Should I pay to be published?
Scam alert! Recently I heard from the parent of an 8th grader whose greatest wish is to be a published author. The student is a good writter. The parents found an outfit that said they would edit the student's book and "publish" it - all for $3,000.
$3000 is a lot of money, but these parents love their child.
The thing is - this is not how traditional publishing works. At all. This is a scam. The parents will end up with boxes of books with bad covers in their basement. The book will not be in any bookstores or libraries, nor will it get professional reviews. The book will probably be for sale on Amazon, where no one will buy it.
Writer Jim Macdonald coined something he called “Yog's Law,” a rule of thumb for writers about the direction money is meant to flow in publishing: “Money flows toward the writer.” In traditional publishing, an agent charges you nothing up front. Once they sell a book to a publisher, they get 15% (and they earn every penny).
Even if you decide to self-publish, you should control the flow of the money. You should carefully choose who you will pay to edit your book, design the cover, etc. And you should know that many people who self-publish do not sell many copies.
Never, ever spend thousands of dollars on anything unless you have done a lot of research.
If you know a student who would love to be a writer, I highly recommend Ally Carter's DEAR ALLY, HOW DO I WRITE A BOOK?
For more information on publishing options, check this out.
$3000 is a lot of money, but these parents love their child.
The thing is - this is not how traditional publishing works. At all. This is a scam. The parents will end up with boxes of books with bad covers in their basement. The book will not be in any bookstores or libraries, nor will it get professional reviews. The book will probably be for sale on Amazon, where no one will buy it.
Writer Jim Macdonald coined something he called “Yog's Law,” a rule of thumb for writers about the direction money is meant to flow in publishing: “Money flows toward the writer.” In traditional publishing, an agent charges you nothing up front. Once they sell a book to a publisher, they get 15% (and they earn every penny).
Even if you decide to self-publish, you should control the flow of the money. You should carefully choose who you will pay to edit your book, design the cover, etc. And you should know that many people who self-publish do not sell many copies.
Never, ever spend thousands of dollars on anything unless you have done a lot of research.
If you know a student who would love to be a writer, I highly recommend Ally Carter's DEAR ALLY, HOW DO I WRITE A BOOK?
For more information on publishing options, check this out.
