Publishing a novel and I haven't a clue.

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Do any of you guys and gals have an idea on how to publish a light romance novel? I was curious if anyone had done this before; the publisher I am in touch with now is super expensive and I am not sure how reliable they actually are. They are the kind of people who make everything seem like "ministry" and that's giving me the creeps. Lady, I'm not evangelizing. I'm writing a comic romance novel.

Anyone done this before? I'm lost and fixing to start college so I'm broke too. Trying to be prudent.

I'm not sure, but wishing you well in this adventure!

There's generally 2 ways to get published. One is to approach a publisher, as you have done. They will be expensive as they are doing all of the logistics for you, and will want to turn a profit on top of that. Many people choose it cos it's a set-it-and-forget-it solution. But it is not the only option.

You could self-publish. This involves going to a printer directly rather than through a publisher, and making a deal with the printer to get a certain number of books printed, for a certain price. Once you have the books, you approach retailers to see who will carry them, and arrange a deal for the sales of the books. These are things publishers take care of for you, but you can do them yourself at a lower cost cos you're not paying a middle man in addition to the services such as printing and retailing. You can also try making it a e-book format, where no printing is needed. In those cases, make sure you get proper legal protections, such as being able to prove the story is yours, so someone else doesn't rip it off.

Both have their advantages and disadvantages. Some publishers charge so much for their services they make money even if you never sell a single book. OTOH publishers usually have greater negotiating power when making deals for printing or shelf-space. Self publishing keeps more of the profits in your pocket, but you're also doing more of the work, with less support.

It's a little more complicated than that in both cases, but that's the basic starting points.

This is all stuff I've been digging through. The publisher I'm working with is a "hybrid" publisher, and the thing is, I'm worried that they're going to rip me off.

The novel has been finished since September, but I'm trying to edit the thing properly & figure out who to sell it to. It's hard to sell because it's more like literary fiction than anything else, and is kind of old-fashioned...my style shaped itself from growing up around books from the 19th and 20th centuries so that is that.

I'm just trying not to get scammed. Hybrid publishing means I pay for services like editing and even the printing and all I want to say is, "You like the story? Fine! You pay to print it and edit it. I spent three years writing the blasted thing, and I'm not spending $8000 for you to sell forty copies to people who probably would've pirated it anyway!"

Wish there was a way to turn the manuscript over to someone...but with the crowded market it's very unlikely.

You could use amazon or smashwords, you could try kindle unlimited where people pay a certain amount per month to read all the material hosted through kindle unlimited. You get money for every read. I wouldn't trust any service that makes you pay for everything.

Hello folks

I've been off WP for the last week or two due to schoolwork & looking for a quiet spot.

And YES--I did drop these people & get away. They are not very smart--a couple months ago they texted me asking could I drive from S.C. to Virginia to see them at their printing firm. I told them no way; the telephone is for business. So they telephoned me and these people have run their printing press for about 3 years now and still have not broken even on the first book they published.

funeralxempire, "radioactive dog turd" is a wonderful way of describing it. I am saving your post as a classic example; the vanity press industry is a mess.

I've been trying to get in touch with traditional publishers, but then again it's not like I'm trying hard with school and everything. I'm also writing more books.

The genre I write is almost unsellable. Basically picture old-time light fiction, nothing odd or wild; there are a lot of people who really do enjoy this stuff but most of them are still buying the surplus from the last time these kinds of books were popular...which was around maybe the year 1910. And you're right, I'm not at all wealthy enough for vanity presses to be an option! If I were I'd be living on a little more modern standard of living; as it stands I'm still using a 10-year-old computer, driving a car that's almost an antique, and listening to a vacuum-tube AM radio...hardly the sort of rich socialite who could use a vanity press.

Thanks everybody!

https://thejohnfox.com/2017/07/40-romance-publishers/

I started an author imprint and went from there. Probably will be in print in just a week or two! I'm not putting my name or the name of my company openly on WP for obvious reasons (PMs are fine though) but I have had to be my own typesetter, editor, promoter, graphics designer, and the whole nine yards. Thanks for the ideas, everybody. It helped me out a lot.

Congratulations!! !! !

Good luck with the book.