Getting started publishing?

[J.D.Rajotte]

So I have a finished manuscript, just editing some bits here and there but three years in the making and this sucker's finally done. A company called Xlibris reached out to me about possibly publishing, and as we came into talks about moving forward I did my research and learned that they seem to be a bit of a scam. Then another company called Author House has also reached out to me, and we've begun talks of publishing through them as well. Yet again, after doing some research it seems as though this company not only has pretty bad (scammy) reviews, but is owned under the same hood as the last company, under an "Author Solutions". (The Better Business Bureau is completely laced with complaints about this family if publishers). Some of the reviews (for Author House at least) are pretty good though, and it seems like some authors have had a genuine experience. What should I make of this? How do any of you all get published and what would you recommend for a first timer to get his feet wet?

 

[Jo Zebedee]

Both of those companies are vanity publishers, which are fine if that is what you want and know what they are: publishers where you pay to release your book.

Alternatively you can self publish, go with an indie publisher or aim for a big publisher, which means getting an agent.

To answer the question how should I publish, I ask a question: what do you hope for from your writing. Beginning with the end in mind makes the path clearer

 

[JS Wiig]

Sounds like some time reading Writer Beware may be in order here:

Writer Beware

Writer Beware

writerbeware.blog

ETA:

If you’re interested in “traditional publishing”, then some time reading Query Shark may be in order:

Query Shark

How To Write Query Letters ... or, really, how to revise query letters so they actually work

queryshark.blogspot.com

 

[tinkerdan]

I used Xlibris back in 2013 and 2012.
It can become costly; however the packages do include editing if you happen to have trouble finding good editors.
However their editors are not that good. and regardless of what you purchase you mostly end up with line editing.
Their cover graphics department was no help at all.(I ended up designing the cover myself) They did do the title over my graphic.
At one time one of my favorite authors was on the board of Xlibris, but by the time I published he had sold his interest and moved on.
It was just becoming part of author house and there really are some scammy elements to that.
The thing to remember is that no one can guarantee that you will make money on your book.

one more thing; Xlibris did get me certificates for the Copyrights and submitted copies to the library of congress(US).

I have since used Amazon KDP and now that they are beta testing hardbound editions I am very happy with their system since it cost nothing to set up the books with them and you can save the money spent on Xlibris to find some editors to help you out. and someone to do your covers if you are not into that.

 

[Plucky Novice]

To answer the question how should I publish, I ask a question: what do you hope for from your writing

Great question, and one to which I am still trying to work out the answer!

 

[Brian G Turner]

So I have a finished manuscript, just editing some bits here and there but three years in the making and this sucker's finally done. A company called Xlibris reached out to me about possibly publishing, and as we came into talks about moving forward I did my research and learned that they seem to be a bit of a scam. Then another company called Author House has also reached out to me, and we've begun talks of publishing through them as well. Yet again, after doing some research it seems as though this company not only has pretty bad (scammy) reviews, but is owned under the same hood as the last company, under an "Author Solutions". (The Better Business Bureau is completely laced with complaints about this family if publishers). Some of the reviews (for Author House at least) are pretty good though, and it seems like some authors have had a genuine experience. What should I make of this? How do any of you all get published and what would you recommend for a first timer to get his feet wet?

You can pay them to publish your book, or simply do the same yiurself for free using Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing.