Secret Pitfalls of Traditional Publishing

At the London Book Fair, the debate waged around the question: "Will Publishers Soon Be Irrelevant?"

This is fascinates me, as a writer, reader and someone who works for a self-publisher with ties to traditional publishers. I myself was surprised by my own  experience with a traditional publisher. It was quite different from the fairytale I had imagined.

I was signed with an emerging but traditional publisher in 2008 and it was only then that I found out that you sign away your rights. The publisher had final say over the manuscript. I tried everything I could to eliminate or water-down that clause (having been a lawyer in a previous incarnation) but to no avail. I eventually signed, thinking that the likelihood of substantial changes was rare.

Boy was I wrong!

There were changes that were made to my main character that pulled the teeth from the very essence of the story. As persuasive as I am (or believe that I am :), I could not cajole, convince or bully the publisher to restore the character to my satisfaction. So for a month or two, I was in the unenviable position of having a book come out in my name but with whose contents I did not agree.

This publisher also supplied an editor to me that I don't believe had ever previously edited fiction. Upon coming up with my own editor, I was told that the time line did not accommodate whole scale revisions.

In fact, this publisher suggested that I edit the document myself. I have a HUGE problem with that, to which anyone who has read my previous posts can attest.

I was also advised to approach authors that I admire and ask them to review my book and hopefully give me a quote that I could use with the book. I began to wade in the mire of approaching publishers to ask them to ask their clients to read my book. It was unproductive and frustrating in the extreme.

The marketing plan was lacking but to my inexperienced eyes, it promised talk show appearances, radio interviews and numerous book tours. I have now heard that traditionally published authors still have to perform much of their marketing and in fact have heard that some publishers will take part of the author royalty to pool for 'shared marketing'.

Although to many of us, having a piece traditionally published is the signal achievement, look closely at the fine print of the deal: the devil is in the details!

I am now seriously considering self-publishing with my employer. I know the quality of work we produce and I know how our connections to traditional publishers work. If I have learned anything in my time on this gorgeous green rock, it's that you need to work with what you have.


I hope you find the publishing deal that works best for you :)