my children's book out along with business cards, brochures, etc. Then the manager said to stroll through the store, act friendly, and voila! Sales.

Wrong. This particular store had the "Veggie Tales" characters in last week, and they'll be there again Saturday. "Strawberry Shortcake" will be making an appearance Sunday, so I'm thinking the parents in that area might be a bit tired, and gearing up for next Saturday.

After handing out a couple dozen bookmarks, I started to feel like I was stalking the customers. I pictured myself like the shark from Jaws....circling my prey, forcing a few bucks from them, then leaving them lying on the floor searching for hearts in Topsy Turvy Land so I'd let them go.

I had plenty of time to check out the books on the shelves while I prowled the aisles. A handful of Christian authors seem to make up a good percentage of the product lines. I saw journals, magnets, calendars, screensavers, and desksets based on bestselling books. Hey, I'm not putting it down. I'd love to walk into the store and see some stuffed animals or coloring books based on one of my books!

I realize that selling goes along with writing. Even the celebrities have to appear on every talk show when books come out. My mom went with me, and kept talking to me, trying to encourage me. Afterwards, over a plate of potato skins and a gardenburger, we talked about how artists of every kind have to pay dues and be persistent if they're going to be successful. I recalled how one country star who's huge right now started out singing at county fairs and festivals, and even one time, right after a "spittin' contest." Ugh! That had to be the worst - and she said it was!

I love people. I like to talk, and I really enjoyed my time in the bookstore. But how can I compete with Bob and Larry? They're vegetables after all! Maybe I should dress up like Chizzy the Chimp? He's cute. Think that will work?

What's your marketing plan? Believe me - you better have a good one. Or you'll be like me. Can't you hear the theme song from Jaws right now?

What is e-publishing?

In the many years I've been online, I've often been asked some variation of the question, "What exactly is e-publishing?"

NetLingo, the dictionary of Internet terms, defines e-publishing as follows: To display, present, or post some type of written, auditory, or visual media on the World Wide Web, with the intent of making it available entirely or in part to all users or just certain users. This is "publishing without paper..."

By that definition, e-publishing includes this blog and letters from Iraq from Fr. Jerry, who was my parish priest until he felt God's call to become an Army chaplain.

E-zines, electronic magazines and newsletters, are often sent via e-mail. People subscribe to the e-zine or newsletter because they are interested in the particular topic that the e-zine covers. Examples of Christian e-zines include A Word Fitly Spoken and In Search of Peace.

But most of the time when we talk about e-publishing, we think of e-books. In future installments of this series, I'll talk about the various kinds of book publishing: vanity/subsidy publishing, self-publishing, traditional publishing.

Use the comments feature to ask any questions you have about e-publishing and e-books.