Giving out free, unpublished, printed books to people

[Sunayna Prasad]

I've heard that in the commercial publishing industry, agents and editors will criticize authors' works and authors need the thick skin to listen to criticism. I don't have the thick skin, so the only path for publishing I can go on is self-publishing. I have picked which company I want to publish with, but before I do, I want to find a way to see if my book is publishable (which won't be until at least one other draft after my current one). I was thinking about finding somewhere to rent space where people can buy my book and contact me to see if their kids liked it. I'll be eighteen by then, so that part won't be an issue. But I don't know where I can rent space. I can't imagine that a bookstore will let me if my isn't officially published. I don't want to use online sites like worthy of publishing or fictionpress anymore, because that didn't help. If that's not possible, what are some other ways. I don't want to give my book out to people I know personally, because they'll say they liked it to be polite.

[Jena Grace]

I've heard that in the commercial publishing industry, agents and editors will criticize authors' works and authors need the thick skin to listen to criticism. I don't have the thick skin, so the only path for publishing I can go on is self-publishing. I have picked which company I want to publish with, but before I do, I want to find a way to see if my book is publishable (which won't be until at least one other draft after my current one). I was thinking about finding somewhere to rent space where people can buy my book and contact me to see if their kids liked it. I'll be eighteen by then, so that part won't be an issue. But I don't know where I can rent space. I can't imagine that a bookstore will let me if my isn't officially published. I don't want to use online sites like worthy of publishing or fictionpress anymore, because that didn't help. If that's not possible, what are some other ways. I don't want to give my book out to people I know personally, because they'll say they liked it to be polite.

I don't understand what you're asking. If you're going to self-publish and you found a company, then go ahead and self publish. How can it not be publishable if you're going to do it yourself?

[Sunayna Prasad]

I would go for the route of commercial publishing, except that I can't take criticism too easily. But I still want my book at high standards. There are self-published authors whose books have received good reviews on Amazon. I wanted to find another way to find out if my book is publishable without submitting to an agent. To simplify my question, I wanted to know if I could rent space to sell my unpublished book and hear from what people think of it.

[Gary Kessler]

FYI, online copyright registration is $35.

However, this is all wheels spinning, Sunayna. Time for you to go do your own basic research--or to watch your time and money fly out of the window.

[Gary Kessler]

You can rent space, that's easy. How are you going to get anyone to come to your rented space to buy your book? That's hard. And if you have a book to sell them, it's already published. You aren't then gauging whether it's publishable; that's already happened. It doesn't sound like you are thinking this through. Getting a company to self-publish your book is the easiest part of the puzzle (although it can be an expensive proposition). Getting the book into the hands of readers is the hardest part (which will usually entail added expense and a lot of knowhow and effort). Plus, if you want your book to be a good one, you'll have to have it professionally edited--at your own expense, if you are self-publishing. That's another $800-$1,000 for an 80,000-word book.

I think you need to go back to square one and rethink this whole thing through. A book I wrote with former WN poster, Carol Kluz, Finding Go! Matching Questions and Resources in Getting Published, was designed to start seeking authors like you off at the beginning with an organized journey through the process--including an unvarnished look at its pitfalls. This is available for free read now on the Internet at www.publishingquestions.com. It's outdated now because it was published before the e-book revolution, but if you are only interested in print publishing, it should still be useful (and again is free use).

I do think you need to drop back and punt as you seem dangerously unprepared for this.

[Jena Grace]

I wanted to know if I could rent space to sell my unpublished book

Are you talking about selling copies of your manuscript? What makes you think anyone would buy it?

Normally I'd suggest you find yourself a good crit group. But if you aren't willing to take criticism, it'd be a waste of time.

[Sunayna Prasad]

I am already part of a critique group. They're like editors only that they don't really check for grammar. They rewrite sentences, remove unnecessary sentences, and point out things that need explanation. But they're not tough on me like I'm assuming editors and agents would be to authors (correct me if I'm wrong).
Okay, so renting out space to see if people would buy my book would not be a good idea. I had some other ideas in mind. I have cousins in 6th to 8th grade. I was thinking maybe I could give them a fews copy and they could give them to their to some of their classmates. Another idea to ask a librarian. But I don't know if they'll be able to determine whether kids would want to read it. What do you think sounds better? Or are both options good ideas?

[jayce]

So you give out these copies to your cousins' classmates, or to a librarian, or to any other demographic. What you get back is (a) I liked it, (b) I didn't like it, (c) I like parts of it, (d) my mom wouldn't let me read it, (e) I lost it / had to go out of town / had to do my homework / etc.

You seem to feel you'll get a universal thumbs up or down on the commercial viability of your manuscript. No one, not even a librarian, can do that with any degree of reliability. What will happen is, you'll get a mixed bag of reactions, leaving you in your current state of uncertainty. There are only two ways to get a manuscript into print: either you find a commercial publisher who'll do it for you, or you self-publish. Pick one, learn the rules of that particular game, and go for it.

[Lea Zalas]

Sunayna, if you can't take criticism, what are you going to do if the librarian and/or the kids say they don't like it? The world is a harsh place, you have to accept you will NEVER please everyone, and at times you won't please anyone. My main point is this: if you can't take criticism, then your book will never be as good as it should be.

The routes you're thinking of taking are more convoluted than the process needs to be. Why not upload your manuscript as an ebook, yourself? Paying a cover artist $30-100 for a nice cover, purchasing the copyright for $30, and then uploading to Amazon for free, is so much cheaper. You'll find out real quick whether anyone is interested in your book, and at a much cheaper price.

[Sunayna Prasad]

I can take mild criticism, just not very harsh criticism. And if they don't like it, I'll write another. I'll write drafts until the majority says they like it. Of course, I don't know what they'll say yet, but it doesn't hurt to try.