I stared at the rejection letter on my screen. Sure, it was kindly written, but I thought all those hours spent pecking away at the computer, would finally count for something.
I had gone through a list of local Singaporean publishers like:
- Ethos Press – responsible for best sellers like This is What Inequality Looks Like
- Armour Publishing
But all I got was rejection after rejection.
This might be you.
You’ve worked desperately on your manuscript, and all you want is really, for a publisher to pick it up, and say,
wow. I see something in this.
Not knowing what else to do, I went ahead to self-publish.
The myth of traditional publishing
As I’ve spoken to more and more aspiring authors, I’ve come to see that there are some common myths about traditional publishing.
All these, aren’t necessarily true.
If you look at the list of books I’ve written over the past 3 years, you would quickly see that I’ve gone through the range of self, hybrid and a traditional publisher.
But over and over again, I’ve come to see that the starry-eyed myths writers have towards traditional publishers still exist.
Let’s address these myths.
Getting a traditional publisher is a sure-win
Whenever I hear someone is writing a book, my next question is,
how are you going to sell the book?
Mind you, the question isn’t how to ‘publish’, but how to sell.
Because there’s no point writing the best book, if no one reads it. Especially if it’s a book that only you, your mum, and your aunt buy. Don’t laugh, because that was me with my first 3 books.
People only read books, if it addresses a need.
As I’ve progressed further in my writing career, I’ve come to see that publishing is the easy bit.
Selling is what’s hard.
Yes, you didn’t read that wrong.
Publishing is easy.
Selling is hard.
Because to convince someone to fork out $15 for a book, which undoubtedly reminds them of their days drooling over their books in school, means they see value in the book.
That will solve a problem in their lives.
Why is your book a must-read?
Imagine this. You’re asking someone to sit alone, in a train, in a library, to read your book. Why should they do that, over the many other things they can do?
That’s why ghostwriters like AJ Harper, have consistently advocated about how you should write a must-read.
Whilst this is not a big sample size, 3 of the last 3 aspiring authors I’ve spoken to tell me they want a traditional publisher to publish it for them.
The traditional publisher, however Penguin he is, is not going to make your book more successful.
Your publisher might have the experience of spotting big ideas, told in a different way. But unless you have the germ of a big idea on your hands, it will be hard for a traditional publisher to dedicate that amount of resources to you.
You’re competing with the likes of New York Times bestsellers, and globally acclaimed authors.
With all due respect, why should the publisher pay attention to you?
Ouch.
Sorry it had to hurt.
But there’s hope.
Self-publishing.
The stereotypes of self-publishing
Over the years, self-publishing has acquired a bit of a bad name as a wheelhouse of vanity books, printed, whilst killing trees.
Self-publishing kicks you off
If you’re a first-time author, with no books under your belt, imagine how a traditional publisher might receive you. He might look at your manuscript with a cocked eye, wondering why he should take you on.
As much as I think your manuscript has value, you probably do need a prior experience of having a book under your belt to give you greater credibility.
During my first 2 years of pitching my books, I had no publisher agreeing to take me.
But then I published my first book, and things immediately changed. Suddenly, I had the credibility publishers were looking for. But it also led me to think more deeply about how to make a book work.
I was thinking from the perspective of a publisher, and not just a wannabe author who wanted an ego boost from being published with Penguin.
Self-publishing improves your product, which is the book you’re writing
Michael Port, the CEO of Heroic Public Speaking, once said,
Before you’re famous, people buy the product (the speech you’re selling).
After you’re famous, people buy you.
Whilst he said this in the context of professional speakers who sold their speeches for $30k per speech (yes that industry does exist, in case your jaw dropped at the price of the speech), the same can apply to your book writing endeavor.
What you’re selling to a publisher is your manuscript. And what the publisher wants is a manuscript of quality, which will make him money (or at least not lose him money).
When you self-publish, you have to do multiple things.
But the most important thing that you do, is write. You have to keep writing and writing, until you come to a point where things are good enough to publish.
Over and over again, we realise that the 20% of the work that leads to 80% of the outcomes, is writing. Authors who succeed, do so because of their quality of writing.
They might be famous, but if they can’t write, there’s no point.
That’s why another option you could try is hybrid publishing.
Think of hybrid publishers as experienced people who bring your books to life.
But you have to pay them.
Why not consider hybrid publishing?
| Self publishing | Hybrid publishing | Traditional publishing | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Why you should do it | You control the whole process | You have a trusted partner who’s helping you | You have an experienced team helping you |
| Why you shouldn’t | You may not have the experience to project manage and to improve the quality of your manuscript | It does cost at least $10k | It will take quite a lot of time before you get selected, expect a year or more |
| Fees | Usually $3000 for a layout artist and designer, and $3000 for printing of 500 copies | Starts from $10k by Candid Creation | Fees usually borne by the publisher, but don’t expect advances in Singapore |
| Distribution | You would struggle to get into distributor networks as a solo name | In Singapore, they will distribute to retailers like Popular (or Kinokuniya if your book is of quite exceptional quality) | They will distribute |
| Publicity | If you have your own contacts, you might get onto radio | I got onto radio interviews with CNA, 938, based on my publishers’ contacts | They will have contacts that they will share your book with |
In my first experience hybrid publishing, I did it with Candid Creations, which is helmed by the brilliant Kok Hwa. He’s a publisher that has high standards.
He doesn’t just accept anyone who walks through his doors, but will work with you to ensure your manuscript is of sufficient quality before green-lighting it for editing and final printing.
When I first came to him, I was egoistical. I wanted to write a book for young adults going through tumultuous times in their careers. I thought that simply writing my career story would be good enough.
But Kok Hwa helped me to see that as a 26-year-old, I might not have as much credibility. He convinced me to interview more people to improve the quality of the insights in the book.
Eventually, we produced a book that interviewed 21 high-flyers, and which was significantly better than the initial book I had wanted to do.
He even got me onto the radio.
Don’t dismiss your book writing dreams, but find the publisher that fits you
You want to write a book for a reason. It’s probably to touch the lives of the people you’ve worked with, or because a cause is close to your heart.
Whatever that story is, writing is not for the faint-hearted.
You can go for publishers like Candid, or we can also help you to publish your work. If you’re unsure with your writing, we can also help with ghostwriting.
Just don’t let your story die.