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trying to get published is a bit like being stuck in one of those eer paintings with an endless staircase Twisted confusing wondrous all the adjectives if you're on the edge of giving up trust me you're not alone and what makes it all the more difficult are the predators lurking in every corner but before we expose these wolves we need to understand how traditional publishing actually works and this includes everything from polishing your Mandy script to finding the right literary agents that will help you along your way you know people who actually respect your work and are going to get it out to the [Music] masses whether you're attempting to make somebody laugh through romance comedy or exploring the dark reaches of the human Mind through a splatter Horror Story set of a daycare okay I was in kind of a dark place when I wrote that the path to publication is difficult the Journey of getting your work on bookshelves begins with before the title is even decided the first thing you'll need naturally is a polished manuscript what a truly polished manuscript is your golden ticket to catching an agent or Publisher's attention come with me and you'll see before you send any queries out make sure your work is Thoroughly vetted use beta readers autocrit and a human Editor to make it really Sparkle it can be difficult getting your work in front of a Publishing House in the first place nobody is getting published without an agent not nobody not know how a compelling query letter is not only a pitch for your book it's also a pitch for you the author Remember agents and Publishers are not just investing in a single work they're investing in you the hopes that you will have a successful and long career once the manuscript is deemed ready by both the author and the agent it's time to face the infamous this dreaded slush pile also known as the pile of manuscripts currently stacked in the Publisher's office standing out in this pile requires some strategy it's not just about having a compelling story it's about having the right story at the right time what Publishers are currently trying to buy once the manuscript catches the eye of an agent or a publisher the real work begin contracts are negotiated and signed and the author is often involved in decisions about the books title and marketing angles this of course is critical it's how your book is going to be presented to the rest of the world first time authors should be prepared to work closely with our publishing team there'll be several rounds of revisions cover design choices and marketing strategies of course all of this makes a huge difference in whether or not your book gets picked up by the average person ultimately this partnership is about you and the publisher bringing a fantastic product to Market that's what this is all about out right well not just that but getting your work in front of readers who will appreciate it you can expect several rounds of revisions of your manuscript where you continue to polish and perfect your writing you're also going to get feedback specific to current market trends audience expectations you know welcome to the world of being a working artist and don't be surprised if you're not entirely happy with your book cover I mean do you really think I would prefer my thumbnails look like this the point of a cover is to alert the audience that yes this book is for me I would like that book and you'll notice that covers tend to look very similar across genre take a look next time you're at an airport the next step is to introduce you to the world this might include interviews signings becoming a sign spinner for a day yeah that was a weird publishing house it's really all of this stuff that makes people want to traditionally publish in the first place I mean sticking your book on Amazon certainly is easier right but when you have a whole team dedicated to Market your book and Industry experts to assist you along the way well it feels easier at least if you can get in competition is fierce and even if you have a great story there's no guarantee you're going to get it at the right desk at the right time you might be able to find a little bit of a back door in a smaller publishing house that doesn't require an agented submission but even then a It's Tricky and spots are limited this is why a lot of authors decide to just self-publish yeah I know it's scary you have to find a printer you have to do your marketing you have to figure out your book cover you have to make sure the work is even polished all on your own but it does give you more control over your final product regardless of which path you take remember knowing is half the battle and that takes us back to the shark circling in the ocean also known as the book publishing [Music] industry rather than speaking generalities I have a realworld example of a predatory publisher this is from what is often referred to as a vanity press with a member of our team having a family member that almost signed we'll keep the individual names in book title is up the names have been changed to protect the innocent so let's set the scene a few facts about the book in question the book was written with chat GPT which is really obvious when you look at the manuscript it's steeped in editorial problems not surprising like tent shifts uh change in povs out of nowhere and a lot of repetitive language pretty much all of the novel's 67,000 words are heavily summarized you know the old tell don't show advice that you hear all the time there's entire sections with just summaries of characters and action and we're we're not really experiencing anything in other words the book isn't good but that didn't stop our so-called Publishers from wanting to publish it at a price of [Music] course the dream of finally having your manuscript published is so strong it can lead you right into the arms of predators who would love to take your money they have great promises of Fame and success all for a minor fee of course there's an easy principle that can help you detect these scams in a heartbeat in traditional publishing money flows to the author not from the author as we said earlier when a traditional publisher signs you they are taking a gamble they are investing in you you're not the one doing the investing and that's why it's so difficult to get their attention it means they can't just take any work not even works they appreciate or find artistically interesting they have to take works that they're confident are going to perform in the marketplace and as you can imagine that can mean not wanting to take as many artistic risks not wanting to capitalize on what could be too small of a niche but before you harp on them too much keep in mind they're doing a lot of work for you they're helping you with your editing they're getting a professional book cover they're putting together a marketing strategy for you and um often you get in advance you know like money upfront what they don't do is ask you for money at front can we get a red flag yeah red flag in the case of vanity publishing things are different just take a look at this now the author here is a UK resident so the prices are in British pounds but if you're paying close attention you'll notice another red flag the V is 23% when it really should be 20% and that's because while this publisher reports to be based in the UK they really appear to be based in Poland and this isn't even the worst I've seen I've seen quot over $2,000 and keep in mind this manuscript is trash it's not going to sell in the marketplace it's not going to give this author any fame fortune or even anything it's just going to fall to the bottom of the pile back into the alleys of Amazon where nobody sees you ever [Music] again so all together what are some red flags we should be looking for when vetting Publishers vague Promises of success while asking for payment upfront again this is not common for Publishers or agents Predators may claim they have some sort of inside scoop or inside track but usually those claims are unsubstantiated and you'll just be out some money lack of selectivity in accepting manuscripts if somebody seems really eager to publish your book without doing a thorough review that's a bit sketch isn't it shouldn't they be concerned at the very least of the reputation of the name of the publisher let alone the idea that you know Publishers like to make money and to make money you need like a quality work the publisher takes submissions yet responds with a bill this is a bit of a trick used by Publishers you'll get an email saying congratulations you've been accepted by our publishing house and then respond with a bill this is a cynical trick used where they act like they are vetting your work and they make a big to-do about you being finally approved and all this wonderful Grand pump and Circumstance about being part of their publishing house and then the bill comes sure you get to keep 100% of your royalties they're not concerned that it's going to make money because they probably know it's not very good exorbitant fees for services like editing book design or marketing let's be honest self-publishing doeses involve cost you are investing in yourself and not relying on traditional publishing houses to do it but keep in mind these costs should be reasonable and package deals often don't present new Authors with the best deal to be found instead they provide a onstop shop that's convenient but doesn't actually reflect the industry standard for these Services the publisher approaches you out of the blue unless you're blazing up the charts in Amazon or you're some sort of a established name in the self-publishing world this is just not going to happen if a publisher is sliding into your DMs just tell them to slide on out the publisher includes marketing fees but has no presence you may want to take a moment to look and see whether or not this company that is charging you exorbitant marketing fees actually is good at marketing the publisher we're talking today has only a th000 followers on X and less than th000 on Facebook low views no engagement in other words they don't know how to Market I'd be curious to take a look at that marketing department it only takes a simple search to find out if a publishing house has a marketing presents or if they've published any other books and uh are those books actually performing you can also look at their marketing assets and whether or not they're just copying and pasting and using cookie cutter formulas found on Fiverr for a few bucks if it's a sketchy Publishing House you're not going to be very impressed extremely fast publishing promises it's annoying but prepping a book for publishing takes a long time it's not just about getting the manuscript polished and ready it's about finding the right time to release now publishing professionals know this this publisher promised a release date within 3 weeks 3 weeks 3 weeks is barely enough time for a company to cut and paste a document together and slap some simple formatting on it let alone anything decent a lack of clear submission guidelines again reputable Publishers are picky they're not going to just allow anything so if the Publishing Company you're submitting to doesn't have any clear guidelines ding ding ding ding ding red flag they offer little to no constructive feedback on your work I hate to break it to you but your work ain't perfect now I think we all understand this but the point is is that a professional publisher is going to give feedback they're going to help you improve your product they're not just going to slap it out there without any assistance whatsoever again they're putting their name on it don't they want it to be quality excessive flattery yes you would expect even professionals might be complimentary excited about working with you but they're not going to go on and on about how amazing it is or wax eloquent as if you've just cured cancer you should be a to tell the difference between over-the-top praise and reasonable excitement they discourage you from seeking advice or representation from Agents why would they be so nervous about a second opinion a perhaps it's because they know that an agent would see right through their scheme it is very normal within the publishing world to work with authors who have agents so if they're weirded out by that you should be weirded out by them [Music] now that being said don't get the idea that paying is always a bad thing there are plenty of Industry professionals that want to make a living and have wonderful services that will help your book success if you intend on publishing independently you're probably going to need to hire these people self-published authors often pay developmental editors formatters book cover designers you know standard expenses the sort of thing that a traditional publisher has to do which is why they're so picky in the first place you don't have to be suspicious when a freelancer wants to be paid for their services that's called uh keeping the lights on in their house what you need to look out for would be things like portfolios references anything that can make them seem like a good hire essentially you're starting a [Music] business in short if you're going to self-publish you're going to need some help and that's okay but when you look for services look for something that says it's an author service and hopefully one that comes well recommended by other authors or has a great pfolio but you don't want a company that pretends to be a publishing house with a Swanky Old School logo that will just make you jump through hoops these sharks will scoop up your cash like a lot of chum and then swim away while your book slowly drowns in a pitiful death and in the despair of Amazon's Back Pages it's easy to let your dream about seeing your book on the bookshelves Cloud your judgment but be cautious and find support if you're an autocrit Pro member you can join our writing groups and we vet these sort of things all the time we also recommend author services to one another you've spent a lot of time on this creative effort so get the love and respect you deserve your name needs to be attached to a solid product that will reach readers build up a fan base and perhaps a legacy for you and if you have any questions just reach out to us we're always there to help you avoid these predatory practices now if you excuse me I'm going to need a bigger boat [Music] oh [Music]