Choices, Choices, Choices

In all my time thinking about how to get a book published, I never knew there were so many movie parts then went into the whole process.  For me, the biggest hurdle to overcome hasn’t been the dearth of information but the voluminous mountain of it that is out there. 

The ways to get your book published are far more than “two roads diverged,” but more like “two roads diverged”...and started splitting off into back trails, rabbit trails, and pig trails the like of which you had no clue existed in “the yellow wood.”  The first option you face is traditional- or self-publishing.  And then after that it’s print vs. e-publishing.  If you want to go for print and have the sheer satisfaction of that book sitting on your shelf with your name on it, then more power to you as you look at print-on-demand (POD) options; cover design (DIY or farm it out for cost?); editorial revision (which costs “beaucoup” money, as they say where I grew up) and what kind of editorial revision.  I had no idea there were more than just the simple correct-that-error editorial revision.  And then there’s how to get your book into the hands of publisher: cold query or agent?  Which is better?  Do you need an agent?  Ugh.

But if you want to e-publish, then costs do go down (unless you get editorial services) because you’re not looking at printing costs.  Oh, there are some things you still need and there are sites out there that offer package deals that put your book together and include cover art; formatting the e-book and creating a navigable Table of Contents; and farming it out to the different e-book sellers (“For a price, Ugarte;  For a price.”) 

It’s not just the sheer number of options and routes that one can take to get their little volume into the hands of the reader that can swamp your little boat quickly, but the other things you don’t realize are lurking out there.  Did you know that if you plan to publish a very few books you can create your own publishing house by buying an ISBN (International Standard Book Number) and obtaining your own bar codes.  Again, “For a price.”

So as you see...

I’m swamped in options.  But I’m slowly whittling down my options and making choices because it’s high-time that I get this done. 

God bless CNET for providing the following articles for a poor beginner like me.

http://www.cnet.com/news/self-publishing-a-book-25-things-you-need-to-know/

http://www.cnet.com/how-to/how-to-self-publish-an-ebook/

http://www.cnet.com/how-to/convert-ms-word-docs-to-e-books-for-free/

So, now that I know, anyone else crazy ambitious enough to attempt this has some tools in their tool box.