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You Can Publish a Book

This is the introduction to my 50-page booklet on how to publish a book. It goes on to explain the various methods anyone can use to put words and pictures between covers.

When I was a little girl, I used to make books out of cardboard and typing paper. I would write the words out by hand and draw the illustrations with color crayon. For a cover, I would fold a piece of cardboard from the back of a tablet in half and draw a picture on the front. I’d scotch-tape it all together and call it my book. Of course, the stories were silly, the book didn’t look that great, and I only had one copy, but it was a book.

When I got a little older, my parents gave me a toy printing press for Christmas. It had rubber type that you stuck on a round tin cylinder and rolled over an ink pad and then sent a sheet of paper through. There were some problems, like there were ever enough e’s and s’s, but once again I was in the publishing business.

I have always been fascinated with books, and I have always wanted to make them. What is a book really? It’s a word sandwich, with the covers being the bread and the words being the peanut butter and jelly in-between. We are accustomed to the types of books we are used to buying at the store or borrowing at the library, but books can come in many forms. I have seen children’s books that were made out of cloth, the words lovingly embroidered on each calico page. Other children’s books are made out of plastic, impervious to drool and sticky fingers. If we wrote our thoughts on paper and put them in a binder, we could call it a book. Those term papers we typed at midnight and enclosed in cardboard folders were books. Some artists start from the very essence, making their own paper and ink, crafting each page by hand.

But what if we want more than one copy? What if we want to “publish” our book? The word publish comes from the same root as the word public. It means “to make generally known,” “to disseminate to the public,” or “to produce or release for distribution.” (Meriam Websters College Dictionary) That means you either share that one lovingly made copy until it falls apart or, more likely, you make more than one. You may be surprised to find that you, yes you, with minimal money and perhaps no experience in anything even related to publishing, can publish a book. We’re not talking about becoming the next Stephen King, although that’s always possible, but you can get your book between covers and out into the world.

Perhaps you just want to share your recipes or your family history or preserve the stories you used to tell the kids at bedtime. Maybe you have written an instruction manual for something you’re really good at, like making birdhouses or teaching kids to use the computer. Maybe you have collected many pages of research on a topic that fascinates you, such as Spanish explorers, or perhaps you have written a novel and want to get it out in the world right away. You don’t have to wait for a call from Random House. Anyone can publish a book. It doesn’t even have to cost a fortune.

For most of my life and yours, publishing books has been a lot more complicated than scribbling a story out on typing paper and wrapping it up in cardboard. To make a real book, we needed to either convince a publisher to take on the work and expense of producing a book, a process than can take years, or spend thousands of dollars having our manuscripts typeset, designed, and printed, then figuring out what to do with a garage full of books. The advent of personal computers has changed everything.

Over the past 20 years, I have published books in several ways. Two were works for hire, in which I was paid for the words and someone else put them between covers. I got paid, and someone else got most of the glory. My third book, Stories Grandma Never Told, was put out by a publisher in Berkeley who not only did everything except the writing and photography, but paid me for the privilege. It was great. But did that mean publishers were clamoring for my next book? Not exactly. I self-published my fourth book, a novel called Azorean Dreams, for $99 with a print-on-demand company called iuniverse.com. What’s print-on-demand? I’ll tell you all about it in a little while. And what about this little book you’re reading now? It’s a grown-up version of those books on binder paper and cardboard. I did it myself through my own publishing company. You can do the same thing.

Ways to get your book published could be compared to cars. The Cadillac is the old-fashioned method in which a big-name publisher takes one look at your proposal or sample chapters and decides to pay you a million dollars for the privilege of publishing your book. It gets translated into 50 different languages. You are showered with glowing reviews and literary prizes. Oprah loves your book, and you sell so many copies that you can quit your day job and live on the money you make from your book and the movie that follows. Yes. Well, go for it. In the pages that follow, I’ll give you basics on how to approach publishers and try for the Cadillac or some other models that are almost as nice, but just in case that doesn’t work, we’ll offer a few other ways to get published.

Perhaps your book appeals to a certain special interest group or you’re more of a do-it-yourself person. Then we’re into the various forms of self-publishing. These range from so-called vanity presses that will print anything for a big pot of money to print-on-demand companies that will make you a book for a small fee, with you doing most of the work. Or you can fly completely solo and do it all yourself. These are like the various mid-size cars that are affordable for most of us. Hey, you’ve got a credit card, right?

But don’t overlook those practical budget models, the Geo Metros and Dodge Neons of the world. Do you know that your local copy shop can put out a pretty decent-looking book in a couple of days for a price that you can afford? No, it won’t be cloth-bound, and the Book of the Month Club won’t be interested, but it will look all right and it may be just what you need.

Stick with me while I take you on a tour through the various publishing options. Somewhere along the line, I guarantee you will look up from this book and think, yeah, I could do that. Publishing is like baking a cake. Follow the recipe and you’ll soon have a book.

To order copies of You Can Publish a Book at $5 plus postage, contact me at suelick@casco.net or see the Books+ page at www.suelick.com.