You are the cream that has risen to the top. You have several publishing offers in front of you. You have your pick of the litter. Advance and royalty rates are basically the same. What now becomes your deciding factor? Does it really matter whom you choose to publish with?
Fast answer: yes.
I say yes, because there is more to a publishing deal than money. Think about this:
- How hard did you work to get a foot in the door?
- How much effort did it take to write the manuscript?
- How intense was the burning passion that drove you to write what you wrote?
- How much insecurity did you have to overcome to get the nerve to submit your work?
- How many rejections did you have to force a bright side on just so you could get out of bed the next morning and try again?
- What really matters to you? Money? Impact? Long-term, individualized support? Marketing and promotion? International sales? Distribution? Ability to give input on various aspects of your project?
These are the kind of questions you want to ask yourself when you begin to weed out the right publisher for you.
If I were a writer driven by more than up-front money, it would matter that a publisher could see my “why” behind the “what” of what I have submitted. A lot of times, authors write because of something deep they’ve experience and they want to help someone else to either avoid what they’ve been through or help others work themselves out of what they are currently going through. I’ve learned this is true for both fiction and nonfiction. Writing a book is not easy and good books are hardly ever written for no reason. So signing with a publisher who gives big numbers up front but does nothing else to fan the flame of fire of the author’s message is a waste and that whole pouring out of the writer’s soul means nothing.
Writing hurts, and I would want my pain to count for something—and something more than just dollars. I mean, dollars, yes, but impacted lives is pretty sweet. I would want my publisher to get that.
So yes, I think it does matter whom you publish with. Sometimes publishing with yourself (self-publishing) because you believe in yourself is better than publishing with someone who doesn’t get you or your vision. Truthfully, aligning with a publisher who understands where you come from and where you want to go and who wants to help you get there is where it’s at. Believe it or not there are publishers out there who do care this much. I know, it seems impossible. But there are publishers who care a lot about message (or story), impact, and the author’s success.
How would you ever know a publisher’s true colors past all the sweet talk during the courting stages of acquisitions?
- Connect with authors they have published—back list and front list—and see what they have to say about their relationship with that publisher.
- Look through the publisher’s line up and see the authors they’ve published year after year. Ask these authors why they have stayed. Ask those authors how supported they are regarding speaking events, radio, TV, book signings, and their own creative ideas. Ask them how hard is it to access the marketing team or their editor.
- See how many long-term authors they maintain. Notice the ratio of long-term authors versus one-hit-wonders.
What do you think? Does it matter to you whom you publish with? Or do you just want any deal?
What matters most to you when considering whom you want to publish with?