My Takeaways About Book Publishing

Just a few of my takeaways about the Book publishing industry from an Editor Certification Course

I recently completed a Book Editor Certification Course. I enjoyed the course and learned many facts about both traditional and self publishing, some of which I’ll share here. Here are just a few of my takeaways that some writers may find surprising. 

1. The publishing industry is both growing and getting smaller. 

The publishing industry is slowly becoming smaller and smaller even as more books are being published than ever before. In 2001, roughly 70,000 books were published in the United States of America. But in 2011, the number of books published had jumped to over 1 million! That’s roughly 15 times the amount of books published only 10 years before. Wild, right? And yet, the number of large book publishing companies in the U.S. continues to wane. 

Perhaps you’ve heard of ‘The Big Six’- the term that referred to the six largest publishing companies? As of 2013, Penguin and Random House merged, so now the ‘Big Six’ is the ‘Big Five;’ Penguin Random House, Harper Collins, Hachette Book Group, Simon & Schuster, and Macmillan. This slow monopolization of the book market concerns me both as an avid reader and an editor but that’s a topic for another day. The good news for writers is that there is a huge desire for books right now from both traditional publishing houses and independent publishing outlets.

2. Self-Publishing is more than just a viable option. 

Part of the reason for the jump in published novels can be attributed to the rise of KDP and the self-publishing world. That’s right, thousands of people are self-publishing their novels, memoirs, guidebooks, cookbooks, poetry and more each year. This is wonderful news, as it means that authors whose works may not have been considered by traditional houses, still have a way to get their beautiful works out there. Self-publishing is a great option for many people, and the business continues to grow year by year. In 2013, there was only KDP. Now there are lots of other self-publishing businesses; Lulu, Draft2digital, and IngramSpark to name a few. 

3. Editing at a traditional publishing house is not as thorough as you would think.

Editing at a traditional publishing house is a messy business. What I mean by ‘messy’ is that there isn’t a lot of rhyme or reason as to how a book gets edited - just so long as it does get edited. For example, the novel might be edited by a copyeditor and a line editor, or they might delegate the line edit to the copyeditor as well. The novel might be edited by just one person who digs in deep to understand your story, or it might be edited by many people. And, strangest to me, structural editing often comes after the line and copy (according to my course). That last fact was just unbelievable to me. Let me be clear, I am not trying to bash the editing done at traditional houses. I am sure that the editors are the most competent in their field. But as I studied in my course, it became more and more obvious that editors have a lot on their plates. 

Essentially, we have to remember that the primary job of a publishing house is to market, publish, and profit off of your book. Though many editors at houses work really hard for the authors and books that they see potential in, editing at a house is still a job. And, like any job, editors are probably stretched thin occasionally (or often). Also, the ability of in-house editors to work on the novel and the time that they can dedicate to it will depend on the house, the season, and the specific individual working on your book. 

So what does this mean for you as a writer? Do your work. Edit, Revise, Repeat. Edit, Revise, Repeat. Edit, Revise, Repeat. And, if you have the money, hire a freelance editor before sending your book to an agent. A publishing house’s job is to get your book ready for publishing, publish, and then profit. That’s it. A freelance editor’s job is to edit, polish, and perfect your book. We care about you. We care about your book. And, we’re  not juggling 15 projects at once the way an editor at a house might be forced to do. Hiring a freelance editor is a smart move even if you plan to traditionally publish. 

1. You’ll need to impress multiple people to get your book into a publishing house. 

Of course, you’ve got to get your book accepted by an agent first. Then that agent will propose your book to various acquisitions editors at a house. From that point, if your book interests an acquisitions editor, they will propose your book to the house. They acquire your book, but even that is not enough. They then have to basically prove to the house’s marketing team (and others) that it is publishable and has sales-worthy potential. The house is making an investment in your book, so the acquisitions editor has to prove that your book will be a worthy investment. So, as an author, it is wise to have your novel perfected as much as possible before an acquisitions editor even sets eyes on your manuscript, because they already have their work cut out for them. 

5. The slush pile is death for a novel, or is it? 

There is something called a ‘slush pile’ in publishing houses. Most publishing houses now require that all submissions be solicited by an agent in order to be considered by the house. However, unsolicited manuscripts are still sometimes sent to the houses. These manuscripts are automatically thrown into the ‘slush pile.’ Although this sounds bad, your novel still does have a small chance of being pulled out of the slush pile. 

Occasionally, interns who are trying to make a name for themselves, (or are just bored) might peruse the slush pile and promote one that they believe has potential. So, if you choose to submit an unsolicited manuscript, you still have a chance. Especially if you: a) make your title engaging, and hint at the story content, b) keep your manuscript as short as possible, c) make your first page hook absolutely flawless, and d) submit during a slower part of the year for publishing. Good luck! 

There you have it, my top 5 takeaways from the book editing course. Although there was a lot more that I ‘took away,’ I did feel these 5 tips were the most helpful for helping new and veteran authors understand the publishing industry. I hope this was helpful & happy writing! 

-Bridget Hosey