Happy Day!
That’s such an awesome experience. It’s like celebrating your birthday and Christmas at the same time, isn’t it?
This wonderful feeling of recognition, of appreciation, of validation… your writing is finally seen and acknowledged.
Except that there is a catch.
Real publishers do not contact authors.
The exception are best-selling indie authors. Those that have already sold hundreds of thousands of books.
Real publishers – the kind that offers a contract, an advance and royalty payments, then prints books and distributes them – rely on agents to be presented with selected manuscripts. There are few exceptions, and even those do not look for authors. They wait for authors to propose a book idea to them.
So what’s with the publisher that sent you email or even called you on the phone? The one that keeps calling you?
Well, there is a whole bunch of businesses that offer publication services to authors – at a really steep cost, usually thousands of dollars. Their parent company is Author Solutions, but they have a number of subsidiaries specializing in different genres, and cooperating with selected traditional publishers.
The one common denominator is that they demand a lot of money for cover, formatting, editing and marketing. Much, much more money than those services cost elsewhere. And quite often authors are disappointed at the results and never make their money back.
Thing is: Those “publishers” don’t need to sell your books. They made enough selling you their overpriced services. That’s their business model, and it used to be called “vanity publishing”. They prefer to call it “self-publishing” now, but it’s not really.
For a detailed analysis and much, much more information, especially on the involvement of traditional publishers in this business scheme, read David Gaughran’s blog (Author Solution tag).
So what does that mean for you?
First of all, don’t be disappointed.
They never meant to validate you, or your story. You are their prey, and all that praise is fake. It’s entirely worthless bait. You’ll get more honest feedback in writing groups.
Second, keep writing.
You still have that amazing, real self-publishing option open to you. Yes, it’s a little harder than buying a package from one of those “publishers”, but it’s also much more rewarding.
You get to be in control of every step. You decide how much you want to pay. And it is quite possible to self-publish a book for very little money – if you invest the time to learn to do things yourself.
Alternatively, you can outsource some of those tasks. It’s entirely your decision – an amazing level of freedom. Yes, it comes with a learning curve, but also many, many rewards.
Third, do some EFT to bolster your mindset.
Your mindset is the game changer. You need to feel confident and happy about your writing so your readers can sense that in your stories. And feeling down about the publishing side won’t help your writing style, or your marketing, right?
On the other hand, if you approach this whole self-publishing gig with the willingness to learn, and the confidence to move ahead – the sky’s the limit.
Have some set-up inspiration:
Even though I always thought that self-publishing was extremely expensive, I’m a good writer, and I’m now willing to explore the full range of my options.
Even though it felt sooo good to be praised and validated, only to find out that this was part of a scam, I’m a good writer, and I’m ready to learn more about that industry now.
Even though I came so close to losing a lot of money through “self-publishing”, I’m a good writer, and I’m learning every day now!
Your Turn:
Has that happened to you? And have you been hounded and badgered to sign up with them?
Write a comment!
*Image source: F. Moebius
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PPS: I can help you shift your mindset and grow your confidence. EFT is the fastest way I know to shift limiting beliefs, old thought habits and other kinds of blocks. Click HERE and send me an email. Together, we’ll figure out how I can support you best.
