New Forms of Publishing: KDP and Online Publishing Secrets
For creatives in every level, we have all come to realise that talent is just not enough all the time. Getting the world to hear our stories, read our words or see the vision in our head is just as difficult as creating that vision in the first place. For writers, publishers are the ones who help push our stories to the audience. Traditional publishing occurs in various forms – the writer may be commissioned specifically by the publishing house, or the writer pitches their draft to the publisher. The latter can be slow, I especially if the idea or concept is new. Like other forms of business, traditional publishers are not always willing to take risks on new ideas that they are not sure will sell to readers. What this leaves is writers who are continuously rejected by different publishing houses.
Agatha Christie (the woman who only Williams Shakespeare has sold more books than) was rejected by more than six publishers over five years before she got her break. John le Carré, the writer of The Spy Who Came in From the Cold was once described as one without a failure by a publisher. The world almost did not get Little Women – the book that has spawned several award winning films and stage plays – because the publishers would not touch Louisa May Alcott.
While these stories make for a good motivational speech, writers still need to be aware of people who were not as lucky as these people. How many great books have the world been denied due to publishers’ rejections?
With new forms of publishing, however, publishing has become more easier. Writers have started taking a leaf from writers such as Beatrix Potter and Marcel Proust. These days, the Internet makes it possible to publish books online for readers. The writer can control their working time, delivery period and can retain creative independence. These factors mean that the books are usually free from outside interference unlike traditional publishing where the writer has to implement the ideas of the publishing house if they want that firm to take their art.
Secrets Of Independent Publishing Sites
- Amazon KDP: The most significant of these independent publishing is the Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing system which allows writers to publish their works on the site and promote it to readers. Amazon KDP does not provide writers with advances in return for control over the work’s copyright. Instead, the owner of the work publishes on the site and they can share the return from their purchase with the site. With recent upgrades, writers can choose to publish in e-book format, paperback or hardback format.
- Online Series: With the popularity of the use of suspense in art and entertainment, creatives including writers have used this to their advantage. Writers in this case choose to publish their book in series of episodes that are released slowly over time. The entire book in this case is broken into episodes that are posted daily or weekly. Readers may choose to pay to unlock each episode or subscribe to the site that is posting the stories. Sites such as Wattpad and Radish Fiction are famous in this regard. Anna Todd’s After was released in this form and it went on to become a global hit with a successful series of film adaptation. Amazon tried to enter this market with the Kindle Vella which unfortunately failed.
- Social Media Publishing: Social media sites such as Facebook has also become a place for upcoming writers to post their works, although this is often without any compensation. A writer may create a Facebook page where they post their stories for interested readers. Through comments and Direct Messages (DM), the readers are able to communicate with the writer who can edit the books according to the readers’ comments.
- Blogs: Writers may also choose to start a blog where they can post episodes of their books. Blogs such as Coolval accepts submission from writers all around the world.
While these choices may make publishing seem simple, writers still need guidance on the right place to publish, marketing the published book and how to manage these sites. We offer a guidance service to such writers as well. Any further question can be asked when you contact us. For you, we are always here.
