Disadvantages:

• No guarantees/hard to secure - The biggest downside regarding mainstream publishing is that there are no guarantees that your book will be selected for publication. Just because you think it’s fabulous and harbour aspirations of securing a publishing contract, doesn’t mean you will. In truth, rejection is much more common than acceptance, especially with the top publishers.
  
  
• Long lead time - You’ve finished your manuscript but if you haven’t already started looking for a publishing house, you are about to find out that it can be a long and frustratingly silent process.
  
  
• Loss of control - You may think that because you wrote your book that you own it and can do whatever you want with it. That would be logical. However, although you own the copyright a standard publishing contract will usually be extremely limiting in what you can do with extracts etc.
  
  
• Poor financial reward - You will be lucky to receive 10% royalty as a new author and that’s on net receipts, not the recommended retail price or sale price. Basically a publisher will sell your book to bookshops for up to 60% less than the recommended book price and that’s what you’re royalty is paid on.
  

Traditional Publishing Might Suit You If:

• You don’t have the time or inclination to get involved in the processes beyond the actual writing.
• You don’t mind the long lead time.
• You have your heart set on a mainstream publisher and nothing else will do.
• You have a great agent or connections in the publishing industry that can get your manuscript read.
• Royalty income is not the motivation for writing the book.
  

Traditional Publishers Are Most Interested In:

• Authors that are prepared to sell their own book over and above any publisher involvement.
• Authors that are “big fish” either in a little or large pond!
• Authors who have a celebrity status or a large “natural market”.
• Authors who have an engaging “hook” or new way of presenting topical information.

The balance of power is, however, shifting due to the phenomenal advances in technology and the opportunities presented by the Internet. There is, for example, now a book printing machine which has been hailed as the ATM for books. The Espresso Book Machine looks like a large photocopier and was named as one of the best inventions of 2008 by Time Magazine. The aptly named Espresso can print a 300-page paperback, complete with colour cover, in just 3 minutes. Simply upload the files and your book will be printed by the time you’ve finished your latte.

The Internet is also taking the edge off traditional publishing’s unique selling proposition (USP). Twenty years ago, if you wanted your book in front of potential buyers you had to secure a traditional publishing contract. Now the Internet reaches billions of people around the world and the old rules no longer apply. This has opened up new markets and delivery channels which are offering authors exciting new opportunities for sales and distribution. For example, electronic delivery is changing the way we buy information and that is particularly relevant in the business sector.

As a result, many of the traditional publishers – especially the smaller ones – are opening their doors to partnership arrangements.

This means that you can have your book published the traditional way in exchange for agreeing to buy a certain quantity of books from the initial print-run. This is not vanity publishing because the publisher will treat your book as though it was one of their selected titles and will do all they can to sell and distribute the title – something that vanity publishers will not do.

This can be a great solution for people who just want an established imprint and don’t have the time or inclination to see to all the details. These publishers obviously have a great deal of experience and can really make your book look fantastic, but it’s not necessarily a cheap option.

One publisher who offers Partnership Agreements is Infinite Ideas. Alternatively find the publisher you want and approach them with the idea. If you agree to buy a certain number of books back at wholesale price then it can be a very sweet deal for both of you.