Often, writers e-mail us with variations on the same question: How can I get a literary agent for a self-published book?

Dear Writer’s Relief,

I self-published my book [enter number of months ago] and now I’m [A) Not happy with my publishing company or distribution B) Disappointed because I’m not getting any sales of my self-published book and/or C) Thinking of expanding my efforts by getting a literary agent and a traditional publisher for my self-published book]. Can you please tell me whether or not I can send my self-published book to literary agents and editors?

While each author who has self-published is in a unique situation and there is no single answer for every writer, it is possible to submit your self-published book to literary agents.

If you do want to transition from self-publishing to traditional publishing, here are some tips for getting a literary agent:

1. Be as positive as you can be about your self-publishing experience. If you chose that route, be sure to demonstrate that your choice was deliberate, educated, and professional (hopefully it was!). You don’t want to come off as the kind of person who forgets to look before she or he leaps.

2. Emphasize the success of your book by citing sales, quotes, and media coverage, if possible.
 
3. Be sure you hold all rights to your book. You can’t offer publishing rights if you don’t own them.
 
4. Don’t expect to use your own cover art, title, layout, etc. When you transition to a traditional publisher, you need to be prepared to give up much of your autonomy.

5. Be honest. If you find yourself in serious talks with an agent, don’t hide your self-publishing history. Agents will look you up online.

6. Be prepared to remove your book from Amazon and other online retailers. If you sell your book to a traditional publisher, you don’t want to undercut their sales. You’ll need to think about whether or not you want to “freeze” your book sales before you attempt to get an agent or editor. A freeze will cut into your sales, but it may also demonstrate a firmer commitment to traditional publishing. Weigh the pros and cons before making your decision.

7. Don’t mess with the system. Some writers have asked us if it’s possible to sell SOME rights to a publisher, but keep others for themselves. This is probably not going to happen. Publishers develop rigorous ideas about how they want to market, and for that reason they generally want control over nearly all rights. If you hold some rights and the publisher holds some rights, you will set yourself up as a competitor against your publisher.

8. Don't query with your finished book; query with plain-old, 8.5 x 11 manuscript pages when necessary—as if the book had not been typeset and bound. Always follow agents' submission guidelines.

If you’ve self-published a book, Writer’s Relief may be able to help with the submission process if you’d like to begin sending your book to literary agents. Visit www.WritersRelief.com to learn more.

Hi everyone!

We’ve had a number of writers ask us what we think is the best way to go about getting published in book-length fiction or nonfiction. Here are a few of the questions underlying this issue, and the Writer’s Relief response:

Should I try to get my book published traditionally even though it’s hard, or should I just self-publish?

Once you make the decision to self-publish, it can sometimes be much trickier to convert to a traditional, paying publishing house. Self-publishing only looks easier than traditional publishing. First, go for the gold: Look for a literary agent. Try for a book deal. You WILL get rejections and you will get lots of them. It's been said that the difference between an amateur writer and a professional one is that a professional is an amateur who didn’t quit. Only after you’ve exhausted the possibilities should you fall back on self-publishing. And then, be certain of what you’re getting into.

How do I know when to give up my desire to get a paying book deal?

Writers get rejection letters. It’s a rite of passage that doesn’t end. Every time you open a rejection letter, you should give yourself a big pat on the back. Why? The fact that you sent out query letters at all means you’re ahead of the game (because you’re ahead of writers who give up too soon or who don’t have an effective submission strategy). Each rejection is a symbol of your positive, go-get-’em attitude, and you should celebrate that accomplishment!

It’s been our experience (working in publishing since 1994) that a writer should not give up on getting a traditional book deal until he or she has sent out at least 100 queries to literary agents. And even then, a paying book contract may still be available, especially if your book appeals to the niche markets that small presses often target.

In short, go until you can’t go anymore. Then, keep going. That’s how character (and literary celebrity) is born.

Got a question for Ronnie about the book biz, poetry, short stories, or other prose writing? Send your question to info@wrelief.com.

Remember: If you're looking for someone to help take the frustration out of the submission process, consider Writer's Relief!

And if you want to chat with me in real time, why not come hang out with me on Twitter? www.twitter.com/writersrelief.

Dear Writers,

We get a lot of questions from writers all across the country (and from faraway countries as well) here at Writer’s Relief, and we’re always doing our best to help writers in all stages of their careers. More and more we’ve been inundated with questions about self-publishing.

The subject of self-publishing comes up a lot these days, which is why we wrote this article: Is Self-Publishing The Easiest Way To Get Published? Decoding The Hype And The Facts. Every week we receive questions from writers who have self-published their books. Though there are many happily self-published writers out there, the writers who continually seek out our advice are those who are disappointed with the results of their self-publishing efforts and who want to know what to do next. They feel saddened that their books didn’t hit it big, that their publishers didn’t come through, that they accidentally got stuck in bad contracts with distributors, etc. They also feel concerned about how their self-publishing efforts will be received by literary agents and editors. We love that writers turn to us for answers; we do our best to develop a plan with them so they can get their submissions circulating again.

Self-publishing can be a great way to get your book in print, provided you have business know-how and your expectations are realistic. We hope our articles will help you make informed decisions about when to self-publish and when to keep trying to find a home at a major publishing house.

For this Ask Ronnie post, we wanted to tackle a question that was asked of us recently:

Q. Which makes more money: self-publishing or traditional publishing?

A. Self-publishing and traditional publishing offer very different methods of dealing with finances. The cost of self-publishing is generally absorbed by the author in one form or another; the cost of traditional publishing is absorbed by the publishing house.

With traditional publishing, authors make most of their profit up front (an advance), then, if they are able to “sell through” (sell all their copies), they’ll start making royalties. With self-publishing, there is more variety in how an author is paid, if the author is paid at all. Each self-publishing company will have its own standards. Generally, royalties on self-published books and E-books tend to be higher than royalties on traditionally published books—in part because a self-publishing company has a lot less at stake and puts less effort (and dollars) into a given project than a traditional publisher. Though self-publishing royalties are significantly higher, sales volume tends to be significantly lower in most cases. In the end, how much money you make depends on 1) how good your book is, 2) how well you market it, and 3) how widely your book is distributed.

We hope you enjoy our Newsflash. Send your questions to me at info@wrelief.com. And, as always, keep writing!

Ronnie Smith
Writer's Relief, Inc.
http://www.WritersRelief.com/

P.S. If you want to chat with me in real time, why not come hang out with me on Twitter? www.twitter.com/writersrelief.

Editor's note: This article pertains largely to self-publishing with a third-party publishing house, as opposed to starting a publishing company from scratch. Both processes present their own difficulties and advantages.  

Thinking of self-publishing your book because you’re tired of the stress and frustration of making submissions to literary agents and editors? Feel like self-publishing is the easiest way of making your dreams of being a published novelist come true?

Self-publishing is NOT necessarily the easy route to achieving your dreams. Self-publishing companies strive to make the process of typesetting, binding, and printing your book appear stress-free and easy. But when you buy into the easiness hype, you may be opening yourself up to even more difficulties than if you’d continued trying to publish the traditional way. Here are just a few of the reasons self-publishing isn’t always as easy as it seems:

HYPE: Publishing with a self-publishing company is simple and stress-free.
FACT: Self-publishing is NOT necessarily simple and stress-free. First, you have to research self-publishing companies. We get calls and e-mails all the time from optimistic writers who naively got locked into bad (or just plain disappointing) contracts. To self-publish, you must be able to read, negotiate, and interpret contracts, you must research distribution packages, you must develop and implement a marketing plan…in short, you must develop as much business know-how as if you were seeking a traditional book deal. It’s not impossible develop all the knowledge you’ll need to be successful, but it’s far from easy.

HYPE: Self-publishing will easily satisfy your desire to share your story with the world.
FACT: Unless you have an amazing (expensive) book distribution company in your corner, your book won’t make it to the shelves. And even if it does physically get on the shelves, readers won’t buy your book unless they already know it’s there. Very few sales are made because readers stumble across books. Many self-publishers offer to list their books on Amazon.com; but be warned: it’s unlikely that anyone will buy your book from Amazon.com unless you’ve already enticed them to go there and buy it. You’ll have to do a lot of hard work to get your audience to notice your book; writers who are looking for the instant gratification of being an overnight success will not likely find it in self-publishing.

HYPE: Self-publishing your book could “make” your writing career.
FACT: For every self-publishing success story you hear, there are literally tens of thousands of self-published books that get no attention at all. How hard and long you work to sell books relates directly to your book’s success. For that reason, self-publishing appears easy, but is not necessairly the path of least resistance.

The Truth About Self-Publishing
If you’re trying to figure out where you’re going to get the most bang for your buck in terms of reaching your dreams, the answer may or may not be self-publishing. Our advice (based on watching industry trends) is to exhaust all avenues available to you before you decide to self-publish. If you haven’t queried 100 literary agents for your book project, you don’t have enough information to make the decision to self-publish.

If you self-publish because it seems simpler, be aware that literary agents and editors tend to be somewhat suspicious of the writer who can be tempted to take the easy way out, or the writer who chooses instant gratification over perseverance. If you self-publish, you’ll need to work extra hard to distinguish yourself and your writing. You’ll need to make some serious sales or get some truly reputable and impressive reviews in order to be taken seriously.

The Moral of the Story (aka The Good News)
Self-published books (and all early-career books) are very important in the life of an aspiring writer. Writing a book is a huge accomplishment and should never be dismissed! If you’ve written and self-published a book, celebrate your accomplishments! Literary agents will view your first books as very important life credits, even if they don’t end up being important publishing credits.

The good news is that even in these tough economic times, more books are being published now than ever before!

• Are you ready to commit to spending more time doing what you love (learning about writing and improving your techniques)?
• Can you get your submissions out effectively (can you send them to the right people in a professional format)? 

If you can do those two things, you may have a shot at getting a book published. Not all writers achieve a pie-in-the-sky book deal with a major New York publishing house, but those who quit too soon NEVER have a chance.

Visit www.WritersRelief.com if you would like to learn how we can make the submission process easier and more effective.

Q. When should you include your self-published novel or book in your cover or query letter bio?

You should mention your self-published book in your cover or query letter (or any other writing bio) ONLY if:

• You’ve sold a substantial number of copies (“substantial” varies but generally, over 5,000 in one year is worth mentioning).
• You have received great reviews worth mentioning.
• You have a great quote from another author or publisher.
• The book received an award, nomination, or other distinguishing honor. 
• You have published a regional or niche book and marketed it to great success. 
• You no longer own some or any rights to your self-published book (you must mention this because your copyright information could tie an agent’s hands).

When should you NOT mention your self-published book in your query letter bio?  

Completing a book is a big accomplishment—self-publishing a book can also be an impressive undertaking. However, unless your self-published book has garnered any accolades such as those listed above, it may do more harm than good to mention your self-published projects. Here are a few possible outcomes to consider before mentioning your self-published book (or books, if you have more than one) when approaching agents.

Presumption. Some writers are choosing to self-publish even before they query literary agents and editors in order to publish traditionally. Historically, there have been a number of self-published novels that were extremely well-written; many have gone on to become wildly popular.

However, if your self-published book isn’t among that throng, mentioning your project in your cover or query letter may cause agents to infer that you tried to publish but ultimately could not find any enthusiasm for your project—even if you didn’t attempt the traditional publishing route at all. To put it crassly, if you mention that your books are self-published, agents may presume your writing isn’t strong enough or suitable for mainstream publication.

Low sales = low enthusiasm. If your self-published book has not sold well, an agent may infer that you have not done the necessary legwork to promote your book; simply don’t know how to promote your book; or an editor may assume that you did promote it but didn’t get reader support (if nobody else wants to join your party, why would an agent or editor show up).

Practice books. Professional writers, agents, and editors know that it can take a writer a few tries before he or she is able to work through the many difficulties of composing a book-length manuscript. Although you rightly love your early-career, self-published book, an agent will likely consider it a “practice” book. While practice books are significant life credits, they are not always significant publishing credits.

The danger of being overeager. If you mention to an agent that you have three books self-published (but you’re pitching only one, or perhaps you’re pitching an entirely different project), the agent might think: “Oh, no. If I take on one project by this writer, he or she will bombard me with all the other books, so I’ll be stuck with all these ‘practice’ books that no one else could place at a traditional house.” If you mention all your other manuscripts, the agent may get scared off.

Other conflicting issues. An agent may be turned off by your self-published book because he or she may assume that you are the kind of person who wants to have complete editorial and marketing control over your book. Working with a traditional publishing house requires patience, a willingness to compromise, and a certain amount of “letting go.”

If you need help submitting your book to literary agents, Writer's Relief has a service for every budget. We've been helping writers with the submission process since 1994, and there are hundreds of testimonials on our Web site. We're happy to answer all your questions, so feel free to write to info@wrelief.com or call (866) 405-3003.