Writing Stack Exchange
Writing Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [publishing]

Publishing is the act of printing and distributing writing in physical or electronic form. It may refer to the commercial publishing industry, small press, self-publishing and on-demand publishing. This tag should be used for any questions regarding the publishing process in any of these forms.

Publishing is the act of printing and distributing writing in physical or electronic form. It may refer to the commercial publishing industry, small press, self-publishing and on-demand publishing. This tag should be used for any questions regarding the publishing process in any of these forms. When asking such a question you should mention in which field you want to publish, such as or , if it's applicable you should mention the genre you are interested in, such as or or where you want to publish, such as mentioning .

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I spent 25 years in prison writing epic fantasy manuscripts. All are handwritten due to my circumstances. What is the best way to get them published?

I have spent years trying to get published. I even had a publisher at one time who took my hard earned money and never published my manuscripts. I finished my first manuscript in 2003. It's now 20 years later and I've gotten nowhere. I have dozens…
Robert Austin
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How does a new writer keep from getting scooped?

I'm looking for a literary agent. I've never published before. 1) What's to keep an agent from taking my manuscript and publishing it themselves, or handing it off to one of their writer friends? 2) What's to keep an agent from taking my original…
Ken - Enough about Monica
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What is the requirement for a book to be a NYT Bestseller?

I've seen "New York Times Bestseller" written across the top of more books than I can count. It seems every other book I look at has this advertisement, so much so that I discount it as a meaningful accomplishment. But what does it really mean? Is…
StrixVaria
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Are already privately bound books a deterent for publishing houses?

I've read somewhere that putting your story, or a piece of it, on the internet would make it difficult (not to say impossible in some cases) to find a publisher wanting to publish your script. Would I encounter such difficulties if say I let my…
Eldros
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Where to find comparative information about publishers?

Is there any reference for comparing publishers (or at least major ones)? Writers choose a publisher based on fame or by chance, but is there any system for rank of publishers? Or providing statistical data such as the number of published volumes,…
Googlebot
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Is it really so "impossible" to get published by a traditional publisher?

I was an avid reader in my early years (as in hard copy - books), and I still am (just now via computer)... and I never got wind of such difficulties in publishing, until now. Is it like going up against a proverbial dragon dressed in nothing but a…
RolandiXor
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I am an unestablished author with a decent book. Should I publish online, or try to find a 'real' publisher?

As I understand it, 'breaking into the business' is expensive in terms of time. If I have a decent product should I put in the effort, or is self-publishing (e.g. with Amazon) enough?
Ken - Enough about Monica
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Given how much self-promotion modern writers need to do, are Query Letters still worth writing?

I have struggled with this for a while because of how much the market has changed over the past decade. Are Query Letters still worth writing if all you have is your manuscript (no "platform"), or do you need to do all the leg work (self-promotion,…
Rhettmartens
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how many books by new authors get published every year?

I have heard figures like 100,000 - 250,000 books are published every year, but this probably includes already established authors. Are there any numbers for how many 1st time authors books are published every year (not including self publishing)…
Shantnu Tiwari
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Royalties - how to calculate author's take from the end-price?

Supposedly I'm offered 16% royalty rate and the book store-price is 15$. How much would that be in royalty amount per sold copy? Would that be just 16% out of 15$, or is 16% out of (15$ - reseller discount - whatever book tax - whatever publisher…
Ican Zilb
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How Does the Publishing Process Work?

This question may seem rather broad based on the title, so allow me to elaborate. I am a self-taught author. I learned how to write, what works and what doesn't, all that good stuff. What I did not learn is anything at all about what happens once…
Thomas Reinstate Monica Myron
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How much power does the author have over an original work?

Some background. I recently published a book and was asked to share the first 30 pages so the publisher could edit and send it to the distributor. I complied and asked to see it. When I saw the amount of change the editor had imposed on the work, I…
Tim Elhajj
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How would I go about censoring adult language in my book?

I have to present my book(s) to a Christian publisher and I was wondering, how would I go about censoring adult language or should I just put a warning label on the title page?
user42900
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Which social media platforms should writers use to build a readership?

As a writer of YA science fiction and fantasy action romance, using social media to connect to my audience, which are the most important and most "converting" (i.e. turning visitors into readers) social media platforms today?
user5645
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Choosing a license for an open-source book

I would like to publish an ebook in open-source format on for example GitHub, and I am stuck with what license should be used for this type of work. It seems like many open-source licenses available are for software, while there are very few for…
Artem
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