4 Key Book Publishing Paths

Jane Friedman’s Four Key Book Publishing Paths Version 2

Jane Friedman says in her article (read the full version here):

‘I’ve developed an infographic to outline four key publishing paths, their value to authors, and the variations therein.

These four paths are:

1. Traditional publishing: I define this as submitting your work to editors and agents (gatekeepers) and being selected for publication. Most traditional deals of the New York variety involve nationwide bookstore distribution, but one of the biggest growth areas you’ll find here is digital-only or digital-focused efforts that don’t involve print editions at all. Such opportunities may have little in common with Big Five arrangements—and that’s why I’ve intentionally put them at the bottom of the image, with a white background!—but they’re still selective. Traditional publishing authors can and should expect editorial, design, marketing, and publicity support from beginning to end.
2. Fully assisted self-publishing: This is what most people mean when they talk about the “vanity” publishing model, where you write a check and get your book published without lifting a finger. There’s a high risk of paying too much money for basic services, and also for purchasing services you don’t need—but it’s still a significant part of the self-publishing market, now dominated by Author Solutions in the U.S. Caveat emptor: Author Solutions is currently fighting a class-action lawsuit; they’re not warmly embraced by the indie author community. If you want a fully assisted service, explore the highly ranked firms at the Independent Publishing Magazine.
3. Do-it-yourself (DIY) self-publishing: This might involve either print book or e-books (or both), and I’ve been more expansive in this second version to include print-driven self-publishing options. Most authors reduce financial risk and investment involved with print by using print-on-demand technology; the most popular POD services are CreateSpace, Lightning Source, and Lulu.
4. Community: A growing number of publishing success stories are coming out of Wattpad and fan-fiction communities—not to mention that an incredible amount of writing and reading gets done at these sites. (Wattpad alone is closing in on 20 million users. That’s about the same size as Goodreads.) It means giving away your work, but community authors are more focused on developing a fan base, and the social aspect of reading and writing, not earnings. I’ve also added crowdfunding here, as it involves rallying your community to buy your book before it’s available (and donate funds), a model that Wattpad is now melding into its platform.’

From: Jane Friedman’s Four Key Book Publishing Paths Version 2 (read the full version here)