How Soon Should You Consider Your Publishing Path?

Before answering a common question from a first-time book writer – When should I consider a publishing path? – I ask the following three questions.

              1 – What inspired you to write?
              2 – What are you hoping to achieve
                   from writing your book?
              3 – How much time can you commit to writing? What’s your estimated
                   timeline and goal/intention for
                   completion?
     If the response to the first question is, “Everyone says I should write a book so I thought I would,” which is more often the answer than you might imagine, I ask many, many more questions. Most of the time those encouraging friends or family members have not written a book and have no idea the work and commitment it takes.
     The answer I love to hear is, “I just know I have to write it.” That knowing takes a writer a lot further than having the time and money to invest in the undertaking or doing it because another says you should. Feeling you must write and having the desire and drive, whether a good writer or not, makes all the difference, especially in the beginning.
     Writing a book was one of the biggest joys in my life, as it has been for many of my students and clients. It takes a lot of inner as well as outer inspiration, desire, time, and courage to see the process to fruition. As I’ve told many writers, you learn a lot along the way if you’re committed, and what you don’t learn, for the most part, a good editor can fix.
      The time to think about a publisher varies depending on your commitment to writing and completing your book. Why? Publishing takes a lot of effort on your part such as:

• Building a platform – in today’s market this means followers on social media, PR, and building an interest in the anticipated completion of your book. Even if you get a traditional publisher, you do at least 50% of the marketing. (That’s a whole other subject.)
• Researching publishers and the different paths to publication – there are many options today such as traditional, self-publishing, hybrid, and cooperative publishers.
• Determining your time and budget.  You’ll need an: editor, webpage, marketing, and PR advisors (if you want the book to succeed). If you’re writing a book without the need or desire to market and sell books through an outside source, you will at least want an editor to make it read well for your audience but can disregard some of the marketing portions of this step.

     For first-time writers, I suggest not giving too much thought to publishing. Instead, I suggest thinking about the audience they are trying to reach and the message, or plot of a fiction book, so they can steer they’re writing toward the age and demographics they wish to reach. That will influence the language and the way their style of writing.
     Once you get far enough in the writing of your book and feel your commitment to the manuscript, you can start putting energy toward building your platform and your audience and creating interest. Also, that’s when you can get feedback on your writing to see which publishing venue would best serve your book.
     Note: Besides the reasons I mentioned above regarding why I love to hear “I just know I have to write it” is that the whisper or megaphone inside of that person will keep encouraging and motivating them to overcome the hurdles all writers face. It will give them the inspiration to keep on keeping on.
     Since not every book becomes a best seller, financial success and fame are a long shot for most writers. If that’s your main reason, in more cases than not that reason alone can create mounds of disappointment. However, if you just know you must, there’s no end to the peace of mind and joy you’ll receive from ‘going for it’, and well worth the effort.
     I’ve often correlated birthing a book to that of having a baby. Even though they offer distinctly different prizes, in the end, the joyful outcome outweighs the labor.
 Side Note: If you’ve reached the point where you’re ready to consider your publishing path, tune in to my next newsletter. If you can’t wait, I offer an initial complimentary 30-minute consultation to new clients.

Enjoy!

Jasmyne