“I always used to think that publishers had to be devilish intelligent fellows, loaded with the grey matter, but I’ve got their number now. All a publisher has to do is write cheques at intervals, while a lot of deserving and industrious chappies rally round and do the real work. I know because I have been one myself. I simply sat tight in the old flat with a fountain pen, and in due season a topping, shiny book came along.”
From “The Artistic Career of Corky” by P. G. Wodehouse
Self publishing can seem huge and complex and impossible. How am I going to learn everything there is to know about making a book, authors wonder? How do I lay out a page? What do I tell the printer? What is this thing called an ISBN? Where to I apply for a copyright?
While being a publisher is hardly as easy as Wodehouse’s Bertie Wooster makes it sound, it doesn’t mean you have to do and know everything. It just means to you need to know what you want and who will do it for you. Oh, yeah. And what you will pay them.
I like to compare self publishing to building a house. Or in my case, remodeling one. Over the past few months, I have been renovating some rental property I own. So far “I” have demolished a wall, hung drywall, painted endless walls, removed kitchen counters, vented plumbing, installed a shower, sprayed ceilings, lined a chimney and replaced a hot water heater.
As you can probably imagine, I didn’t do all that work myself. I am not even sure what “vented plumbing” means. I have engaged the services of a lot of professionals, and even more friends. I can’t even say I have managed the process. That honor falls to Mike, my friend and contractor.
But I have answered endless questions, made millions of decisions, written my fair share of checks. Most importantly, I have provided the vision. I am the one — the only one — who knows what I want and what I am able and willing to do to get it.
When you decide to publish your own book, you are the one who knows what you want. The only one. Your job is to create a vision for your book, articulate that vision, and find the right “deserving and industrious chappies” to rally around and help you bring it to life.
