Partnership Publishing in the UK

by Clive
(Hampshire England)

Genre: Science Fiction

Taking the Middle Road: Partnership Publishing

Having written my Science Fiction book I had to decide if it was it worth taking further. I gave it to a few friends and family to read and their reactions were all positive. I knew that my writing skills left a little to be desired so I decided to send it off to some professional editors. I had three quotes the highest being 1250 GBP the lowest from the USA was, with the exchange rate 450 GBP. Guess which one I used? When I received it back I reviewed the corrections. There were a few Americanisms such as "gotten" that had crept in to the text. Having deleted them I was left with a passable manuscript. The editor's comments were positive regarding the story overall.

Once all the editors' changes were incorporated into the manuscript it looked a whole lot better than my original. I decided that before I would try sending it to an agent or publisher I would get a professional review.

The review was positive so it gave me confidence to try getting an agent to represent me. I brought the Writers Year Book and looked through their lists of agents for ones who accepted Sci Fi. Unfortunately there were not many.

I searched the web to get as much information as I could regarding the correct way to submit a book. All of the agents had slightly different requirements. However most requested an introductory letter, a synopsis of 1000 words and the first, one, two or three chapters. I found the synopsis the most difficult. Getting 77000 words down to 1000 was rather difficult.

Each one had specific rules on how everything was laid out, headers and footers or not as the case may be. Most required double spacing (I think that is ridiculous because it uses twice the paper and I don't see any sensible reason for it). The impression they gave was that if there was one space or paragraph formatted incorrectly then the whole thing went in the bin!

So I checked and double-checked everything before posting the documents off to the various agents I had selected from the list. The first two to send me a rejection said they did not take Sci Fi even though it clearly said they did in the year book (I checked)

Over the next few months most sent me rejection notes. Some returned nothing at all. A little disheartening really, especially after the editors comments and the review. So I got to thinking there has to be a better way.

With the pile of rejections mounting it was time to assess what was going on. I was sure I had something someone would enjoy reading. I had followed the submission rules each agent specified exactly. I had the manuscript professionally edited and I had revised it several times. It was certainly worth more than a cursory "Thanks but no thanks!"

Time for a bit more research, so after several evenings work I came to the following conclusions.

Agents and publishers are inundated with manuscripts. They use the slightest excuse for rejection to make their life easier. "Bound with a red elastic band not yellow, reject pile." "You are not famous then reject pile." (If you are famous then they know they will get sales of any book you write even if it is rubbish). "No writing experience or publication history" the reject pile again. This is one of those catch twenty-two situations can't get published because you haven't been published. They have enough established authors on their books already why bother with a total unknown? Apparently the only way to succeed was if you either knew some one famous or a well-known author to recommend you. Otherwise you have to know an agent or publisher personally.

It was a low point to say the least. I was at the "just print off a few copies on my printer and bind them for the family to read" stage. I put the book to one side and left it for over a month.

I spent some time thinking. So what after a lot of effort, luck and a pile of rejection letters I finally manage to interest an agent. The agent then has to interest a publisher in my book. I had considered trying to go to a publisher direct without an agent. It is however a rare occurrence now days for an unknown author to be accepted. According to the Writers Year Book the majority of publishers are closed to direct approach and will only accept submissions from agents.

I looked up the advantages and disadvantages of a conventional publisher. I needed to know if all the effort was worth it.

The main advantage is that the publisher will bear all the costs of getting your book into print then marketing and selling it. They have the contacts and the resources to push it giving you maximum exposure.

The disadvantages are with all the people involved you end up with very little of the money when your book is sold. It is typically 5% to 10% of the selling price. The other disadvantage is if the book does not reach the sales numbers they budgeted for within the first three to six months they will put you book into the "back issue" catalogue. When this happens you writing career is as good as finished.

Of course all of the above is assuming you can interest a publisher in the first place.

The second option would be self-publishing. With this method you manage every step of the process yourself. What you are doing is setting yourself up as a publisher. The advantage is you have complete control over every step of the process and you will be listed in the book as the copyright holder. If you are careful in choosing your editor, proof reader, cover artist and printer you could end up with a reasonable book at a good price.

The down side is you have to know what you are doing, you will need time to manage the steps in the process and you will have to be careful not to get ripped off.

There are unfortunately many out there who will promise you the earth and then run off with your money.

The final disadvantage is all the marketing, and selling process is down to you. You have to deposit copies of the book to the libraries of England, Scotland or Wales if you are in the UK (It is the law) Then talk to the book distributors and the likes of Amazon etc. You will also need somewhere to store and distribute your stock of books. I considered this option then decided against it. I felt I did not have the experience or knowledge to carry it off.

The third way is Partnership Publishing. This is where the author shares part of the cost with the publisher. That way the publisher does not take all the risk and you as the author get more for your work. It is a kind of halfway house. You get more say in the design and layout of your book. The publisher takes care of editing and layout. They also take care of stocking, warehousing and distribution. Many have a sliding scale of services that you can pick and choose from. I took the complete package that included marketing of my book.

I sent them the manuscript for evaluation and it was approved. Some take anything while others pick and choose. I decided to use a company that were particular in what they published. They would hopefully have a better reputation in the "publishing world" than a company that took anything. Three weeks later the publishers contract was sent to me. Once it was all signed off the process started. There was a wait before an editor became available so they started with the cover artwork. I sent them my rough idea and I could not wait to see what they come up with. When I received the first draft I liked the idea in principle but I was not happy with the detail. To cut a long story short I ended up commissioning an artist to produce the main cover character. The publisher was happy to replace the character they had put on the cover with the one I had obtained. The full story showing the cover evolution is on my website.

A couple of months later I received the book proof back from the publisher with several pages of comments from the editor. I had to read it all through carefully and check the changes. There were also recommendations. I had to make the decision to go with the recommendations or leave it as it was.

The recommendations involved the rewrite of a couple of chapters. One was an encounter between two of the characters. I had written it first from the standpoint of one then the same situation from the point of view of the other. The editor thought it would be better if it were combined. I went through the book carefully and rewrote the sections as suggested by the editor. There were a few changes I did not agree with. I marked up the copy, enclosed the changes and sent the proof back.

Several weeks later I received the final proof. The book was laid out, as it would be in printed form with the copyright, page numbering and chapter formatting. It looked really good. It was now getting exciting. I would soon have a book I had written myself published!

The publishers produced the "Blurb" for the back cover and sent it to me for approval. I liked mine best but I was not sure. It was what someone reads if they were browsing in a bookshop (or on line for that matter) so it was important.

I put a copy of both on my Facebook page and asked my friends which they thought was best mine, the publishers or a combination of both. They went for the publisher's version with a couple of minor changes. There were a couple of minor corrections on the final proof where the editors changes had not been done correctly so I marked them up and sent everything back to the publishers

The print run went ahead the first week in April so my book now actually exists!

I have to say I am very pleased with the result and it was worth all the time and effort it took. There is one thing I have learnt through this ongoing process. Writing the book is the easy part! The real work starts once you have written the last word.

Visit Clive's site.