A Few Quick Questions and Answers About Publishing

Hope*writers will be open for new members January 24-28, 2022! Click HERE for details!

As an author, I get asked on the regular questions about publishing. This morning I took the time to answer a young woman who had questions many of you aspiring authors might have, so I thought I'd share my answers. Hope you find them helpful! (Her questions, my answers in bold)

There are all kinds of publishing companies out there, and a lot of them find unique ways to scam you or take full control over your books. How do I know what companies are trustworthy and reasonable? I still want to have some ownership over my books and be able to have a say in what happens to them.

If you are self-publishing, I recommend using CreateSpace which is owned by Amazon. It's free to use and free to upload your books that can seamlessly be sold on Amazon in print and eBook form. You can also use CreateSpace to print books for you to have and sell on your own (events, etc.). Your cost is finding an editor and a cover designer/interior formatting.

As far as a reputable publishing house, you'll know they are reputable because THEY PAY YOU, you don't pay them. :) 

The main Christian publishers are:

Zondervan

Thomas Nelson

Tyndale

LifeWay (B & H)

Revell

Moody

Baker

Harvest House

Waterbrook/Multnomah

W-Group

FaithWords

Has the publishing process been easy for you? I've heard that for some it can be a tedious process that involves lots and lots of investment, and for others, it can be an extremely easy process. Were there any struggles you faced along the way?

The publishing process for me has been fairly easy, but only because God had allowed me to grow a readership with my blog and have it get noticed. When I first started out, I had been blogging about things that interested me and that I wanted to share with other women, and I had built up a readership (platform in other words). I self-published a short eBook that sold very well and caught the attention of another author who introduced me to her agent. From there I was able to get publishing contracts with reputable houses.

The keys to getting published are:

1.) Have a readership - do you have a platform where people are interested in what you have to say? If not, you want to start putting your content out there to see if there is a desire for it.

2.) Have something to say that will fill a book and not just a blog post - and does that something to say resonate with your audience/readership? Does it have a strong felt need?  Are you excited about it?

Also, are there any general things I should know about publishing? I really know nothing about the process, and I have absolutely no idea where to begin. I've thought about self-publishing, but that could put me in a box that might be hard to get out of in the future.

It's very difficult to get a publishing deal without an agent, and it's very difficult to get an agent or a publishing deal without a platform. 

I highly recommend you checking out Hope Writers. It's a membership community of writers led by Emily P. Freeman on how to balance the art of writing with the business of publishing. Check it out here: https://www.hopewriters.com/

Literary Agent Resource: How Do You Find a Literary Agent? 

As to being put in a box, I started with self-publishing and it’s what got me a traditional publishing deal. Many other authors can say the same.

I hope this is helpful!

Love to you!

Sarah Mae

Readers, do you have more questions? Email me at sarah@sarahmae.com!