Should some authors sign their work away?

Yes! Keeping in mind that we’re discussing e-publishers, I believe that some authors should do so.

I say this because of various reasons:

 

1.     Authors who are poor and cannot afford the costs of self-publishing will have those basic expenses covered.

 

2.     Having the experience of working with professional editors is a huge plus for future work.

 

3.     Gathering contacts within the publisher’s group who can answer questions and give one needed support.

 

4.     A loop where you can start a social media campaign and learn how others like yourself are promoting their work.

 

5.     Those who are young, have a busy family life and have little time to spend on their writing career can get away with only releasing a few books a year.

 

Now having said this, I have to warn you.

“BE CAREFUL!!!”

“DO YOUR HOMEWORK!!”

Do not go along with just any e-publishing company because they offer you a contract. Check their websites and if they’re unprofessional, take a pass. If their covers aren’t great, take a hike. If most of their books are ranking low on the various book sites such as Barnes & Noble and Amazon, run the other way.

 

One great site for checking all the available publishers is called Preditors and Editors. http://pred-ed.com/peba.htm They’ve compiled fantastic lists for you to use and not only for publishers.

 

Another site you can check is called “Show me the money” http://brendahiatt.com/show-me-the-money/Brenda Hiatt has done some homework for you and shows clearly which of the companies pay well and those that don’t. (I suggest submitting to those that do!) (DUH! )

From my own experience, this is what I believe happens. Many start-up e-publishers need a stable of authors and lots of product and are willing to take on most anyone just to get started. Chances are they’ll have a low budget and it’s possible their editors won’t be the best which means the editing could be shoddy. If they’re editors are good, how many will they have hired? Therefore turn-around time on getting your books released might be much longer than you expect.

Have they hired a Publicist to not only promote their publishing company, which is important for the readers to find them, but also your books? And how much coverage can each author expect when their book is first released? Does the company have a presence in the Social Media - on Facebook and Twitter? How many followers do they have in both places? How many tweets?

Don’t get me wrong – there are many e-pubs who work hard to help their authors succeed. Some not only provide great covers and good editing but also encouragement, chat rooms, workshops, writing forums and publicity to help their writers gain success.

And all YOUhave to do to ensure good royalty checks is - write one hell of a great book.

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