For those of you who have been around here for a while, you already know that I am a hybrid author, with my novels self-published and my non-fiction equestrian books produced by a traditional publisher.
You might also have noticed a while ago that I was commissioned to write another equestrian title by my current publisher (who took over the publisher before, who in turn took over JA Allen, my original publisher)
The remit was quite straightforward, this book being part of a series with a standardised format, 75,000 words, and nothing I would need to research because all the information is already inside my head, so I accepted.
There is no question it will be a very useful book, and as with my other two titles, The Building Blocks of Training, and The Successful Dressage Competitor, I already have a ready market amongst my own clients.
What I’d reckoned without though, was how dull the writing experience would turn out to be. Fiction is so much more fun!
Unlike so many publishers these days, there was an advance on offer: ironically, the same advance as I received for my two previous books, over 10 years earlier – all of £1500. In case you don’t know, an advance is paid in 3 installments: one third on signing the contract, one third on delivery of the manuscript, and the last third upon publication. This must be paid back before any royalties are earned (known as ‘earning out’), so not the greatest incentive, but I am a professional, so I knuckled down and wrote it, including rough sketches of 110 diagrams for the publisher’s art department to spruce up.
I delivered the completed work in August 2022. The next step should have been the return of the manuscript from the editor, with comments and suggestions marked up for me to go over. However, I heard nothing until the end of January 2023, when I received a mock-up of the proposed cover.
Everything went silent again until mid March, when a proof copy of the typeset book arrived for me to check over. I queried the lack of editorial input, and was flattered to recieve this note regarding what the editor thought: ‘This was a quick and straightforward edit because the book is very well written and presented.’
Nice!
However, when I went over the page proofs, over one quarter of the diagrams were missing, and more than that needed corrections, because this publisher (unlike JA Allen) is not a dedicated equestrian press, and the art department apparently have no idea of what, exactly, I need to convey.
Also – and here is something I’d not needed to consider before – commercial presses work in multiples of 16 pages, and this had come in at 7 pages short of 144. With no way to cut it down to 128, I was asked to produce more material to fill up the empty space, which I’ve done, but it was a bit of a surprise – not something one has to worry about with POD novels.
So now it is ‘watch this space’ for the next proof copy to arrive, and the next batch of diagrams that should never have been missing in the first place! At that point I will also be required to index the book, which will be a first for me, as Allen’s paid a professional indexer to do that on the previous books.
Oh, and I just received my most recent royalty statement for the first book, only to discover that the reprint, which by virtue of being a paperback instead of the original hardback, no longer earns me 10% of the sale price, but a measly 7.5%
Is it really any wonder so many trad pub authors are embracing the indie publishing route?
deborahjay 
So many authors are seeing paltry and appalling royalties now, especially considering that without the writer/creator there would be no books to publish in the first place. Sorry you’re going through this. Hugs 🤗 💕😊
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Thanks Harmony. Sometimes I give talks to book clubs, and when I tell them what I earn they are appalled!
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OMG, what a mess, Debby! I knew I never wanted to mess around with trad publishing, especially since I was a total novice at writing, and after reading this experience, I’m so glad I went straight to self-publishing. Is it perfect? Nope. But at least it isn’t as frustrating as trying to deal with something like this.
I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through all of it, and for far less than you expected. (One has to wonder if there’s a reason they didn’t spell all these things out clearly before you agreed to do this.) Bless your heart for hanging in there, and I hope there are no more surprises awaiting you. I also hope you sell so many books, it ends up being well worth while. Good luck! 🤗❤️🤗
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My earlier experiences weren’t so bad – the were pretty much as expected, so I guess I’m comparing this time around to those previous books which were produced by a specialist equestrian press, where this one isn’t. I think that’s largely responsible for the issues.
To be fair, they aren’t a huge deal, more of a surprise than anything else, although it does highlight why I prefer my self publishing expreience. On the other side, this sort of book really isn’t something that would be at all easy to self pub, so without the trad publising company, they wouldn’t get done at all!
Swings and roundabouts comes to mind…
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Well, I’m just glad all of your experiences weren’t quite so confusing or annoying. And at least, as you say, you’ve found a way to get your riding and dressage books out there, which wouldn’t be nearly so easy with self-publishing, if doable at all. So yay for that, and here’s hoping things will go smoothly from this point on. 😀 ❤
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I’m running into an issue with my trad publisher, sigh. So the next book I will be self-publishing, which scares the heck out of me. Good luck with this book!
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More and more businesses-savvy authors are making the break these days with success, especially if they already have a fan base. I’m sure you’ll ace it, Darlene.
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Thanks, Deborah! I need all the encouragement I can get.
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I started trad, Deborah, switched to indie about 8 years ago, and have been thinking about querying the next one, just to see what happens. Your post makes me think twice though, mostly about how looooonnnng it takes. Sigh. Thanks for sharing your experience. I hope your vigilance and patience pays off.
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Thanks Diana, I know the book will be fine once it’s finished, but you are right, the process is soooo long. I turned the ms in last August, and I still have no idea when it will be published 😦
Of course fiction isn’t quite so complicated as a text book with lots of diagrams and photos, but that still doesn’t make it quick.
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Sounds like sub-standard service. How annoying! Reminds me how many trad published books I read that have many ‘odd’ mistakes in them. It may be time to publish your own nonfiction too? ❤
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I hadn’t thought of it as a ‘service’, as they commissioned the book and paid for it, but perhaps I should?
I have always been astounded when I find mistakes in trad books, I always assume a posse of editors and proofreaders would find every single one before sending a book to print, but I’m really starting to realise not every book gets that much quality attention.
Unfortunately self publishing books like these, which are heavy on the diagrams and photos, is still not a really practical option. Yet.
But I have ensured my contracts will allow reversion of rights to me if they go out of print, so maybe when the technology catches up, I will!
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That sounds like a good plan Deb. And yes, I know self pubbing a book with lots of photos or diagrams isn’t practical or cost effective. Maybe that will change too. 🙂
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Yikes! I’ve heard from a number of authors who’ve had similar glitches with publishers and, yes, I was a hybrid author, too, until my publisher’s editor left for another house and the publisher cut back on mysteries. It’s a rollercoaster business, isn’t it? I hope you’ll be happy with the finished product!
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Me too! It isn’t quite the smooth, professional experience most people think it is.
The owner of my original publisher (the UK’s biggest specialist equestrian publishing house) retired, and the company was bought by another publisher, who I had nothing to do with other than collecting royalty cheques. Then they, in turn, were bought out by this current publisher, who did the reprint of my first book, and that came out just fine, aside from being a paperback instead of a hardback.
This is the first time I have worked with them on something new. I suspect I may not do it again, although it was nice to have a book commissioned instead of being the one to propose it.
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I mentor new authors and it’s really hard for them to understand that just because someone offers to publish your book, it doesn’t mean you should take it, at least until you’ve thoroughly read and understand the contract. I think that most of them don’t believe me.
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Yes, I get that too. Just can’t seem to get through to them that it won’t be the fairy tale dream they are expecting, and in some cases it will become a nightmare!
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[…] only were there a huge percentage of the diagrams missing when I received page proofs a few weeks ago, but many of the diagrams needed corrections (or basically, re-drawing). I am assuming that at […]
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