A Writer's Folly!
By LindaOH
@LindaOHio (222314)
United States
June 27, 2021 7:44am CST
I have been trying to get my children's book, which is written in rhyme, published for quite some time.
I published it on Amazon; but since it has no illustrations, I only sold two copies. Getting a book illustrated is quite a costly venture; so I have been trying to get it accepted by a regular book publisher.
I saw an ad on Facebook for Atmosphere Press. They gave the impression that they were very much in favor of giving new writers a chance; so I sent them my manuscript. After waiting a month, I received an email stating that my book was accepted. Before I got too excited, I went on their website and read their terms. It turns out that they are a "vanity press", although they don't advertise themselves as such; and that it would cost $5,000 to get my book published.
Needless to say, I was very disappointed. Instead of charging a portion of the book's price every time a book sells, you get 100% of the price of the book...the $5,000 covers their "royalties".
Quite honestly, if they distribute the book properly, I would go ahead and try it if I weren't married because they provide cover art, illustrations, etc. I would love to see my book in print.
So, this author will just keep trying the standard routes to get my book out there to the public.
Are you a writer? Have you had any books published?
Photo Credit: Pixabay
10 people like this
10 responses
@Hannihar (130150)
• Israel
27 Jun 21
@LindaOHio
That is a lot of money to publish a book. That is too bad that they were not honest with you. So what happens now? I wrote only one book and self published it and it was expensive just to do one book so never will do it again. I needed help how to do it right and when I first printed it I sold some and then was not able to have few printed so lost money and did not sell many so I did not do it again. It was an experience and not one I want to do again. I need help in fixing things up because I write like a kid. It was a very expensive experience for me.
3 people like this
@Hannihar (130150)
• Israel
27 Jun 21
@LindaOHio
Thank you but it just proves that I am not a writer and the one things I wanted to sell did not work out. It iwas very sad because it was a very cute story.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222314)
• United States
27 Jun 21
I'm sorry that your project didn't work out. It's very frustrating for a writer these days.
2 people like this
@LindaOHio (222314)
• United States
28 Jun 21
@Hannihar That's how I feel about my book. Several people have said it's really good; but I can't seem to get it published!
1 person likes this
@DocAndersen (54399)
• United States
27 Jun 21
Vanity presses are interesting - not a great model for most authors!
Do you remember Pam from Virily? she is an illustrator....
2 people like this
@LindaOHio (222314)
• United States
27 Jun 21
I don't think I knew a Pam. I've run into a couple of people online; and then also had a couple of people referred to me. The least it would cost to illustrate my book would be $600; but I would like more illustrations than that would provide.
2 people like this
@DocAndersen (54399)
• United States
27 Jun 21
@LindaOHio with 600 seems like a lot, my only children's book (Jakki Dragon) was picked up as part of a early reading series. but the illustrations didn't cost me anything!
2 people like this
@LindaOHio (222314)
• United States
28 Jun 21
@DocAndersen If you go through a regular publisher, they take care of the illustrations. That would be my goal.
2 people like this
@LindaOHio (222314)
• United States
28 Jun 21
Yes, I need to send out my manuscript to more publishers. Congratulations on getting your novel published.
2 people like this
@RasmaSandra (97990)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
28 Jun 21
I wish you the best of luck with getting your book published, I have two books of poem published on Amazon, They are out there but I don;t think they are doing all that well,
1 person likes this
@RasmaSandra (97990)
• Daytona Beach, Florida
29 Jun 21
@LindaOHio I wish you lots of luck,
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222314)
• United States
29 Jun 21
@RasmaSandra Thank you! The furthest I ever got was a second reading from one of the big NYC publishers.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222314)
• United States
28 Jun 21
I really want to get my book published and distributed to libraries and book stores. It's almost an impossibility for the new writer these days.
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52135)
• Staten Island, New York
28 Jun 21
I would go ahead and try it if I weren't married
What does being married have to do with it?
It sucks when you get very excited that someone wants to publish your book but then you find out they charge an arm and a leg to do it. It's great that you get to keep 100% from all book sales, however, it's crazy to pay someone that much to publish your book. You can probably spend much less to get a cover and illustrations done, if you shop around, and then publish it yourself via kpd or lulu.
Not sure if I've done that before but I can give you an email of an illustrator someone I published a children's book for used and you can find out how much it will cost you. Have you also tried fiverr?
1 person likes this
@lovebuglena (52135)
• Staten Island, New York
29 Jun 21
@LindaOHio Me neither but I've heard that you can find graphic artists/illustrators there. It's a site for freelancers.
@lovebuglena (52135)
• Staten Island, New York
29 Jun 21
@LindaOHio If you invest that $5000, and once your book is out there, you will get that money back and even keep earning more with it then perhaps it's worth it. But if you spend that much and you won't even break even from the sales than I think it's not.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222314)
• United States
29 Jun 21
I had a couple of illustrators that I spoke with. One charged $60 per illustration; and my children's book would have a MINIMUM of 10 illustrations plus the cover. If I weren't married, I would take the $5,000 and give it a shot. My husband is not going to go along with that I'm sure. No, I haven't tried Fiverr.
@thelme55 (79308)
• Germany
29 Jun 21
@LindaOHio Good luck. I wish you success for publishing your book.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222314)
• United States
29 Jun 21
I need to start submitting my manuscript to a bunch of traditional publishers and see how it goes. The furthest I ever got was a second reading.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (135722)
• Marion, Ohio
27 Jun 21
That is a lot. Hopefully you can get some pictures in it and then republish it.
1 person likes this
@wolfgirl569 (135722)
• Marion, Ohio
28 Jun 21
@LindaOHio Maybe find pictures online that you would be allowed to use
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222314)
• United States
28 Jun 21
@wolfgirl569 That wouldn't work. I would need pictures of specific characters...but thank you for the suggestion! :-)
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222314)
• United States
28 Jun 21
I'm going to try a few more publishers.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222314)
• United States
9 Jul 21
Congratulations. I'm glad your daughter can illustrate your books.
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (222314)
• United States
1 Jul 21
Yeah, it takes a lot of "no's" to get a "yes". Congrats to your hubby...
1 person likes this
