5 Top Misconceptions Aspiring Authors Have About the Publishing Industry

Being a published author does not necessarily mean what you might think it does. The publishing industry is always changing and with the advent of POD or print-on-demand technology and e-books, the publishing industry has been turned on its head. Many new and aspiring authors have become disillusioned by the new publishing model that exists today because it is radically different from the one that existed in the past.

These are the 5 top misconceptions that new and aspiring authors have about the publishing industry:

1. All publishers give advances. This is a huge misconception that many beginning authors have. While it is not completely outside the realm of believability to get an advance, these days it is highly unlikely. So, the idea of getting an advance on royalties isn't something that an aspiring author or new author should be counting on.

2. All publishers promote your books for you, you can just sit back and wait for the royalties to roll in. Most if not all publishers today actually make it very clear that authors are 100% responsible for marketing their own books. In fact, they will often tell authors that if their book does not sell well due to an author not marketing their own books, that the publisher may return the rights to the author and terminate their contract. So, it's very important that you make an effort to market your own books if you want to be a successful author.

3. Publishers will set up a physical book tour for you, and pay for all the expenses associated with it. While this may have been true several decades ago, these days it no longer is. The idea of the physical book tour really doesn't come into being unless the author is willing to do it themselves and pay for it themselves. A publisher might be willing to help an author find places to stop, but beyond that, the author is on her own. With the advent of the internet there is now a lovely practice that many authors use called the "blog/virtual tour" which is the online version of a book tour where the author visits several blogs over time and chats and interacts with readers. A blog tour is one of the best ways to get the word out about your book.

4. Authors should pay a publisher to publish their book. There are hundreds of vanity presses available to choose from for the less discriminating author who does not want to wait for a traditional publisher to pick up her book. While an author can go this route to getting published, most authors and in some cases readers are going to be less likely and less interested in picking up a book that someone paid to have published. Publishing your book with a vanity press is not the way to go because money should never flow from the author to the publisher, but from the publisher to the author.

5. Anyone can self-publish. While it is true anyone can self-publish their books, not everyone can do it the right way. I've seen some pretty awful self-published books over the years, and trust me, you don't want to self-publish a book the wrong way. If you do and you want to keep self-publishing, it can mean you never sell another book again. Now that is not to suggest that you have to spend a lot of money to self-publish. The truth is you can self-publish your book without spending a dime, I know because I've done it. The keys to self-publishing the right way are to make sure you have your book read by at least a few people who are not relatives or close friends so they'll tell you the truth about what needs to be fixed. The next step is create an eye-popping cover. Anyone with a copy of Paint.net which is a free graphics software that is very user friendly can do this. Read a few online tutorials and you're on your way. Finally use a professionally created manuscript template, or read a few articles on how to format a book in Microsoft Word. There are many articles online that will tell you how to format your manuscript so it looks best and there are even a few free templates. Doing these three things will ensure a better self-publishing experience for you and your readers.

If you keep these 5 misconceptions about the publishing industry in mind when you begin your publishing career, then you will not be disappointed and fall into many of the pitfalls that so many aspiring and beginning authors do.