E-books, Small Presses, Agents, Penguins, Oh My!

There are so many ways to get published, despite the dam difficulty of getting an agent or an editor to take a peak at your work. You can self publish, you can query, you can search for an agent, but sometimes life leads you on a completely different path than you might imagine.

Fortunately and of course the horrid unfortunately there are many pros and cons to options that I have gathered and tried.

E Books:
Pros:

• Cheaper for audience to purchase.
• Kindles are popular now!
• It's easier to get your novel in the attention of an e-publisher than it is to get an agent. Trust me.
• You can self publish an e-book.
• You can spread the word, for you don't have a marketing team.

Cons:

• Didn't you always dream to see your book with a hard cover? Even a paper cover?
• Low costs. If you self publish, you will be earning quite badly unless it goes viral.
• No marketing. Even if you have a publisher for e-books the marketing vs. traditional publisher is not comparable.
• Rights. You lose your rights for a limited amount of time. (This depends on the contract). 

Small Press: 
Pros:

• Well, your book is published at the least. Small presses may be easier to target. Easier to communicate with.
• Personal attention.
• You never know when a press may grow. Hey, you could be targeting a future corporation.
• Positive attitude. I noticed that the smaller presses I contacted were very friendly.

Cons:

• Distribution.
• Channels of sale.
• Marketing Ability.
• Design force (That's your cover).

Agent:
Pros:

• Worldwide publishing connections.
• Chance to bring attention to your novel with large publishers.
• Knowledge.
• Care. If you found a good agent, they will care about your work and perfect it by your side.

Cons:

• They take a percentage of your advance etc. That doesn't bother me, but...if it bothers you...
• Not all agents succeed.
• Not all agents have the right connections.

So when you query, you make the choice. Many authors go with what flows, if you know what I' am saying. Whoever accepts you is not always the right way to go. Personally, I have had success with agents (yet I AM unagented) and I stopped querying after a larger press requested revisions. So when you query who do you target? Oh, and for the penguins...Penguin books were just recently accepting submissions. I am not sure if it is still up, but you can go and check that out.

Cheers!