I finished writing The Alleys of Olde Architecture yesterday, and now I need to get it published. There is a lot to write about this process, but I do not want to turn every blog into a 100-page novella, so I will try to limit each post to a single topic.
The first thing, then, is to ask why bother trying to get published in the first place? What’s the point?
There are two obvious answers: one is because I want people to be able to read my book; the second is to make money.
I worked hard on this book and I think a lot of people will enjoy reading it. Not everyone, certainly, but there are gajillions of fantasy super-fans out there, and an original story that appeals to that demographic (whether it is a movie or a book or a video game) will always find a warm reception if the thing is well done. In the most plain terms, ‘publishing’ your book is just a glorified way to say ‘sharing it.’ I could go stand on a mountain and shout, “It’s done! Whoever wants to read it, come on over!” And how many people would hear me? Like, six? And they would say, “Hey, Jeff, can I get a copy?” And I would say, “Actually, no, you can’t, because it is cost-prohibitive for me to print out 1,500 pages every time somebody wants to read it and my printer would probably break down before long. Not to mention the cost to mail it…”
Publishing means: get copies printed and distributed to people who are interested in reading it. Sounds simple, and it is. But we are starting at Ground Zero, here—it helps to know exactly what we are trying to accomplish. In fact, reframing the whole thing makes it sounds far more attainable: rather than say, ‘My goal is to get published,’ I should be telling myself, ‘My goal is to convince a publishing company that they can make money printing and distributing my book to fantasy super-fans.’ Seems a little more reasonable. Everyone likes to make money. Which brings me to the second reason for publishing…
Gotta earn some money! That should be self-explanatory. All I will say about this part of the equation is that a lot of authors want to be the next J.K. Rowling and rake in the cash, but that is extremely unlikely from a statistical standpoint. The next most commonly-held goal is to earn enough to be able to write full-time; while it sounds nice, even best-selling authors do not always generate steady income sufficient to realize that dream. Ultimately, if you are in it to make millions, you are going to be disappointed. Better to focus on the first element: sharing your work with people who like the sort of things you write, and go from there.