This is a question which is likely to apply to increasing numbers of writers as the publishing landscape continues to shift in response to new developments in technology and readers’ requirements.
Opportunities with print-on-demand open up possibilities for writers to go ahead and publish their own books even when their ultimate goal is securing a deal with a traditional publisher.
The most important point to realize is that it is not enough simply to print and publish your book and expect an agent or publisher to be impressed sufficiently by those actions alone.
Showing Commitment
It is true that a self-published book which has been well-produced (including professional editing, design and proof-reading) shows a serious commitment on the part of the author.
And publishing professionals are certainly looking for authors who are prepared to make a serious commitment to their work.
Add this to an original idea and a well-crafted text, and you have established the preliminary pieces of the publishing jigsaw.
Yet this is just the beginning because agents and publishers will be looking for the book to have already achieved some degree of success in the marketplace.
This is what really establishes credibility and encourages professionals to give your book serious consideration for commercial publication.
So your book needs to have sold well in its self-published format (upwards of a thousand copies) and received favourable reviews and/or media coverage to demonstrate genuine market potential.
Another significant factor is the size of your platform and the momentum you are building as a self-published author.
These constitute the ingredients for a successful approach to an agent or publisher with a self-published book.
Here’s a summary of what you need to include:
- A compelling key sentence describing the essence of the message your book conveys or the highlights of your story if it is a novel …
- When you published it …
- How many copies it has sold and where …
- What media or review coverage you have achieved …
- What promotional or marketing activities you have done and what your plans are to continue supporting the book in the future …
- Information about you as the author and where you are heading next…
Feel free to send one or two copies of relevant published articles or media coverage to support the summary of information you have given.
And finally, I recommend that you remain open to possibilities.
You may find that the agent or publisher likes what you’ve done so far but would actually prefer to speak to you about a whole new book altogether.
In this situation, your self-published book will have given you valuable experience from which you can draw for your next project and also served the purpose of opening the door so that the conversation can begin.
Good luck and remember to enjoy the journey!
Tags: agent, author, media, platform, print-on-demand, professional, publisher, success, writer
Thanks for this and all the other fantastic links you contstantly share. As an emerging writer I appreciate your daily resources.
Hi Jenny
You’re most welcome and I am delighted to hear that my contributions are helpful.
Let’s keep in touch & enjoy your writing …
Julia
Hi Julia,
Thank you so much for this information! I have a related question. If someone self-publishes a book in Canada, and wants to get to a larger audience, will a traditional publisher in the US (or elsewhere) be interested, e.g. is there some kind of protocol that says if you self-publish in Canada, you can only query a traditional publisher in the same country?
Thanks for all your wonderful work!
Kathy
Hi Kathy
You’re most welcome! To answer your question, you certainly don’t have to restrict your approaches to traditional publishers to the territory in which you self-published your book. So yes, it is indeed possible for a US publisher to be interested in a book which was originally self-published in Canada … as long as it has proved itself in sales and marketing terms.
Hope that helps clarify the situation and thank you for your lovely comments and support!
Julia
Thanks for a very informative and very positive article. One usually reads the response that goes … “Self-published? Horrors! What a mistake you’ve made!” I self-published my first children’s book, went through a rigorous editing and polishing process, have garnered two significant book nominations, and plenty of mostly five-star reviews. My author platform is good, and I have a lovely interactive book site and a nicely-populated author site with reviews and my own articles. I wish I could say sales are right up there as well. However, following on your remark, Julia, I now have an agent interested in my second book, even though it’s the second in a series, based on reading my first book and all the reviews.
Hello Fiona
Congratulations! I am delighted to hear that you now have an agent interested in your second book based on the success of your first. Even though sales might not have been as you would have liked, clearly the reviews and reactions to your first book have been strong enough to encorage the agent to open up a discussion with you.
It is great to have a ‘real time’ example of the points I made in the this post, so thank you so much for contributing to the discussion and good luck – do let us know how you get on in due course.
Julia