002: Traditional Publishing vs Self Publishing

At the beginning of my literary journey, I was given a handful of advice from an exception author, Jackie Lea Sommers. Jackie wrote one of my favorite YA novels, Truest, and is full of helpful information. She encouraged me to query a literary agent and was even able to provide me a guideline on how to do so.  

This sounds like a simple task, but it is far from it! One method of finding an agent is to research who your favorite authors are represented by. So, I walked into my son's bedroom and grabbed a stack of my most-loved children's books. Inside of this pile was "You Are My Heart" by Marianne Richmond. Her writing style gives mothers across the country #allthefeels. It didn't take me long to realize that Marianne was originally a very successful self published author. She built her brand from the ground up - before the world of self-publishing was right at our fingertips. I felt so compelled to reach out to her. So I did. I wrote her an email asking for a consultation.... and before I knew it, we were FaceTiming in my sunroom. ​

Have you ever met someone and immediately realized that you were professional soulmates? Yesterday I had the opportunity to speak with Marianne for over 2 hours! With more than 50 children's books written and 6 million copies sold, (can you say baller status?) this author/illustrator is a true light in the industry. More than that, she is all about connecting with other people and loving her tribe fiercely.  She is now officially my mentor and friend. 

Here are the top 5 things that I learned about during our time together:

1. Traditional Publishing vs. Self Publishing
2. Establishing A Target Market
3. Building A Brand Around The Author
4. Book Distribution
5. Editing Insight

Today I am going to focus on the publishing process.

Traditional Publishing vs Self Publishing: Which Route is Best for Me?
​Successful traditional publishing in a tiny nutshell looks sort of like this:

1. Write a manuscript 
2. Create illustrations 
3. Research literary agents 
4. Submit queries to agents 
5. Acquire an agent to approach editors with your book concept 
6. An editor picks up your book and shares it with their marketing/sales team 
7. They come back with edits
8. It becomes published and ends up in stores.

This process is long and can take 1-3 years from start to finish. There are rules and protocols. Some people thrive in that environment. I typically do not. But the nice part about traditional publishing is having a team in your corner to help you create content and market your work. They have all the "ins" and connections to get your book out into the world. So maybe it is worth the wait after all. 

​The majority of authors are not really interested in the publicity side of things. They want to create the work and turn the reigns over to someone else to sell it - and I completely respect that. But it's no secrete that I am an entrepreneur at heart. I become obsessed with projects that speak to my soul and I can sometime forget about everything else around me.

A perfect example of this was when I chaired the Inaugural Bow Ties & Arrows Gala for the INDY Foundation this March. With the support of my fellow board members, I basically built this event from the ground up. I hustled. I hustled really hard and it was a tremendous success. Meanwhile my house was a mess, I missed preschool registration deadlines and I'm not really sure what occurred anywhere in the world from January-March.

Red Carpet at the Bow Ties & Arrows Gala 2019 Left to Right: Erin Thomes, Nici Stewart, Kayla Axsom, Kate Fischer

​ I guess my point is that I thoroughly enjoy problem solving and am not afraid to work hard to make a dream turn into a reality. I have become okay with not trying to "do it all" or have the "perfect" life. I am a wonderfully broken, splendidly impatient and goal-driven child of God. My background in branding and marketing and my business-owner mentality actually make me an ideal candidate for becoming a self published author/illustrator. But what does that process look like?

There has never been an easier time to become self published. Companies like IngramSpark or Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP) have changed the indie author culture. They not only print your books on demand, they also work directly with book stores and libraries to get new titles onto the market. Don't get me wrong, this is much more of a DIY process that traditional publishing, but if you are willing to put in the work and put yourself out there, anything is possible. Your potential earnings are typically higher in self publishing as well - especially if you are an author/illustrator combo. There are simply less people who get a piece of the pie.

At this point in my literary journey I plan to continue to research literary agents and publishers that are a good fit for my writing style. My picture book, Angel Army (working title), is faith-based, so that really narrows down my search for the perfect fit. Ultimately I am putting it in God's hands as to which publishing route I take. I'll just keep working hard and see where this adventure takes me!

Original Watercolor Painting from Kate Fischer's upcoming children's book, "Angel Army" (working title).

Stay tuned for other amazing insider information and notes on what Marianne Richmond and I discussed during our consultation. She is a wealth of fabulous information! If you are an aspiring author who is looking to connect with an authentic, knowledgeable and creative soul, I strongly suggest reaching out to her. You will not be disappointed.

Up next: Establishing a Target Market