How I Published “Crash Landing” (The No-B.S. Story)
If there’s one mysterious professional process that everyone wants to know about, it’s how authors get their books published.
The book publishing industry is notoriously opaque. Somehow, there’s an elite group of people in the world called Authors. And somehow, what they have to say is really, really important. So important that corporations spend thousands, sometimes millions to print their words on paper and distribute them in shops everywhere.
How does one become one of these Author elites?
In this post, I’ll attempt to demystify this process by telling the story of how I published my debut novel Crash Landing. The way I published my first book was slightly unorthodox, but I’ll share my story anyway in hopes that it’ll be helpful. After all, I’m definitely not the only person whose words are worth printing.
Disclaimer: I’m still learning about the book industry myself, so please don’t take this blog post as your how-to manual. This is just a report of my own experience. If you want more info about publishing books, I’ve linked out to various resources by reputable organizations and listed more articles at the end of this post.
The Traditional Book Publishing Process in North America
So, here’s how most books in the North American market get published:
You write a book.
You query it to an agent.
If you’re lucky, an agent signs you on.
The agent shops your book around to publishers.
If you’re lucky, a publisher acquires it.
You’re paid an advance.
Your book gets published.
If you’re lucky, your book earns out its advance and you start earning royalties.
Now, some fun facts…
It takes about three years for a book to go from Microsoft Word document to paper and ink on a shelf. The industry is slow.
When someone gets “agented” in the U.S., it’s a big cause for celebration. But there are way fewer literary agents in Canada. According to the Writers’ Union of Canada, there are 30-ish literary agents in Canada and 80% of published Canadian writers are agent-less. (I am part of this 80%.)
Traditional publishers cover all the costs of publishing a book. But, unless you have grant money or a trust fund, everything you do up to the point of an advance is unpaid work. And yes, you need to a full manuscript before you go querying. Unlike journalism, you can’t pitch an idea and do the writing later.
What about self-publishing?
The process I just described is what creates traditionally published books. Another option is self-publishing. In self-publishing, you handle everything yourself: writing, editing, designing, printing, selling, marketing, etc.
The advantage of this is you control everything and you pocket all profits. The disadvantage is you can’t just be a good writer. You need to be a damn good entrepreneur, editor, designer, accountant, marketer, and publicist as well. (Or be willing to pay someone to do those jobs.)
I have the utmost respect for self-published authors because: one, I’m a one-trick word pony; and two, plenty of self-published authors have more readers and influence than me. However, self-published authors tend not to be as respected in the literary community because technically anyone can become one. And if you want to join a professional association or apply for a grant, being self-published may earn you fewer qualifying points.
There are also services that you can pay to publish a book for you. Again, this isn’t considered traditional publishing, and these services cost a pretty penny.
Also, beware of shady publishing scams. Use extra caution if you’re interested in vanity or hybrid publishers.
How I Got Published
I mentioned I don’t have an agent. That’s because my manuscript went straight to a publisher. Here’s how that happened.
It was 2020: the pandemic. I was working part-time and freelance writing. Money was meh but I had a lot of time and few expenses thanks to staying home all day, so I decided to dust off my writing pants and get down to business.
I had been writing about Asian skater girls since I was around sixteen years old. Something about an Asian skater girl rebelling against expectations has lived rent-free in my brain for half my life. So, I vowed to myself that I’ll write a story for that Asian skater girl and get that story as close to publication as possible.
Along this journey, I kept running into the same piece of advice: you need a mentor.
So I hunted around for mentorship programs and enrolled in BIPOC Writers Connect, which is organized by the Writers’ Union of Canada (which I’m now a member of). There I was paired up with the lovely Danny Ramadan to talk shop for a day. It was a great experience, and then after the event, Danny sent me another mentorship opportunity: this one with Annick Press. Unfortunately, I didn’t get into the mentorship…but Annick Press acquired my manuscript instead.
To be honest, I still don’t really believe this happened. I feel like I won the lottery, and I’m grateful about it every day.
###
Getting acquired was just the beginning. Making the story in your head into something you can pick off a shelf and turn and smell the pages of…that’s a whole other journey that requires its own blog post!
In the meantime, I hope this post has been genuinely helpful. And whether you become agented or not, traditionally published or self-published, remember that the world deserves to read your voice. Especially in the internet age, traditional publishing isn’t the only way to get your ideas in front of people. Get creative, keep writing, and keep sharing.
###
Publishing resources:
“How to Publish a Book in Canada” – Friesen Press, a paid publishing service
“Ready to publish your first book? Here's how to find a publisher” – CBC Books
