I have just had another phone call with yet another innocent wanna-be author. Another person launching into a new business but being too independent.

Jane* (pseudonym) has written a book and wants to get it published but like many first-timers her expectations of having a book published are way out of date. She has romantic notions of a publisher just waiting for her manuscript to drop across their desk.

The publishing world has changed

Most first-timers do expect that the process will be a bit like applying for jobs. You might not find a publisher the first time but eventually someone will greet the manuscript with delight.

The first rude shock is that most traditional publishers no longer accept ‘unsolicited manuscripts’. Instead, there is now a middle-person called an ‘agent.’ They might start applying to agents in the hope that they’ll be accepted and the agent will find them a publisher.

I went this route initially but I applied to agents way too early. I should have waited until my book was professionally edited and ready to go. Of the six agents I applied to, four didn’t even bother to reply, one rejected my book immediately (“Only romance sells.”) and one gave me a Skype call, but later turned me down.

One of the main reasons that authors want to go the traditional publishing route is they hope that they can just write and the publisher will do everything else for them. This is no longer the case, even with traditional publishers.

Like many first timers, my friend found the way to traditional publishers blocked as most publishers are busy publishing established authors or they have found big name speakers/public figures and asked them to write a book.

Eventually, Jane thought, “That’s okay, I’ll just self-publish.” This all sounds so simple but most people who say this have no idea what the term really means or that the sharks are out there circling, waiting for just such an innocent to wander into their space.

Too independent

Jane decided to use google to do her research (at least she realised some research was a good idea). The problem was that she googled ‘indie publishers.’ It led her straight into the arms of vanity publishers because she didn’t know any better.

The vanity publishers were waiting and willing to swallow my innocent friend and they did. They promised the earth (and probably added lots of sweet flattery), they charged her up front for a package deal which included editing, cover design, uploading her book to Amazon … and marketing help.

Some time later in the relationship with the so-called publisher, Jane began to get suspicious and eventually asked two friends for help, including myself. One friend told her that she didn’t think the editor was doing a good job and I explained that she’d been caught by a vanity publisher and suggested she withdraw from the contract.
At the time, she didn’t listen to my advice because like most normal people she’d been taught not to break a contract for that would be ‘going back on her word.’ This is something that vanity publishers count on and may be one reason that Christians are particularly vulnerable. Plus, who wants to admit they’ve been tricked and have made a big (and usually costly) mistake?
Eventually Jane escaped from the contract and only lost the money that she owed for editing. Now she is much more wary but has also had to deal with much discouragement and extra self-doubt along the way.

Mistakes caused by being too independent

1. Jane did not ask for help from more experienced authors. Rather, she thought that she was doing the right thing not bothering anyone else.

2. She assumed that paying up front was ‘how these things are done.’ Most experienced authors – especially independently published authors would have told her to run a mile on the first approach of the smiling sharks circling her.

3. When she found one of these publishers who she believed to be legitimate, she did not check with anyone else but used her own judgement and signed a contract.

What should Jane have done?

So many of the mistakes were made because Jane did not ask people who had already self-published. Her reasons for doing this were good, but I know I prefer to give you some advice early on, than to see another person fall into the clutches of vanity presses. It distresses me to how painful the whole experience has been and how much money they’ve lost.

Jane didn’t understand that an ‘indie publisher’ is the author themselves. That is, there is no concrete publishing house but rather the author project-manages their book from first draft via edits, cover design … all the way to launch and beyond.

Another thing that would have helped Jane was to do some research on different models of publishing. Even a two minute search would have led her to warnings about vanity presses. There are up-to-date lists of vanity presses.

Jane’s research should have included a search for ‘reviews’ of publishers/agents including looking to see if there have been any complaints about them. More research would have shown Jane that her ‘publisher’ was charging her for things that she could do for free – like uploading her book to Amazon.

Tips for avoiding being too independent

New authors need to find more experienced authors as soon as possible. You can find them by joining a writing organisation, attending conferences or finding online groups.

1. Join author Facebook groups

One of the strengths of Facebook in being able to join groups. I would suggest that you think about joining different kinds of groups for different purposes. Authors need to understand both the international and their local writing context. They might also be lucky to find other authors that write their genre.

I belong to an international group – Christian Indie Authors and have found them extremely helpful. Their group is easy to search for past topics. There is always someone to help with any questions about marketing, publishing, writing, certain publishers … We are also constantly telling people about vanity publishers and to run away from certain ‘offers’ they’ve received.

Another group I’ve heard good things about is Clean Indie Reads.

I belong to two groups that are more local for my context – Australia/NZ writers – as I want to know my local Christian writers (Australasian Christian Writers and Christian Writers Downunder).

NB Many authors also belong to readers groups. Understanding what readers want and expect is also helpful.

2. Consider joining an organisation

Many of the paid memberships include online classes, critique groups.

* American Christian Fiction Writers. The membership gains you access to online classes, advice, and reduced competition and conference fees.
* Genre specific memberships. Many romance writers belong to Romance Writers of America or similar organisations.
* Omega Christian Writers – an Australian based organisation. Much smaller than ACFW but there are some advantages in small. They run a conference (biannual now but used to be annual) and are generous with their help and advice.

3. Writers support group

I also belong to a small group with three other writers. We write in different genres and are at different stages of our author journeys but this group is a prayer support, advice, calming down … group. The group makes each of us feel less alone. It also allows us to try out ideas and both commiserate and rejoice with each other at the appropriate times.

A writer’s group usually develops after you’ve been networking for a while.

What authors groups have you found helpful?

What other tips do you have for new authors?

** This post first appeared on the International Christian Fiction Writers blog on 18 June 2020.