If you are developing a career as a writer these days, you are probably aware that there are many different ways of going on. the Internet has opened many new roads to publication - and also exposed questing writers to many new pitfalls.

The following information is an overview of some of the routes into publication that are available, and some of the dangers you will need to look out for along the way. Everyone’s needs and talents are different so, before you sign anything, ask yourself: what kind of publisher do you want?

The answer depends on your work, your ambitions, your budget and your areas of interest. The following is my own personal view, based on publishers I have worked with, my own experience and that of writers I have known. I would be delighted to see comments from writers whose experience varies from mine because the world is changing fast and new schemes seem to pop up almost daily.

COMMISSIONED WRITING

What is it?
You are asked to write a piece for a newspaper, magazine or specialist journal. You probably get a one-off payment and a free copy or copies of the issue your work is in. You need to check whether you are selling first publication rights or the complete copyright. If it is the latter, you can never use the work again yourself, so make sure the price is worth it. If you write on firm’s time for a book or journal your employer is publishing, they will probably own the copyright. If you are freelance payment can be anything from a free issue and a smile or a fiver – common with little magazines, to several hundred pounds per thousand words – eg, The Guardian. If you have a useful name – you know, one of those that has the word celebrity attached, it might be even more. Commissioned writing may lead to a royalty agreement if you are a trade or academic specialist contributing to, for example, a specialist yearbook.

How do I get into it?
Get a job with a company that does a lot of in-house publishing or become a known and respected expert in a particular field and a) wait for the offers to come in or b) send proposals to specialist editors along with a sizzling cv to prove you are qualified.

MAINSTREAM PUBLISHING

What is it?
Mainstream publishing companies, should they accept your work, shoulder all the costs of printing, designing and marketing your book. They will ask you to appear for signings or interviews, but they organize and pay for them. You may get an advance fee if they are confident of sales. You will get a royalty agreement whereby you get a small percentage of the income from each sale. Look closely at the offered agreement. Will you get the same royalty for non-UK sales, translations, second editions etc? Beware of 2 or 3 book deals. These tie you to the publisher until such time as they have accepted the specified number of books. If they don’t like your next efforts, they won’t publish them and you’re stuck: You can’t go to another publisher.
The main feature of a publishing agreement is that you are letting go of responsibility once the work is accepted. The advantages are that there is no financial risk and your job is finished - you can get on with writing the next book. The disadvantage is your loss of control. The publisher chooses the cover art, the reviewers, the distributors, the marketing strategy (even if you cringe and hide under the bed when you see the adverts) , the publisher’s editing and marketing departments may change just about anything including the title and the plot of your story, or ask you for repeated re-writes, after the contract is signed - and perhaps most importantly, the publisher decides when to stop printing the book.

How do I get into it?
Study the market carefully. Look at what you have written and try to figure out who will read it and which publisher is catering for that readership. Then you need to know when and how that publisher accepts new work. You must discipline yourself to check that the work is really finished. An editor for a big company won’t come back to an unknown author and say, “Yes, we’ll accept it once we’ve sorted out the spelling mistakes and the saggy bit in chapter 6.” So either read it 20 times really carefully, or hire a proof reader. Before you submit, see if there is an edition of the publishers guidelines, detailing what format is acceptable for presentation of the manuscript.

The rumblings on the grapevine suggest that it is becoming less common for big publishers to accept work they haven’t asked for first. When they do accept a new author, it is because that author has done a lot of work figuring out what they can produce which looks totally original but actually follows a known fast-selling formula. For example, you could say that Enid Blyton school-stories plus magical kids series such as The Worst Witch equals Harry Potter. Bingo!
SMALL PRESS

What is it?
There is a growing army of one-man-one-computer enthusiasts and small businesses in the publishing world. Many of them are sincere, dedicated, creative people. Some of them know what they are doing. Few are making much – or even any – money. They offer many different deals. Some ask for a contribution to costs or for help with marketing. Some publish for free but don’t pay you. Some share profits with you. Some make royalty deals, so that if they can get into profit, you will benefit. My own first book was a small press production. The publisher bore the entire cost of publication, and paid himself back from the first batch of sales. When his costs were covered, an agreement came into effect which split further sales income 50/50 between publisher and author, and full rights reverted to me after a year. That’s a better deal than a first-timer would have got from a mainstream company. (Unless the writer had a useful name, you know, one with celebrity attached.)

How do I get into it?
Small press editors tend to favour writers who have built themselves a reputation via little magazines. If your name is appearing in all their favourite magazines, they may contact you. If you are developing a lengthy cv, send it to someone who has been publishing first-timers in your area of work.

COMMUNITY PUBLISHING

What is it?
It is usually the preserve of local writers’ groups. The group share the cost of producing an anthology containing examples of all the members’ work and the profit, if any, goes back into the club or society. The books are usually aimed at a local readership and do not go much further than the locality in which and for which they are produced. Great fun but can run into trouble if disagreements arise over spending and marketing.

How do I get into it?
Look in your local paper or library for writers’ groups or projects in your area, or Google writers’ groups/writing circles and join one that takes your fancy.

SELF-PUBLISHING

What is it?
Home computers, graphics software, and digital on-demand publishing have taken this from the rich man’s game that it was 50 years ago to a reachable goal for many. Most writers are self-employed, but a self-published author really feels like a one-person business. He or she writes the books, chooses the covers, books the ISBNs, chooses and pays the printer, plans the marketing campaign, hires a bookkeeper or does the accounts and projections…and once the books arrives, owns them, and all the profits from the sale of them.

How do I get into it?
Self-publishing is now a possibility for anyone with a few hundred pounds and a story to tell. You can even produce one copy of your book, just for the fun of it. Check out www.lulu.com
Presuming your project is bigger than one copy of a book, if you go for self-publishing there is quite a lot of work to be done. Check the facts, your confidence, and your energy levels before you take the plunge. You can choose to spend money (hire a proof reader, a graphic designer, a typesetter, a legal advisor and a marketing wizard) or time (learn all the above trades yourself). It is probably wise to join an organization such as The Society of Authors, or a writers’ group with some self-published authors – and make use of their advice and recommendations. Unless you have been self-employed before, I would also recommend a business start-up course, if you have them in your locality. There is a lot you need to know about tax, insurance, bookkeeping, budgeting and planning.

VANITY PUBLISHING (as those who don’t like it say) or

ASSISTED PUBLISHING (as those who like it say)

What is it?
Everyone says: “Hmp!” and looks down their nose. The common view of vanity publishing is that it’s a facility for amateur authors with more money than sense to pay a publisher to produce a book no-one will ever read. Well, that’s the traditional view. I find there is more to it than that. I also find that the big problem is that vanity publishers don’t have ‘vanity publisher’ written on their business cards and a lot of small publishing set-ups are labelled ‘vanity publishing’ when their aims are far more interesting that that. You have to work it out for yourself.
Basically, if there is no editorial process – the company will publish anything, at a price – then they are vanity publishers. They will take the money off you, and pay a printer to produce the book, taking a rake-off for themselves. You might as well have gone to the printers yourself. Well, perhaps. (See self-publishing above. Maybe you don’t want all that work.) Some publish-at-a-price companies do actually have marketing departments and do offer royalty agreements. The problem is that they rarely give the writer a clear view of whether the book is actually saleable – and they have nothing to lose if it doesn’t sell.

How do I get into it?
If you are thinking of paying a company to publish your work, first look at their previous productions and decide whether you would be proud to see your work next to them. Ask the publisher how many copies of other books they have sold, and how often the authors recoup their publication fees. Check your contract carefully to see when and whether money will come to you.
It is very important that you have some form of quality control, because the publishers may not have any editorial process. Try to get your manuscript read by a variety of people who will be honest with you, and help you find and correct any faults. Remember, your mum has said: “It’s lovely, dear,” to everything you’ve ever produced. IT MAY NOT BE TRUE.

WHAT DO I DO FIRST?
If you are thinking of getting your work published, buy yourself a copy of a guide such as A and C Black’s Writers and Artists Yearbook – preferably the current year! Or Macmillan’s Writers Handbook. Study all the different types of publishers until you are sure you can tell the difference. Study the work you have written until you are sure it is finished. I know I said that before, and I know it sounds stupid but most writers spend the wilderness years (the wannabee years) sending manuscripts out into the world which are rejected instantly because they haven’t had enough editing, checking and correcting. You can’t really look at your work with clear vision until it’s been ‘rested’ for several months after completion. When you have done this, and chosen an appropriate publisher – go for it. And good luck!

RESOURCES
“Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook” and “Children’s Writers and Artists Yearbook” A & C Black
“The Writers Handbook” Macmillan
“Getting Your Book Published” Rachael Stack
“Modern English Usage” Fowler
The Oxford English Dictionary (Don’t laugh – you really can’t trust computer spellcheckers.)

There are many more. Please add your favourites to this thread.