#and no amount of industry recognition or lack thereof will ever change that

[dkettchen]

me, procrastinating on one project with another one: it's fine they're both for content I do this for the people and the people will receive SOMETHING sooner by me working on either one 😤

[a-40k-dad]

Hive7 : Malevolent

The constantly updated post that might become a draft.

The story of Evjen Praxi, moneyed socialite and influent businessman of Hive7 The story of his army of underhiver agents and spies. And of course, the story of the eponymous Malevolent, his Guncutter shuttle custom built around the remains of a derelict Inquisition attack-ship.

P1

From orbit, Azoria shines in a blend of grey continents, small patches of dark and fouled toxic seas and a gargantuous, ever-shifting green mist, through which the spires of its hive cities and forges are clearly visible.

Elevated from Knight World to Forge World, Azoria is now one of the many industrious jewels within the great Imperium of Man. It is indeed a jewel, but one made of rust, dust, and toxic wastes.

A world with a slowly decaying magnetic field that jas allowed small amounts of its sun's deadly radiation to seep into the atmosphere. To remain anywhere outside of the shielded Hive Cities or industrial areas would be ill advised to say the least.

Although the radioactivity doesn’t render life impossible — yet — visitors and other guests are still advised to apply for medical treatments that will bolster their rad-resistance. Whether the purpose of those goes beyond bringing peace of mind to the outworld-travelers, remains unknown.

Most of the inhabitants of this world have developed over the millennia an uncanny resistance to their sun’s adverse effects but still, mutations, sickness and untimely deaths are all but too common for the indigent underhivers or wasterlanders.

Unlike those poor souls, Evjen Praxi did not lack the means to survive, for he has had the privilege of being born in a family of absurd wealth, leading a life of opulence and display thereof.

One's natural defenses could be engineered and bought with credits and Evjen always had more credits than he could care to count. The middle-aged man has been at the head of his parent’s legacy : Praxcorp, the single most powerful privately owned industrial group in the system with many ventures in the sub-sector’s commerce.

Evjen had seen his parents act unreservedly around nobles and have had government officials act obsequiously around them. During his youth, Evjen did not know of the misery reigning down below. Although he’s been born in a social sphere far removed from the suffering of the common people, when Evjen Praxi came of age, he made the choice to open his eyes wide and look upon the truth in humility.

A dour intention locked on his face, the green fires of the faraway furnaces reflecting in his deep grey and yellow iris, Evjen awaits a friend in the night. Seen from one of the gloomy private docking area of Hive7′s upper section, Azorian nights remain the same : made of dark above and of its terrible radioactive green mist down below, where the lights of the innumerable spires dim and vanish. 

The air is as cold as it is rare outside above the clouds. Yet Evjen has made the choice of waiting there, in the relative seclusion of the anchoring platform. Only the revving engines of passing-by ships and the distant hum of power generators can be heard through the sharp wind that blows during the hours of darkness. 

Leaning against the railing, Evjen is focusing on his senses, when he begins to hear a faint metallic tapping coming from behind, slowly gaining in intensity. Without moving he raises his voice : “Aerin“ he says, “I’m glad you could make the time”.

As he turns, he discovers the young woman, clad from head to toe in thermoregulative gear. “Why do we always have to meet up here?” she says, abrasively. “Why don’t you come down to me for a change? It would be just as safe for you as any of your beloved freezing perch”.

-“You know I can’t be seen in the lower levels, Aerin” Evjen scoffs. “Besides” he lightly punctuates while checking her out, “you don’t look like you need to be any warmer right now”. 

Aerin instinctively looks down at her feet, trying to understand what could be wrong with her current attire. “Well, Evjen” she utters, insisting on his name to let him know that she had been slightly offended, “I am not one of you nobs or other well-offs.” as she positions herself to lean against the nearby structural pillar, she continues “I’m used to the warmth of the underbelly of this gigantic beast” she says, while tapping her hand on the pillar, referring to Hive7. 

Evjen starts laughing.

Aerin laughs too, but only to get it over with.

The cold chills her down to her bones despite the thermosuit. She feels it all through her face which is left unprotected. Most underhivers like their climate hot and preferably a little humid too. She had been trembling since the moment she had stepped onto the platform. 

“Aerin,” the middle-aged man says, “I need you.” the young woman forgets the cold for a moment, as the tone of Evjen piques her interest. “Not your reaction cell, just you” he added.

–“What’s the catch Ev?” she asks. 

Evjen takes a breath and gulps “I need someone I can trust” he almost whispered. “and I need the best copilot in the system”.

Aerin isn’t immune to flattery, but even she knows that his assessment of her skills is not at all misguided. She tries to deflect the gravity of the request : 

“Taking Mally out for a spin boss?” she asks.

–”Don’t call me that.” he replies, without animosity.

Aerin takes a few steps and switches from leaning against the pillar to joining Evjen at the railing. She considers the height of the potential fall while she produces a soft and indistinct utterance marking her considering his request. She had never been one to ask for much but in this case, she needs details.

“I’m not saying yes just yet, Ev. But why just me?” she asks. – “I would go on my own if I didn’t have the option to ask you, Aerin,” Evjen confesses. “and before anything else, let me make this one thing clear ; feel free to say no.” he delivers, caught in a moment of self-confidence. “but, hear me out first”.

—”Alright.” she answers, with a hint of curiosity showing through.

–“You and I, Aerin, we are freedom fighters at heart. You understand the game we are playing here, you get the sort of position I’m in” he mumbles, with a defeated look.

“What I’m trying to say is that you’ve always stuck with my little operation out of conviction”. Evjen stands straight and looks over Aerin’s shoulder towards the airlock. He turns his gaze towards the other pier, on the other side of the gap of the empty anchorage area of the docking tower.

“I don’t trust anyone on my payroll”. he continues, in a serious tone. “There is no amount of credits or valuables that could keep the many dishonorable types from stabbing me in the back.” he hypothesises.

Aerin stands a moment in silence before responding : –”Why not trust my cell?” she asked. “They are every bit as loyal to our cause as I am.” 

“They’re loyal to you, Aerin” Evjen replies. “It wouldn’t be fair to implicate them into this.”

Aerin reflects on Evjen’s opinion and as he was about to give some of the information she requested, she interrupted him :

“You know what, Ev? I don't want to know. I’ve got your back, like always.” she says. Evjen lets a sign of relief escape from the back of his eyes. “Whatever it is you need help with, I'll do it for the usual fee” she adds.

“Deal!” he says, while they shake hands on it. “Two levels up, opposite bay, you’ll find Mally. She’s ready. I’ll be right there”.

”You got it” she cheers, while walking away.

The fact is that the underhiver had already been picturing herself piloting Evjen’s Guncutter, which entailed the promise of thrilling sensations and possible mayhem on some unworthy, profiteering souls of this Imperial System. Aerin smiles in disbelief at her own excitement taking the decisions for her. 

The airlock’s door at the end of the platform can be heard very faintly over the ever stronger winds of the night. The business man turns and stares into the dark corners of the docking bay. 

He feels observed.

In the elevator, Aerin reflects on her impulsive consent. “Oh, shit!” she utters in resignation. She doesn’t even know the basic information of when, where, and why, let alone the details she had been meaning to ask.

“Fucking Mally” she mumbles. “You manipulative old bitch”.

The docking bay indicated by Evjen is plunged into darkness, Aerin heads for the control booth near the entrance, activates a console, which sparks life into the hangar. A low hum fills the room, its pitch slowly shifting towards a higher tone. The generators are warming up. Suddenly a loud noise can be heard as power gets redirected to the bright docking bay spotlights, revealing the Malevolent, affectionately nicknamed “Mally” by its owner.

Aerin takes a moment to look at the Malevolent which looks rusty. The bulky old lady looked like nothing really, an old dropship perhaps. It is however part of its camouflage. A ship that looks in poor shape seems much less of a threat after all. 

The Malevolent being in fact an inquisition ship that Evjen had found derelict a few star systems across the void also warranted for a more subdued appearance. It was therefore also heavily modified to avoid immediate visual class-recognition. 

Aerin had heard Mally’s story a few times too many : Evjen had dismantled the damned thing completely before stowing the parts away in a dozen of his company’s freighters in order to discretely smuggle it back planet-side. 

Reassembly, repairs and customisation had been much more of a pain, apparently. Not only the costs of custom-made or salvaged parts but most exorbitant of all was the price of secrecy ; the paying-offs, the unending amount of favours, the machinations, the oft violent silencing of loud-mouths, and their corpses to recycle, all of it probably still weighs heavily on Evjen’s conscience.

For all the disgust the man has for servitors, they at least, wouldn’t betray him. Unless someone hacked into them, that is. Aerin understands her benefactor’s words fully when he says he can’t trust anyone but kindred spirit.

Aerin sighs in satisfaction. For an underhiver, simply seeing a void-capable ship from up-close is already remarkable. Boarding one would be far-fetched to say the least, but piloting one? That is well-nigh inconceivable.

But there she is, ready to make the old lady sing her song of grace and mechanical fury, with harmonics of metal and fuel, hurled supersonic into the darkness of space. 

Maybe Aerin will get to hear the loud beating of the ammo drums being emptied at some pirate or whatever type of sucker who thinks they can get away with double-crossing Evjen Praxi.

Mally, deadly old lady with tricks up her sleeve that even Astartes would envy. How could Aerin ever refuse such an opportunity?

Evjen enters the cockpit and notices Aerin already seated. “The pilot seat, uh?” he observes in feigned irritation. “That bad of an itch?” Aerin turns her seat around towards Evjen as he stows a couple of toolkits and datapads away.

The underhiver nods, breathes in deeply, holds the air in for a moment, then delivers solemnly : —“I’m in love, Ev”. The man lets his bag slide off from his shoulder and it falls heavily onto the deck. Visibly taken aback, he looks at Aerin for a moment, not understanding what she means.

—“Your ship, Ev, your ship!” she specifies, “your graceful, powerful, agile, and deadly Mally!” she adds as her hands grip the stick and the throttle.

—“Uh-huh” Evjen utters as he throws himself in the copilot’s seat.

“Very well” he sighs. “Would you kindly take your fling to the skies, then?”

—“Oh, she’s much more than a fling, Ev” Aerin corrects. “At this point she’s my significant other”.

Evjen giggles in amusement as he straps himself in :

—“Just, take her out, Aerin”.

Aerin quickly wraps up the lift-off procedure checks before powering-up the Malevolent’s plasma engines. The hull starts vibrating in a deep rumble which fills the soul of the voidcraft’s pilot with an incommensurable sensation of triumph. She reaches for the panel overhead and tunes into the local traffic control’s communications.

—“FC Eta-Seven, this is voidbound shuttle PeeCee-Alpha-Niner — Malevolent” she says, as if she had been a comms-op her entire life. “Requesting clearance for manually operated flight from Praxcorp docks to orbit, over”. The voxcasting system makes a clicking sound as she stops broadcasting. After a few seconds, another clicking occurs, covering the murmur of the idle engines —“PC-Alpha-9 please specify cargo and destination” the flight operator asks.

Evjen who had started slouching again, straightens up and reaches for one of the data pads he has brought with him.

—“Feed them that” he says, handing the pad over to Aerin.

The underhiver takes the pad and looks towards the console next to her, searching for the right connecting slot. Before inserting the metallic capsule into the slot, she dusts it off to ensure the reading heads are clean. The pad fits into the console with in a snapping mechanical noise. Aerin hits a few buttons before opening the comm’s channel once more :

—“Transmitting, flight control” she utters, in the same appropriately monotonous voice.

The tower acknowledges the reception of the data and asks for them to wait for a pending approval of their flight path. After a few moments, Aerin covers the soft roaring of the plasma drive :

—“What’s on there?” she asks, pointing at the datapad.

The casual tone of her voice can’t conceal the curiosity gnawing at her as well as she would like.

Evjen inhales loudly, as if he wanted to convey his boredom :

—“A detailed route we won’t follow” he answers. Taking another breath, Evjen continues : “along with the specs of a bogus inspection mission on some of my astral ore mining facilities”.

Aerin looks disappointed, but nods nonetheless. The business man, feeling he wasn’t precise enough to satiate his sidekick’s interest explains that the resources his corporation gathers from the void is vital to this world’s production of Imperial machines of war, and surely, they wouldn’t mess with the daily affairs of the biggest purveyor of raw materials in the system. It still isn't what she wanted to hear. She is waiting for him to tell her who has to die and why. She likes a good story and loves to get involved in them. Sensing she won't get it out of him just yet, Aerin simply goes for “makes sense”. A good follow-up-killing pair of words.

They spend a moment in silence, their senses lulled by the sound of the engines. Finally, the clicking of the final transmission is heard, along with the awaited sanction of their flight path. Aerin reaches for the docking clamps’ release and lets Mally gently drift out of the mooring bay, along the suspended observation pier. As the Guncutter clears the docks, the pilot starts allocating more power to the drive’s capacitors, which can be heard revving all the way from engineering. Soon it seems like the whole craft is pulsing with tremendous potential energy from within its core, energy ready to be unleashed into the propulsion systems. For Aerin, this moment is as overwhelming as it pleasurable.

Clinging to his seat’s armrests, Evjen comments in feigned tranquility :

—“Easy now.” he says, his entire body as stiff as a support beam.

Aerin, slowly tilting the Malevolent towards the skies, turns her head and meets the screaming apprehension in Evjen’s eyes. She lets the ship sally forth and smiles as the Malevolent’s hull quivers and resonates under the mighty roar of its engines, now hurling the two of them into the void.  

P2

“The big one, at one o’clock high. Do you see it?”

Aerin takes a quick look towards the asteroid field.

“Yes.“ “That’s where we are going”.

“Understood”.

Evjen allows his back to rest into his seat. “They are hidden on the other side, waiting for us” he utters, before exhaling sharply through the nose. “Their ship has a ventral docking bay, big enough for us to land”.

While focused on her approach, Aerin can’t help twitching her eyes to the side, in an attempt to try and gauge the situation by the look on Evjen’s face. He never was too big on dispensing the details but this time he is being particularly ungenerous.

“Dock while maintaining vox-silence. I don’t want any stray signals” he orders.

As they pass on to the other side of this huge space rock, the target ship appears on Mally’s scopes. To the naked eye, it is still but a dot easily mistaken for one of the smaller asteroids in the background.

Aerin inhales slowly as she builds up the courage to speak.

“Would you care to tell me what we are doing here? Who are these people, you — one of the most powerful man on the whole Emperor-damned planet — have to meet behind a rock the size of a hive city?”

Evjen stares into the monitors as he tries to bring the necessary order to his thoughts to formulate an answer. “They’re pirates” he mumbles after a moment of silence. “Thieves, criminals, debased scum, sure, but yet resourceful.” he adds, more clearly.

“They do have a voidship” Aerins comments.

“Yes. But they also have contacts with certain, special people outside of our system. People who, they claim, can find anything.”

“Anything?”

“Yes.” Evjen continued without pause : “I wanted something very special and they asked around for me. Naturally they asked those special people I mentioned. Turns out one of them quickly found what I needed and our friendly pirates arranged a meeting between me — or rather, us — and this, shall I call, artifact finder.”

“Who are these special people?”

“I have my suspicions but I don’t like it. Not one bit.” he declares. “Anyway, I have brought payment for the pirates, but I haven’t been told what this finder requires for his or her troubles. This might be tricky. This is why I needed you. Because I know I can count on your discretion and, if my dealings with this person fail miserably, I also know I can count on your sizeable set of other abilities”

Aerin knows better than to push this line of questioning any further. Evjen expects things to get messy and it is information enough for her, for now at least. Instead, she contemplates the story she’s just been told while observing the pirates’ ship which now appears much bigger through the cockpit’s window.

It was a modified freighter, similar ships can be found in countless amount in the system : bringing supplies, shipping off cargo to the sub-sector’s commercial hubs, they are so common that she can’t help but approve this choice for a ship engaging in illegal activities.

It is in a state of disrepair, but nothing out of the ordinary. Captains push their crews and their ships to the last limits and accidents are rather frequent. The modifications however, those, she feels, are too obvious. Heavy ordnance and laser turrets slapped onto a cargo ship, it isn’t very discreet nor elegant. Then again, they didn’t have the limitless budget of her passenger and benefactor. Mally here, Aerin thought, had concealed weaponry. She might look like a defenseless void shuttle but underneath the facade, she is armed to the teeth ; she could beat squadron of interceptors on her own and perhaps she could hold her own against light scout corvettes. She’d definitely chew up the piece of garbage freighter Aerin is going to make her metal steed land in, she has no doubt that.

As the Malevolent gets into its final approach, Aerin decides to steer it towards the ventral docking bay, but using a backwards manoeuvre. An uncommon procedure, especially since there is barely any room for Evjen’s prized Guncutter there, but she manages to land it smoothly. Evjen frowns at her intricate piloting.

—“Much easier to get out of here this way” she explained.

Evjen’s frown leaves the way to a conniving smile. As Aerin turns off the engines, she notices armed men running onto the docking area.

—“Don’t worry about it” reassures Evjen as he lifts one of the bags he brought with him. “They’re probably here to escort us to the bridge” he wheezes. The bag must be heavier than she thought.

They both stand in front of Mally’s rear airlock, ready to disembark. As the pressure equalises, Evjen checks his side arm, Sagitta Tenebris, a custom-made beauty of a needle-gun. Aerin looks at him, still waiting on more instructions. Having finished his weapon’s inspection, he holsters it. As the hatch starts opening, Evjen stares right into Aerin’s awaiting eyes.

—“Whatever happens” he insists, “you follow my lead out there.”

[readersforum]

The Ultimate Guide to Publishing

New Post has been published on http://www.readersforum.tk/the-ultimate-guide-to-publishing/

The Ultimate Guide to Publishing

It’s an incredibly exciting time to be an author.

People are open to new ideas, readers are consuming content through a variety of media, and traditional publishers no longer stand in the way of releasing a new title.

Raise your hand if you’ve ever considered publishing a book. (Mine is raised right now, too.) Now, keep your hand up if you know how to publish a book. * … slowly lowers hand*

Publishing a book has always been one of those mysterious, cryptic processes reserved for the uber-famous or uber-rich. Books just seem to appear on the bookstore shelves … but they’ve got to come from somewhere, right?

Right. Nowadays, they come from multiple sources, which is good news for those of us who aren’t uber-famous or uber-rich. Regardless of your status, income, hometown, or connections, you (yes, you!) can publish a book.

All you need is a great idea, an even better sense of perseverance and patience, and this guide. Keep reading to learn more about publishing or use the chapter links below to skip ahead.

The publishing industry hasn’t always been so diverse and accessible, though. From the very early days of cave walls, clay tablets and papyrus to the modern era of eBooks, the publishing industry has undergone many major changes.

Here are some highlights.

1456: The Gutenberg Press publishes the first book ever: the Bible.

1776: Common Sense is written and self-published by Thomas Paine. He sold over 100,000 copies within three months.

1800s: The Penny Press arrives in the U.S., making newspapers and news accessible for a penny. Since more people can consume news for less (versus just the rich), letters to the editor increase.

1940-1970: The first eBook is published, although historians disagree on which one was truly first.

2000s: Social media sites like Facebook and Twitter emerge, as does blogging. Instead of sending letters to the editor, the masses take to blogging to share their voice and opinions.

2007: Print on-demand gains traction. Amazon releases Kindle.

2009: Self-published titles surge to double the amount of traditionally published titles.

2011: eBook sales surpass printed books for the first time in history.

As for 2018, this year has seen an increase in traditional and indie bookstore sales. Audiobooks have also become the fastest growth area in self-publishing. Lastly, most authors are opting to become hybrid authors — meaning they make their books available in both traditional and electronic formats. How do they do this? Keep reading to find out.

What’s the Difference Between Traditional and Self-Publishing?

So, we’ve referenced traditional and self-publishing (or indie publishing) multiple times so far. What do these processes mean? How are they similar and different?

Traditional publishing refers to the process of working with an agent and/or publishing house to edit, release, and market a book. Despite the lack of creative control given to authors in the traditional publishing process, once a publisher purchases a manuscript, they assume all financial risk with selling your book. New authors with little to no audience or follower base might choose to publish traditionally.

On the other hand, self-publishing is when authors assume all creative and financial control of the publishing process. They choose which independent agents, editors, designers, and distributors to work with, and they assume all or most financial risk associated with putting their book out. Experienced authors or people with a large audience (from a blog or social media) might choose to self-publish.

In the next section, we’ll discuss how to publish books via these different processes. Before we dive in, though, let’s define a few other popular terms in the publishing world.

What Does a Literary Agent Do?

A literary agent is similar to a celebrity or sports agent. They act as a liaison between the talent (the author) and anyone who could profit from or work with the talent. Literary agents typically work with authors to pitch and secure contracts with publishers. They also represent authors if their book is sold to film producers or studios.

Traditionally, literary agents are paid a percentage of any book sales negotiated on behalf of their client. How do agents benefit authors? Outside of making sales, literary authors connect their client’s work to publishers, negotiate contracts, ensure royalty payments, mitigate problems, and provide invaluable guidance and mentorship throughout the publishing process. Agents can also help new authors gain recognition and traction in the publishing world.

Authors secure an agent through a process called querying. (We cover this below.)

What Does a Publisher Do?

Book publishers assume all responsibility of getting a book published. With a team of editors, designers, and marketers, publishers do everything (short of writing the book) in order to bring it to market.

Some publishers specialize in a certain type of writing, whether fiction, non-fiction, or a specific genre. Also, depending on its size, a publisher might employ editors to manage the manuscript within each of those categories, thus diversifying the books and authors they represent.

Authors typically secure a publisher through their agent, as most big publishing houses don’t accept unrepresented works. Some smaller publishers accept work directly from authors, though. (We discuss this next.)

Top Publishing Companies

The following publishing houses publish the most books (and control over 60% of U.S. book revenue) and require agent representation to be considered for publication.

Hachette

Simon & Schuster

Penguin Random House

HarperCollins

Macmillan

Now that we’ve covered the basics of the publishing industry, let’s talk about how to get a book from the pages of your word processor to the shelf of your favorite bookstore.

How to Publish a Book

Because there are so many ways to publish a book nowadays, the “path to published” isn’t a straight line. There are many factors that can change the direction of that path — or put you on a new one entirely — such as book genre, literary agency (or lack thereof), traditional vs. self-publication, print vs. electronic publication … and the list goes on.

Preparing Your Book

The first step in publishing a book can be both the easiest and hardest step in the entire process — writing it. But before you dive in, you must ask yourself: What kind of book are you writing?

If you’re writing a novel or memoir, you should finish your manuscript before approaching agents or starting the self-publishing process. Regardless of which publishing route you’re taking, make your manuscript the best content you’ve ever written. Hire a proofreader. Attend writing critique groups. Complete a few extra drafts. This will make it 1) more likely to get picked up by an agent or 2) sell well if self-published.

If you’re writing a non-fiction book, a book proposal should suffice. Consider this a business plan for your book — a document that includes what you’d write about, why it would sell well, any competing manuscripts, and more. (If you’re self-publishing, follow the guidelines for a fiction book. In that case, you’d go straight to the press, so the manuscript would need to be complete.)

Publishing Your Book

This step is where the publishing process could take you in a few different directions. Below, we break it up into two main “paths”, per se.

Traditional Publishing

If you choose the traditional publishing route, you’ll need to either work with an agent or directly with a publisher. In today’s market, the vast majority of books acquired by the top publishing houses (mentioned above) are represented by agents. Imagine walking into a Hollywood audition without representation … that’s kind of like pitching a brand new book to a major publishing house. Literary agents help bridge that gap.

If you aren’t interested in agency, you can work directly with a publisher — albeit a smaller, lesser known one. Thankfully, in today’s publishing world, there’s a good fit for every author and his or her work. It just takes some research.

Here’s a (non-exhaustive) list of where to find agents and publishers.

Writer’s Market

Publisher’s Marketplace

Query Tracker

Agent Query

Poets & Writers

AAR

If you don’t feel like doing your own research, you can also hire help through services like Copy Write Consultants. For a fee, they’ll research agents and publishers and curate a customized, genre-specific list. They also review your queries and proposals.

Pitching an Agent or Publisher

Once you’ve found the agents and/or publishers you’re interested in, it’s time to compile a query letter and pitch your work. Querying is sending an unsolicited proposal for representation, typically including an outline, synopsis, or first few chapters of a new manuscript. From that point, the agent or publisher can either reject or accept the query.

Accepting the query involves requesting a full manuscript … which is why it’s handy to have your whole book completed before reaching out to agents or publishers.

Note: Beware of con-artists posing as agents. Reputable agents never ask for a fee to read your manuscript; they only make money if they sell your book. Visit Preditors & Editors to check agent ratings and reviews.

Signing and Working with an Agent or Publisher

Next, if an agent or publishing house extends a contract, it’s time to sign. Take a moment to research the agent or publishing house by reviewing their past clients and books. Overall, trust your gut. You’ll work closely with this person and/or publisher and share your most intimate ideas and thoughts with them (in the form of your book). Be comfortable with your choice.

Let’s say you sign with an agent. Here’s what that process would look like.

You’ll work with him or her to review your manuscript, but at this point, you’ll likely only be making minor changes in preparation to pitch a publisher. These changes might include word count, book organization, or any big-picture plot holes. Remember, the book is still yours — you don’t have to change anything you don’t want to.

Once you’re both happy with your manuscript, your agent will take it to various publishers. At this point, the fate of your book is out of your hands … which is why it’s important to sign with an agent you trust. If a publisher is interested, they’ll offer to purchase and publish your manuscript, and you’ll sign it over.

Upon purchase, the publishing house will assign its own editor to your book. You’ll work alongside them to continue to tweak and revise the copy, as well as establish the book design, cover art, publishing date, and marketing strategy (which we’ll delve into next). The publisher will have its own team for these tasks, but you’ll likely still be involved.

Now, let’s rewind and say you sign directly with a publisher. This process looks pretty similar, except you’d simply skip to Step 3.

Self-Publishing

Okay. Let’s change directions and explore the self-publishing path. In the previous section, we discussed self-publishing and ePublishing, and we’ll expand more on these below.

First, here are the most common self-publishing methods:

Independently self-publishing, which means hiring freelance or consulting help as-needed and working directly with retailers and distributors

Hiring a self-publishing service company, which is akin to working with a publisher

For the sake of equipping you with everything you need to know about publishing, we’re going to dedicate this section to the first method. But before we move on, let’s explore the second … just in case you’re interested.

Hiring a company to self-publish your book is very similar to working with a publisher, except they typically charge an upfront fee, retain no rights to your work, and pass along 100% of your sales. While this method sounds like a great deal, it’s important to note that the best and most notable companies charge upwards of $20,000 … per manuscript. So, if you have a ton of money and no interest in being involved, this might be the move for you.

Here are a few reputable self-publishing service companies:

Mill City Press

DogEar

Radius Book Group

Girl Friday Productions

Scribe Writing

Now, let’s talk about the first method: self-publishing completely on your own.

This method gives you complete control over your book’s design, editorial process, and quality. Today that’s made easy by the myriad of freelance and independent editors, illustrators, book designers, and marketing professionals that work in this specific market.

The first thing to determine when self-publishing is whether you’d like to publish your manuscript as a print or digital book. This will determine how you prepare your manuscript and who you hire to help you.

Print Publishing

Print production can be done in one of two ways: print on-demand or traditional printing. Print on-demand is printing your book one at a time, as it’s ordered. Traditional printing is typically how major publishing houses produce their books, and to follow this method, you typically have to commit to (at least) 1,000 copies.

Which option is best for you? Ask yourself these questions:

How do I plan to sell my book?

Where will my audience discover and buy my book?

What is my budget like?

Print on-demand is a great option for authors who plan to sell primarily online, such as through a website or Amazon. Traditional printing might be a good fit for an author who has speaking engagements or plans to make in-person sales. If you’re looking to stock your book in bookstores, it’s best to wait for a purchase order or sales contract before investing in a traditional print run.

As for your budget, print on-demand can increase your per-unit cost (and retail price), but if you’re working with a small budget, print on-demand decreases the financial risk associated with publishing. On the other hand, if you’re confident you’ll be able to sell your printed books, traditional printing might be worth the bulk cost … with printing and shipping, it’ll likely be at least $2,000.

Preparing Your Print Manuscript

Traditional publishers have a slew of professionals who take your Microsoft Word manuscript and turn it into a gorgeous book. As a self-publisher, that process is on you.

Before taking your book to print, it must look like a traditional book. Tools like Book Design Templates can help you organize and design the inside of your manuscript. For the cover design, you can use tools like Canva (if you’re looking for a DIY approach) or hire a professional designer. At this stage, you should also consider your author biography and any positive reviews you’d like to put on the cover.

ePublishing

ePublishing isn’t a synonym for self-publishing, but rather one way self-published authors might distributetheir work. ePublishers aren’t publishers; they don’t assume responsibility for the quality or organization of your work, and they don’t assume any rights.

They’re merely distributors or retailers — such as an electronic bookstore or library — that take a portion of the proceeds from book sales. The below image is an example of the retailer fees by price point.

Source

Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) is a popular ePublishing option offered through Amazon. KDP is considered an ePub retailer, on which authors can sell their books. KDP doesn’t work with authors beforehand; they simply provide a portal through which readers can find and purchase books.

Preparing Your eBook Manuscript

If you opt to self-publish digitally, you’ll need to tweak your manuscript. This process is similar to preparing your manuscript for print, except you’ll need to add another step: converting your file to an ePub format.

Here are the most common formats:

EPUB, a standard format for eBooks. You can’t export an EPUB file from a Word document, but you can save your Word document as a text (.txt) file and convert and format it using a special software.

MOBI, the ideal format for Amazon Kindle (although EPUB files work, too).

PDFs work, too, although they’re not recommended as they are difficult to convert.

If this process intimidates you, companies like Draft2Digital or eBookPartnership can help. But if your manuscript is mostly text, you should be able to handle conversion and formatting on your own.

In terms of cover art, eBook covers will likely be seen in black and white, grayscale, color, high-resolution, low-resolution, thumbnail size, or full size … just to name a few. Digital books sales can take place on desktops, mobile devices, and in all resolutions. Because of this, it may be best to hire a designer who specializes in these formats.

Distributing and Marketing Your Book

So, we’ve talked about how to prepare and publish your book, both traditionally and as a self-published author. At this stage, you’d likely have one of the following:

A printed book as produced by a traditional publisher (with or without an agent)

A printed book as produced by print on-demand or a traditional printer

A digital book manuscript

With the hard part behind you and one of these in-hand (or on your computer), you’re now ready to distribute, market, and sell your book.

Note: If you’re working with a traditional publishing house, they’ll handle most of the marketing and distribution. That’s what your contract entails, after all. But that doesn’t mean you can’t help promote your book, too. Apply some of the self-publishing tips below to maximize your book sales.

For self-published print books, the main success factors are your book quality and your cover. (That’s why the majority of this article is dedicated to preparing and publishing your book.) The main factors for eBooks include pricing (which should be similar to or a little less than your competition) and its positioning on Amazon or other digital bookstores. While you can’t quite control this, you can optimize your marketing description, author bio, cover design, and other components to ensure your book is seen by more people.

There’s one factor that drives success for both print and digital books: audience involvement and visibility. This includes giveaways, reviews, contests, and drumming up interest before the publish date. Authors — especially self-published authors — should have a website, a blog, and social media (for starters) through which they can attract followers and promote their book. Loyalty is an incredibly strong motivator for books sales.

Writer Jane Friedman shares this advice on her blog: “You’ll be far more attractive to a publisher if they believe you’ll be an active marketer and promoter of your book. If you come to the table with media savvy or an established platform (audience or readership), you’ll have an easier time getting that first deal. [Also,] don’t go looking for a publishing deal because you need the authority or platform that a book can give you. Rather, you must already have the platform and authority, and thus be qualified to write a book. YOU bring the audience to the publisher, not the reverse.”

The same goes for self-publishers. Your audience is critical for marketing and selling a book … which brings us to our next section: publishing tips in 2018.

Tips for Publishing in 2018

The publishing world has changed drastically, especially in the last 20 years. Outside of self-publishing, ePublishing, and audiobooks, what else is new? What are some tips for modern-day publishing? Keep reading to find out.

Crowdsource Your Book

Crowdsourcing isn’t reserved for fancy backpacks or new technology. Self-published authors can thrive there, too. Not only does crowdsourcing provide you with an advance of cash that can help with upfront editorial or printing costs, but it can also create a unique audience of people who are both fiscally and emotionally invested in the creation of your book.

It also builds a sense of exclusivity as your supporters are the only ones who’d receive your book … at least in the beginning. Services like Kickstarter and Indiegogo can help host a “pre-book tour” that raises funds and a following.

Start With an eBook, Then Print

Is this your very first book? Well, maybe you should take this guide one step at a time. Given the lower financial and physical commitment of publishing an eBook, many first-time authors use that process as a springboard into the world of authorship.

Publishing an eBook allows you to get your work out there while building up a readership and garnering name recognition. Then, when you’re (hopefully) ready to publish your second book, your readers can anticipate a digital and hard copy.

Better Yet, Start With a Blog

Let’s take a step back. If this is your very first book, and you have yet to write a word much less attract an audience, it may be more realistic to start with a blog. Blogging is completely risk- and cost-free yet attracts a readership and following via email and social media. Once you drum up enough attention, then you can dive into writing a book … with the confidence that your audience will want to read that, too.

Look Local

Just like coffeeshops love supporting local farmers and art galleries love supporting local artists, indie and independent bookstores love supporting local authors. Selling books written by local authors attracts, well, local customers and celebrates the community that the shop is a part of.

Local bookstores (like coffeeshops) are community hotspots — they support the community, sponsor local programs, sell unique content (not found at national chains), and host events. When pitching to a local bookstore, consider how your book supports their mission as said hotspot and how selling your book might bring other locals there, too.

Over to You

From querying an agent to working with an indie book cover designer, there are a myriad of players in the wild world of publishing. No longer are book jacket biographies reserved for the rich, famous, or uber-successful. Anyone and everyone can publish their thoughts and ideas — including you — and this guide can help you do so.