Finding Your Path to Publication

Really useful and well organized resource for anyone thinking about publishing. With all the avenues now available there are many options for writers, and for those who really want to create quality, it is worth the extra resources.

I recommend Finding Your Path to Publication by Judy Penz Sheluk for newer writers interested in an overview of the publication process. It will answer many questions you have and make you aware of questions you didn’t know you should have.

The title of this book led me to expect it to demonstrate a process to help a writer determine their best path to publishing a book: a step-by-step guide to sorting out which type of publisher might suit the writer best. That was not the case, which does not mean the book is not a worthwhile read.

This work is a survey of the broad landscape of being an author today. Written as though you and Judy (she is your friend, after all) are sitting in a cozy corner sharing a pot of tea or bottle of red wine while she dishes her publishing industry insights. The middle third of the book deals directly with the alternative approaches to publishing: traditional publishers, independent publishers, hybrid/assisted publishing, self-publishing, and social publishing. That section provides the reader with insightful information about how each publication channel functions, their advantages and disadvantages.

Before the meaty middle, Judy dishes on today’s reality of being an author. Drawing from her experiences, she provides guidance for less experienced writers on how to develop their manuscript. She also supplies a slap of cold water to drown unreasonable expectations and provides suggestions for concrete actions authors should take to set themselves up to succeed (recordkeeping, websites, bios, etc.) After a quick introduction to copyrights, she provides advice on submitting work to agents or publishers.

The final third of the book begins with an overview of contracts and royalties and then, in what I consider the weakest section, skims through issues of advertising and promotion. Judy provides an excellent toolkit to help writers assess whether a writing organization will provide them current benefit. Using the same “Points to Ponder” approach, she then addresses contests, grants and mentorship programs, and conferences and conventions.

While writers should purchase the book for the meat and potatoes advice Judy offers, they will delight in its concluding “Additional Resources” section. In it, Judy provides definitions of industry terms and links to further resources. Newer writers will find the definitions particularly helpful. As writers continue on their personal journeys to publication, I suspect they will frequently refer to the links.

I received an electronic version of this book from the publisher via Netgalley for the purposes of providing an independent review. The opinions above are mine alone.

Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read this! I'm actually personally interested in the subject matter and found it to be a well-organized, practical, and understandable explanation of the publishing experience.
She goes through everything: editing, copyright, different avenues of publishing, how to promote yourself on different other platforms.