Paying To Publish Your Own Work

Should you ever pay to publish a book?

Short answer: NO.Longer answer: You should never, full stop, pay someone to put your book out (unless you're vanity publishing a small number of copies for personal distribution, which is different). There are, however, occasions when you are going to need to put some money down before your book is ready. If you're going the traditional publishing route, you generally don't need to spend any money ahead of time unless you know you have serious problems with things like grammar or spelling and you can't or won't address them on your own. In that case, a copy editor is a good investment because it's hard to see past a very messy manuscript when you're screening dozens at a time. If you're planning to self-publish, you will almost certainly need to put some money down, but not to a publisher. You need three things done professionally to give your book the best chances: A cover by a real cover artist, not put together yourself unless you're a professional graphic artist. Editing by a professional editor; this is one of those things that lots of writers think they don't need, but as a professional editor myself I can tell you that 90% of the time they're dead wrong. Back cover copy is another thing writers think they can handle because, hey, they write! But cover copy isn't fiction, it's marketing, and unless you have experience with marketing, it's another area that should be handled professionally if you're serious about your self-published book. It's the area most self-published authors neglect, but it's the second point of contact (after the cover) that can make or break a sale. It's insane to have your back cover copy scream "I did this myself!"If you only want a few copies for yourself and friends, however, vanity publishing might be the way to go. Companies like Lulu can sell you professionally bound copies of your book at a reasonable rate. Stay away from vanity publishers like Publish America which make big promises and ask for a cash-up-front investment. They're dangerous and can cost you the rights to your own work.

For publishing a book, is the author required to pay the publishing house?

It depends on how you are publishing, traditional or self-publishing.With traditional publishing, the publisher pays everything, editing, artwork, royalties, and advertisement as all other expenses with the book itself. The author is responsible for their own expenses and advertising their own “brand.” Further, the author also attends events and signings the publisher lines up, and can also book their own signings and talks as needed/wanted.Self-Publishing with a publisher is completely different. Originally called Vanity Press, these companies supply the knowledge and channels to help authors get their work out there. They will charge fees to assist in getting the work to the public and take a small fee per book sold. At times, the vanity press route also charges different levels pending on what you want them to do, and packages range from one edit to multiple edits of the work to make it more professional. They also range in fees from as low as $700 to $6,000. There are many of these companies, and none guarantee any return on your investment.In the long run, your best bet is always to go traditional publishing, though it is a harder route to be accepted.Note – With the increase of channels available on the internet, a person can publish their own work to multiple outlets without spending a lot of money, but always make sure you do not skimp on editing services.