Best Publishing Companies – What are your options when it comes to publishing your book, and what is the best option? This article by a former literary agent and publishing house marketing executive explains.
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Finding the Best Publishing Companies
The Challenge
The main challenge with trying to find the best publishing companies is that there’s a lot of misinformation on the Internet. And that’s because there are a lot of bad publishing companies. Most of them aren’t doing anything illegal, but their marketing practices are deceptive.
These publishers don’t lie outright (they’re smarter than that), but they do mislead people. I’ve talked to countless authors who’ve gotten sucked into the bad publisher trap, including two more this week that I “saved” (their words). So I’m writing this article in case my insider knowledge might help you, too.
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The Best Publishing Companies
Forget the Old Terms
To help you understand what the best publishing companies are, I’m going to explain the four different types of book publishers and share the pros and cons of each. However, I’m not going to use some of the common terms you might already be familiar with such as: traditional book publishing companies, self-publishing companies, and vanity publishers.
That’s because the old terms for publishing companies are part of the problem. Some publishers have recently started calling themselves “traditional publishers” when they’re not. Other publishers have introduced a new and confusing term called “co-operative publishing.” And, next week, publishers will come up with yet another term designed to confuse you, and extract as much money as possible from your wallet.
So…
Instead of talking “terms” I’m going to focus on dollars and sense. In other words, I’m going to show you the only thing that matters: how each book publisher’s business model is set up. By that I mean how the four different types of publishing companies make money—because that’s the best indicator of what your publisher is going to do (or not do) for you.
By the time you’re done reading this article you’ll be able to discern what the best publishing companies are, no matter what clever terms they use. You’ll be able to see who’s going to work the hardest to make your book successful.
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The Best Publishing Companies
4 Types of Book Publishers
Every author is different, so the best publishing companies for someone else might not be the best publishing companies for you. However, I’ve included the pros and cons for each type of publishing company below to help you figure out which option is the best for you.
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The Best Publishing Companies – #1
Publishers that Pay You Up Front and Pay You Later
These are the best publishing companies. This type of book publisher (like Random House) writes you a check for your book before it’s even published. That’s how sure they are that your book will be successful. This type of up front payment is called an author advance.
If a publisher is willing to pay you money up front (and not ask you for money), it’s much more likely they’re legitimate (not trying to rip you off). It’s also much more likely they’re going to put time, energy, and marketing money into making your book successful. They’re one of the best publishing companies.
Why?
Because they have
a lot at stake.
If they don’t make your book successful, the author advance they paid you will be a loss for them. So will all of the time, energy, and money they invest in the editing, layout, cover design, physical and/or eBook production (most publishers in this category do both), distribution, sales, publicity, marketing, and advertising of your book.
This type of publisher also pays you a percentage of the money they make each time they sell a copy of your book (commonly referred to in the industry as author royalties). The percentage of money you make off each book sold will vary depending on your contract, but no matter how you slice and dice it, there’s very little risk for you working with this type of publisher—and a lot of potential upside (since the publisher is paying for everything and doing all the work).
Important: Some slimy publishers (pretending to be one of the best publishing companies) have recently started calling themselves traditional publishers, even though they’re not. They pay their authors (or some of their authors) a very small advance, sometimes $100 or (in some cases just $1), so they can say they’re a traditional publisher. But then they require you to pay them thousands of dollars for various services. I’ll explain more about this type of publisher in a moment. For now, just know that any publisher that requires you to pay them (even if they’ve paid you something as well) is NOT a traditional publisher (or one of the best publishing companies).
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The Best Publishing Companies – #2
Publishers that Only Pay You Later
Publishers in this category are sometimes some of the best publishing companies–but sometimes they aren’t. These book publishers don’t require you to pay them anything; but they don’t pay you an advance, either. Instead, they only pay author royalties. The problem with this category of publisher is that it includes reputable publishers, incompetent publishers, and nonreputable publishers.
And it can be difficult
to tell the difference.
The reputable publishers in this category are some of the best publishing companies. They’d like to pay you an author advance, but they’re not making enough money to justify it; however, they do invest their time, energy, and marketing dollars into making your book successful. These publishers don’t have as much to lose since they don’t pay advances, so there’s no getting around the fact that this type of publisher isn’t going to be as motivated to make your book successful. This type of publisher is also going to print less books (again, less of a financial risk for them). And, some publishers in this category aren’t going to create a print version of your book at all. Instead, they’ll just create an eBook (which you could do on your own and potentially make more money because you wouldn’t have to share the profit). Then they’ll produce a print book if/when they know it’s going to sell.
The incompetent publishers in this category do everything that the reputable publishers above do, but they don’t have the background and experience to sustain a successful business. Not the best publishing companies. New book publishers in this category pop up every year, then fade away into oblivion. They might say all the right things to you, and have good intentions, but they’re trying to figure everything out as they go, using your book as a guinea pig. If they want to gamble on someone’s future, I say they should gamble on their own—and go to Vegas.
Then there are the nonreputable publishers in this category, that also can’t be called the best publishing companies. They don’t care about you or your book. Again, they might say the right things… but they’re simply “playing the numbers.” They hand out book contracts like candy on Halloween to anyone with a hand out. And they invest as little time and money as possible to get your book out there. Not the best publishing companies, by a long shot. Nonreputable publishers almost always produce eBooks only (less expensive) and they create them with poor quality cover art, layout, and editing (again, pinching pennies at your expense). What are these publishers thinking? They know that some of the authors they take on are going to “get lucky” or do a lot of marketing on their own and sell a lot of books. These nonreputable publishers hope and pray that some of their authors make it big (without their help) so they can then ride their coattails… all the way to the bank.
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The Best Publishing Companies – #3
Publishers that Make You Pay Them
This type of publisher is all the way at the bottom of my list of the best publishing companies. They won’t publish your book in any format (print or eBook) unless you pay them. And, your required investment will be significant—thousands of dollars or tens of thousands of dollars. In addition, this type of publisher will take a significant percentage of the money that comes in each time one of your books is sold.
Now, before I rip these publishers to shreds let me say…
This type of publisher is a good fit for authors who:
* Have money to burn
* Don’t need to sell books or make money on book sales
* Want to get their book published as quickly as possible
* Are okay with their publisher not selling any or many books
I don’t care if a publisher tells you that they pay some of their authors an advance (just not you) so that makes them a traditional publisher; if they ask you for money, they’re not a traditional publisher. If they were successful, they wouldn’t need any of their authors to pay them. If they believed your book could sell—and that they could sell it—they wouldn’t ask you to pay them.
Think about it.
I also don’t care if a publisher tells you that they’re “exclusive” and they only publish a select number of titles each year. It’s bull. If they’re taking money from authors, that means they’re taking money from pretty much anyone willing to pay them. For the most part, they’re just a glorified “book printer.”
So…
If a publisher asks you for money, there’s a 99% chance they’re not the best publishing company for you. If they ask you for money, it means they make virtually all of their income off the payments they collect from authors up front (and payments for additional marketing opportunities they’ll be pitching you on later).
It doesn’t matter how they word it, or what they say the money is for. They’re asking you to pay them. That means they don’t have anything to lose by simply taking your money and then doing nothing. Since they’re not investing financially in your book, they’re simply not motivated to make your book successful… the way that the best publishing companies are.
This type of book publisher is just another example of a publishing company playing the numbers. They know that some of their authors are going to “get lucky” or do a lot of marketing on their own and sell a lot of books. So these publishing companies spend most of their time marketing themselves, not you and your book.
The most offensive part of this scenario (to me, anyway) is that you can pay a publisher like this $10,000 or more and they might not even print any books. Instead, they often just create an eBook edition and physical books are printed “on demand” (that means they only print a book when someone orders one).
Again, no risk for them.
Think about it.
When a publisher like Random House pays to print 50,000 copies of a book, how motivated do you think they are to sell it? Exactly. I can’t make it any clearer than that.
Still don’t believe me?
Show me one author who’s published more than one
book with a publisher like this because they were
so happy with the results they got.
No???
That’s what
I thought.
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The Best Publishing Companies – #4
You As the Publisher
Although publishing your own book doesn’t really fit on a list of best publishing companies, I thought I should include it as an option so you could see where it fits in. This option means you doing (or at least overseeing) absolutely everything involved with your book: editing, layout, cover design, printing, distribution, sales, publicity, marketing, and advertising.
The downside to this option is obvious…
You doing everything.
Unless you want to be a publisher and not an author (spending all your time producing and selling books), this isn’t your best option. There is an upside to this option though. You get to maintain complete control, go as fast as you want, and keep all the profit. But there’s also a tremendous learning curve involved. And you’ll probably find yourself finding you no longer have time to write.
Still thinking about self-publishing?
Click here to read my two other
articles about self-publishing:
* Should I Self-Publish My Book?
And share your thoughts
and questions below…
– Mark
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MARK MALATESTA is a former literary agent turned author coach. Mark now helps authors of all genres (fiction, nonfiction, and children's books) get top literary agents, publishers, and book deals through his company 
MARK MALATESTA is a former literary agent turned author coach. Mark now helps authors of all genres (fiction, nonfiction, and children's books) get top literary agents, publishers, and book deals through his company 
Thanks Mark. They haven’t asked for anything (so far). They said they are reviewing my manuscript and will get back to me in about 6 weeks. I’ll see what happens from there. In the meantime I’ll keep querying agents. Austin Macauley did show up as a sub-Agent/publisher on your list under another different agent. They just weren’t listed as a primary. I don’t know if that makes a difference.
Hi Tim, you bet. And thanks for letting me know. By the way, my apologies for the slow response time. For some reason your comment went to my spam folder and I didn’t see it.
Have a good night!
– Mark
Mark Malatesta
The Bestselling Author
http://thebestsellingauthor.com
Literary Agent Undercover
https://literary-agents.com
Dear Mark;
Thank you , you sent me mail but I really want to know good publıshers to publısh my book.
No cost.
My novel is erotıc,woman of revolutıon, very very very different.
Please help me, give me name of publısher
Hi Berrin, read this article, it will help: Read these articles before you do anything else: https://literary-agents.com/best-publishing-companies/. Regarding good publishers, I don’t refer specific publishers or literary agents to authors, for a variety of reasons (but the main reason is that it’s a lot like dating, a very subjective process).
But…
You can easily find the best publisher for you by finding the best agent for you… using my Directory of Literary Agents that you can access here (no charge): https://literary-agents.com/directory-literary-agents/.
You should also (if you haven’t already) click here to access to all the valuable resources I have about getting an agent in my private, members-only area (no charge): http://thebestsellingauthor.com/membership/. Once you’ve entered your name and email address there, click on the link that says, “Audio Training Library”. Then you’ll see my main audio training (and text transcript), which reveals the 7 Insider Secrets You Need to Know to Get a Top Literary Agent, Publisher, and Book Deal.
If you want help with anything else, you can post questions for me online here: http://thebestsellingauthor.com/ask/. You can also (if you haven’t done so already) get access (no cost) to all the valuable resources in our private, members-only area here: http://thebestsellingauthor.com/membership/. And you can register for an introductory coaching call with me here: http://thebestsellingauthor.com/coaching/intro-call/.
Either way, I’m looking forward to learning more about you and your work.
All my best,
– Mark
Mark Malatesta
The Bestselling Author
http://thebestsellingauthor.com
Literary Agent Undercover
https://literary-agents.com
Mark – This is great information. I am currently researching for a great literary agent. I am a big fan of Oprah’s – she is one of my idols, therefore , I want a publishing deal with McMillan.
Hi Lorraine, sorry I’m slow getting back to you. I took some time away for the holidays and I had two clients get agents in the last couple weeks… so it’s been busy here. Now, THANK YOU for the wonderful words. You just made my morning.
Now, as a next step, if you haven’t already done, you should click here for access to the valuable resources in my private, members-only area (no charge): http://thebestsellingauthor.com/membership/. Once you’ve entered your name and email address there, click on the link that says, “Audio Training Library”. Then you’ll see my main audio training (and text transcript), which reveals the 7 Insider Secrets You Need to Know to Get a Top Literary Agent, Publisher, and Book Deal.
If you want help with anything else, you can post questions for me online here: http://thebestsellingauthor.com/ask/. You can also (if you haven’t done so already) get access (no cost) to all the valuable resources in our private, members-only area here: http://thebestsellingauthor.com/membership/. And you can register for an introductory coaching call with me here: http://thebestsellingauthor.com/coaching/intro-call/.
Either way, I’m looking forward to learning more about you and your work.
And Happy New Year!!!
– Mark
Mark Malatesta
The Bestselling Author
http://thebestsellingauthor.com
Literary Agent Undercover
https://literary-agents.com
Hi Mark,
How do you know if a publisher is incompetent before you sign with them? Mine appears fine, has been going for about ten years, editing, proof reading etc, fine but their marketing is useless and I’m not selling any books. I would have done better myself, but since the contract stated they would market I signed.
Hi Misha, for some reason your comment/question went to my spam folder and I wasn’t notified about it… so my apologies for the delay getting back to you. Now to your question. If they have a ton of positive testimonials on their website, that’s a good start. If not, you need to look around online and see if you can find out more before you sign with a publisher. Based on what you said in your comment, your publisher might be legitimate but read this anyway to find out: https://literary-agents.com/best-publishing-companies/. And don’t feel too bad. Most publishers overpromise and underdeliver in the promotion department, so the more you can do on your end the better.
If you haven’t already done so, make sure you take advantage of all the resources (no cost) on our main website here to help you take your writing career to the next level: http://thebestsellingauthor.com/membership/. I’m also happy to answer any questions that you have online here: http://thebestsellingauthor.com/ask/. And, if you’re serious and believe we’re a good fit, you can register for an introductory coaching call with me here (there is a fee for that): http://thebestsellingauthor.com/coaching/intro-call/.
One way or another, I’m looking forward to learning more about you and your work.
Have a good night!
– Mark
Mark Malatesta
The Bestselling Author
http://thebestsellingauthor.com
Literary Agent Undercover
https://literary-agents.com
Hello Mark, I have spent $12,000 on self publishing and my books are color art series. Would Nelson or Random House still consider me if I decided to publish more than three book? My books are unique and beautiful. Actually their are none others to my knowledge like them. I can not afford to do any more with
this rip-off publisher. Thank you, what a mistake I made.
Hi Carol, sorry to hear that… but all is not lost. You can still get a traditional publisher. Read these two articles: https://literary-agents.com/best-publishing-companies/ and https://literary-agents.com/its-not-what-you-say/. The, if you haven’t already done so, become a member of my online community now here (it’s fr*ee): http://thebestsellingauthor.com/membership/. Then make sure you also listen to the FIRST audio training recording in my online audio library (once you’re in the members only area, look for the link the says “Audio Training Library”). You can also post more questions for me online here: http://thebestsellingauthor.com/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author/ask/. And, if/when you’re able, you can register for an introductory coaching call with me here: http://thebestsellingauthor.com/coaching/intro-call/. Have a great day, and if you’re on Twitter, join me here: https://twitter.com/Literary_Agents. I set up an account several years ago but now I’m starting to use it. Mark ????
Absolutely correct. I completely agree with you Mark. Except for African writers this is a daunting thing because we don’t have good publishing companies and getting an agent is tough. So how can we land a deal with an American agent as blacks?
Hi T.Y. …I don’t understand. An author’s color has nothing to do with it, but the genre of your work does. If anyone writes work that will appeal only (or primarily) to a narrow market, like a minority market, then yes, you’ll have to find a publisher that publishes book like that. If, however, you’re writing work that will appeal to a broad market, you can submit your work pretty much anywhere. Mark
Dear Mark, all the Publishing Houses, from NY, Chicago, BC, Pittsburgh all want money up front, at first glance it seems good as they promise to do all the footwork plus you get 70% of the book sale returned to you, Publication, Edit, Cover Design, etc. etc. I have checked these companies online and most seem legit! but I am going to look into a Literary Agent, I have several off of your list which are located in the San Diego area and see what I can come up with and if they are interested.
Hi Brendon, sounds good. Check this out: https://literary-agents.com/best-publishing-companies/. Take a look at this week’s article, by the way, I just sent it out… reveals the world’s top-earning authors of 2015. Some things there that might surprise you. Enjoy, and have a great weekend. Mark
For a new author like myself what are other publishing companies I can submit my manuscript to besides Random House?
Hi Clay, focus on agents not publishers. You need an agent to get a publisher. If you haven’t already done so… take a look at our complete list of websites here: http://thebestsellingauthor.com/websites/. Then make sure you listen to the FIRST audio training recording in my online audio library (link should be in the welcome email you got from me if/when you signed up at one of my websites). You can also post questions for me online here: http://thebestsellingauthor.com/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author/ask/. And, lastly, if/when you’re interested, register for an introductory coaching call with me here: http://thebestsellingauthor.com/coaching/intro-call/. One way or another, I’ll get you going in the right direction. Mark
What exactly is a query letter???
Hi Doris, take a look at our complete list of websites here and you’ll see that we have one devoted exclusively to query letters… what they are and how to write them: http://thebestsellingauthor.com/websites/. Then make sure you listen to the FIRST audio training recording in my online audio library (link should be in the welcome email you got from me if/when you signed up at one of my websites). You can also post questions for me online here: http://thebestsellingauthor.com/how-to-be-a-bestselling-author/ask/. And, lastly, if/when you’re interested, register for an introductory coaching call with me here: http://thebestsellingauthor.com/coaching/intro-call/. That’s the fastest and easiest way for me to help you get an agent and publisher. Mark
I live in Puerto Vallarta Mexico and phone conversations are difficult. howevrer internet is excellent I am interested in professional help in finding a publisher but also a bit confused about how we can work together. Thanks Dennis
Hi Dennis, that’s fine… we can Skype. The best place to start if you’re new to my website is listen to the complimentary audio training that you can access here: https://literary-agents.com/get-a-literary-agent/. Then spend some time looking around our various websites listed here: https://literary-agents.com/websites/. After that you should sign up for a coaching call with me here: https://literary-agents.com/book-marketing/book-marketing-coach/. I’m looking forward to learning more about you and your book. Mark
Thanks for the article, Mark. Reminds me of Strategic Book Marketing when they asked me to pay more than 4000 to an editor they wanted to recommend but I didn’t. There are many aspiring authors out there who need this kind of article to inform them and I hope they don’t get ripped off.
Hi Saw-Lian, glad you didn’t get sucked into a bad situation. Some of those publishers are okay if you make an educated choice, but most authors don’t see the whole picture. Good hearing from you and have a great week! Mark
I got offers from Raiders publishers and Olympia publishers but they want me to make a contribution or payment before they could proceed though they say the amount will only be a small part to the total outlay. I’m also waiting for a reply from Foundry media for their response to my manuscript but they are taking too long 2.5 months? What can I do
Hi Eric, per this article (https://literary-agents.com/best-publishing-companies/) you know how I feel about companies like that. So you can, and you should, follow up with Foundry. Here’s an article that provides guidelines for literary agent turnaround or response times for different phases of the review process: https://literary-agents.com/get-a-literary-agent/literary-agent-turnaround-times/. Of course, you should also be sending out more queries. Mark
Thanks again Mark, I’m the other author you saved last week….well you certainly put up a big red flag! I then spent a week researching and talking to authors myself, just to make sure. Because the truth is, when a so called “New York Publisher” offered to publish my book I thought I had finally made it. I was tempted to “invest” over $8000 (plus more to come I am now informed) for which I would have received very little marketing, few paper books and limited sales. Beware!!! Thanks again Mark.
Hi Bryce, wasn’t sure if you’d see this article or not… was going to send you a private email about it. Thanks for weighing in. This whole topic is so complex. I feel I’ve only just begun to do it justice with this article, but hopefully there’s enough to it that it makes sense to people. And thanks for listening. FYI, I did 75 miles Sunday on the bike. I heard a couple weeks ago that they do 112 miles cycling in the ironman so that’s my ultimate goal. Not to enter an ironman competition, but to do the distances. After biking, I’m going to focus on the 26.2 mile run. 😉 I’m just about 2-3 weeks away from my target body weight, and size 28 waist pants… haven’t been there since my freshman year in college. Here’s to living a rich 5 am life, instead of an accidental life. Anything is possible. Mark
I have five books that I would like to publish. I am willing to do what ever necessary to get published except pour money into the venture. Athe only reason I refuse to pay money t9 publish is the fact that I do. It have the money two publish a book. I need all the help I can get. I have a package for each book. I don’t know how to go about getting a started. What should myt first move be?
Hi Ginger, that’s partly my point… that you don’t have to (and shouldn’t have to) pay a publisher. But, I should clarify, you should definitely invest in yourself as an author and treat it like a business. In other words, paying for books to become a better writer, or editing, or coaching, etc. are normal. What should your first move be? Take advantage of all the fr*ee resources listed on our various websites that you can learn about here: http://query-letter.com/about/author-websites/. Then ask me a follow-up question(s) here (no cost) and/or sign up for a paid introductory coaching call with me here: https://literary-agents.com/book-marketing/book-marketing-coach/. Either way, I’m happy to help. Mark
Mark, I have been reading your suggestions, comments and advise for a while. By nature I am skeptical about everything. I recently self-published a book (An Unlikely Terrorist). I must say it was thrilling to see, to hold and to read the book in…well, book form. But i have to agree with you in regards to selling the book. You end up writing less.
I enjoy reading your thoughts, you seem honest, of course any clever writer can be anything they want, right. Thanks for sharing.
Hi Tom, I’m glad you’re finding the suggestions and comments helpful. And I don’t mind you being skeptical. I know what it’s like out there. Here’s to your success. Mark
You ask a math question? To prove I’m not. A robot? That’s just cruel for the math challenged, aS most writers I know are. Ask a grammar question!
I’m holding out for a publisher that pays me up front and after. None of this self publishing where I have to also be a business person.
A friend of mine used a service where she paid a small fee up front, t gets money back. Kind of like
Self
Unloading, but they do some arresting for her. Still.
Thanks for the article.
Hi Laura, I know. I know. And it isn’t just simple addition and subtraction, either. Sometimes it throws multiplication and division problems at people. It takes me a couple tries sometimes as well. I have to answer the questions when logging in. 😉 Now, here’s to holding out for only the good stuff. Like real publishers that pay. Mark
What a clear and non-judgmental and yet helpful post. I’ve had the best publisher (Quiller in England who have sold 8000 copies of ‘Distinguished Leaves’) and also self-published (you are absolutely right it eats up all your creative time and hard to get a reasonable return).
Thanks Mark and hope to be in touch soon – I’d love to see an article on ‘cross-genre’ authors (there are lots of us out there – I’m a published poet and novelist and non-fiction writer – and agents don’t seem to want us!)
Thank you Elizabeth, I’m glad you say it’s clear, especially, because many publishers work hard to muddy the waters. It’s taken me a while to figure out how to expose them in a way that’s, hopefully, foolproof. I’m also delighted to know that you have a good publisher for some of your work. Regarding authors of multiple genres, I talk a little bit about that on the mp3 featured here on my homepage: https://literary-agents.com. You’re right that many agents can be turned off by that, but not all. it is best though to only present projects to agents (at least initially) that you believe they’ll likely be interested in. And some authors require more than one agent. Have a great weekend and thanks for posting. Mark
Can you send me a list of literary agents
Hi Larry, for some reason your comment/question went to my spam folder and I wasn’t notified about it… so my apologies for the delay getting back to you.
Now, to your question…
First, you can access the Directory of Literary Agents here: https://literary-agents.com/directory-literary-agents/. Second, read my multi-part article about finding the right literary agent for you and your work: https://literary-agents.com/finding-a-literary-agent/.
Also…
If you haven’t already done so, make sure you take advantage of all the resources (no cost) on our main website here: http://thebestsellingauthor.com/membership/. I’m also happy to answer any questions that you have online here: http://thebestsellingauthor.com/ask/. And, if you’re serious and believe we’re a good fit, you can register for an introductory coaching call with me here (there is a fee for that): http://thebestsellingauthor.com/coaching/intro-call/.
One way or another, I’m looking forward to learning more about you and your work.
Have a good night!
– Mark
Mark Malatesta
The Bestselling Author
http://thebestsellingauthor.com
Literary Agent Undercover
https://literary-agents.com
Hi Mark,
I know I am one of the two writers you saved this week. Again I can’t thank you enough. I was almost sucked in by what I now know to be a Vanity Publisher they were not at all honest in their marketing. Right from the outset I knew I was not interested in self-publishing, Your advise warned me just in time. Also I read the first few pages of a a book they have published and although it has an amazing plot-line it is in need of significant editing. The lesson: Don’t lose faith. Erik
Hi Erik, how did you know? Ha ha ha. Anyway, I appreciate you saying so here and encouraging people to do be vigilant in their research and be honest with themselves. Some of these publishers work very hard at making it difficult to do just that. Here’s to getting published the right away. Mark
Hi Mark: I tried the self publishing route. I was told my book was one of two of the best out of five thousand they printed that year. I – and I mean I – sold about one hundred copies. There was a problem with mixing genres so I pulled it off the market but am regrouping and beginning it again because it is an important historical find, at least I and any other person interested in the saga of King Richard III believes so. What can you suggest to me? I do want advice.
Hi Sarah, sorry to hear about your experience with self-publishing. My suggestion? Take full advantage of all the resources on our websites (full list here at http://query-letter.com/about/author-websites/). Then get 1-on-1 support from me personally by posting another question(s) here or, if you can, schedule an introductory coaching call with me here: http://thebestsellingauthor.com/coaching/intro-call/. Either way, I’m happy to help. Mark
I would like to read who are the best agents…after all, they have to ‘sell’ your book to that hole-in-one publisher.
Hi Cindy, well… do I have the perfect thing for you: https://literary-agents.com/best-literary-agent/top-literary-agents/. And you are right, finding the right agent is key. Oh, you might want to take a look at this, too: http://literaryagencies.com/list-of-literary-agents/best-literary-agents/. Mark