What is Traditional Publishing?

A traditional publisher hires editors who read your MS, which you send to them. They receive thousands of MSs each week. It may take up to 2 years before they get around to reading yours. After they read it, they either reject it or accept it. If they accept it, you well be sent a contact (and often with a recommendation that you go over the contract with your literary agent/lawyer before you sign it). Once you sign the contract and send it back, than the publisher's lawyer checks it to be certain that all is in order (and done legally). The publisher is given a "temporary copyright" allowing them to print and distribute your book to the public. In most cases, you still own the copyright, but while the book is in print from the publisher, you can't do anything with it until it goes out of print.

They hire an editor/typesetter to type set and spell check your MS. Cuts and additions are not unusual at this point. You the author have no control over this, and it is not unusual for an author to read the finished book and ask: "When the hell did I write this?" or "Where is that chapter I wrote on....?" Next they hire an artist to create the cover art. You the author has no control over this either. Finally, they distribute the book to bookstores worldwide. You never own them a cent. They pay you royalties. Some also pay with advances. Most do 100% of the marketing and promotion, as well. You the author are free to sit back and relax, while the publisher does the work, leaving you with plenty of time to write your next book. Something Self-published and Vanity Press authors can only dream of, while they are rushing about writing press releases, and hunting down places to sell their book.

Traditional Publishing: Small Press vs Large Press vs The Big Five:

Once you jump into the publishing race, a term you'll start to hear is "The Big Five". You hear warnings, not to even attempt to submit to The Big Five, unless you have already published three or4 books and have a high-fee agent. You'll hear others say that it was one of The Big Five who gave them their first big break. On one hand authors will sing their praises, while on the other hand, authors tell the worst horror tales of their evil corrupt editors. What's a beginning writer to do? Whom should you believe? The answer, believe all of them, until you have a good reason to believe otherwise. Why?

Well, when it comes to publishing, about 90% of the publishing houses classify as Small Press. Small Press simply means that they are a Traditional Publisher, who pays author royalties, but they publish less than 100 titles per year. Vast majorities of Small Presses publish less than 10 titles per year. Many Small Presses only publish titles within their "niche market". Some publish only cookbooks, others publish only law books, some only publish books about their local history, some publish only horror, others publish only books written by women over 50, and so on and so forth.

Small Press is by far the easiest to be published by, esp. for the first time author. However, the pay is often very low, advances are rare, and payments may even be a "one-time-fee", such as $1,000 payment regardless of how many books are sold. While payment is low, many authors prefer Small Press, because they often keep the book in print for many years, and do more to promote the book than larger publishing houses do.

Large Press Publishing Houses are what most authors strive for. Higher payouts, a name that most people have heard of, and usually bigger sales. Most pay an advance (usually less than $5,000), and 4% - 12% royalty. They usually have a catalog and keep titles in print less than 2 years.

The Big Five are the mega giants, whom nearly everyone in the world knows their name, and whom most every author sends their manuscripts to, regardless of how many other places they are also sending it. They pay in large advances and higher royalties, but most titles go out of print in just 6 months or less and usually the author has to sing away reprint rights, meaning the book can never be reprinted by anyone else.Who are "The Big Five"?

The Big Five: They are the five giants of the publishing world, known for gobbling up Small Presses and spitting them out under a new name. Sometimes they even take turns buying out each other, and then they become The Big Four or The Big Three. But who are they? What are they? Why should you try to be published by them?

They are not actually five publishing houses, but the way they buy and sell each other out, usually there are five big names being thrown around at any given time, so the term "The Big Five" is just easier for most authors and editors to say.

But who are they and why should you try to be published by them? I can answer that in one word, well, two: Harry Potter.

Who reading this article has a copy of Harry Potter near by? Pick it up; look at the name of the publishing house. What does it say? Scholastic Books. Yep, Scholastic Books is one of The Big Five, possibly the biggest of the big house publishers out there. If Harry Potter hadn't been picked up by Scholastic Books, chances are, that no one would ever heard of it at all. Why? Because Scholastic Books has nearly unlimited finances and a marketing team that can literally make or break a book.

Random House. Dell. Penguin. Signet. Bantam. DoubleDay. TOR. Who hasn't at least heard of Harlequin Books? These guys are not only big press, they are monster-sized huge press. Because they are so big, unfortunately, your chances of getting your foot in the door are rather slim and requires that you hire the best agent money can buy. Why? Because these huge publishing houses, shred anything that comes their way that was not sent to them by an agent. It won't do you any good to explain why you don't have an agent in your cover letter, because they will never even open the envelope. Each of these publishers get an average of 15,000 manuscript submissions each week, many of which they never open. The secret to being published by one of The Big Five, is to go out there and make a name for yourself, write a best seller, hire a high profile agent, and than do what your agent tells you to do.

Sites Every Writer Should Check Out:

Publishing Law Center: Copyright, trademarks, intellectual property, contracts, licensing, rights, PubLaw Update Newsletter Legal information for publishers of magazines, newsletters, books, and multimedia products including copyrights, trademarks, contracts, licensing, & rights. A wealth of information for authors, editors, agents, and publishers looking to learn more about their field.

U.S. Copyright Office U.S. Copyright Office is an office of public record for copyright registration and deposit of copyright material.

US ISBN Agency - ISBN Assignments, SAN, Bookland EAN Bar Code Symbols, Technical Information and Advice No other source can assign legitimate ISBNs to US publishers.
Bowker provides technical advice on uses of the ISBN standard to the publishing industry.?
Also includes SAN and EAN Bookland Bar Code information.

US ISBN Agency - Important message about the ISBN resale scam! No other source can assign legitimate ISBNs to US publishers. This online scam is reaching alarming levels. Read the ISBN's warning. Help put an end to the ISBN resale scam!
Book Industry Study Group, Inc. Welcome to the Book Industry Study Group, Inc. Working to create a more informed, empowered, and efficient book industry supply chain. Get informed answers to all your publishing questions.

The Library of Congress The Library of Congress. The Library of Congress is the nation's oldest federal cultural institution, and it serves as the research arm of Congress. The #1 authority on publishing laws.

Bar Code Service from Bowker - ISBN, Bookland EAN Images and Graphics Bar Code service from Bowker saves time and effort;electronic one stop shopping provides uniformly accepted bar code graphic files of the highest quality, and learn how and where to use your bar codes.

National Novel Writing Month - National Novel Writing Month National Novel Writing Month is an annual novel writing project that brings together professional and amateur writers from all over the world. Check out the forums, for a massive user-written source of information on making your next book the best one ever.

A Writer's Desk: The Author's Corner - Home Page Welcome to The Author's Corner! Here you well find items selected just for the writer in you. This Amazon Store is brought to you by A Writer's Desk, the forum for writers. Our product list is always changing and being added to, so look around today and come back tomorrow to see what's new!

This article was originally published in August 2007 under the title Publishing Methods is copyright to Wendy C. Allen and The Twighlight Manor Press, and is reprinted here with permission.