For independent and hybrid authors, understanding book returns is especially important because publishing arrangements differ in who controls returnability and who absorbs the costs. Fortunately, you don’t need to become a distribution expert to make an informed decision. You just need to understand what returnability actually does, what it costs, and whether it supports your publishing goals.
Guidance for your writing journey
Your Advice for Writers resource articles.
Your Advice for Writers resource articles.
Writing a book comes with questions, challenges, and moments of doubt, but you don’t have to navigate them alone. The Advice for Writers resource articles break down the writing, publishing, and promotion process into clear, approachable guidance, so you can focus on telling your story with confidence.
If you’re wondering how to choose a book trim size, the best place to start is with your genre, manuscript length, and intended reading experience. You don’t need an unusual size to make your book distinctive. In fact, familiar dimensions often help readers recognize what kind of book they’re picking up.
For a debut novelist, the decision involves more than choosing how many books to write. It affects how you develop your first manuscript, approach potential publishers, and spend your time as a writer. A series can offer the satisfaction of exploring a story across multiple books, while a standalone allows you to concentrate on bringing one complete novel to its strongest possible form.
If you’re sharing your novel chapter by chapter on Substack, Wattpad, Royal Road, or your own website, you may be wondering: Can you publish a book after serializing it? The answer is yes, but posting your manuscript online can affect your future publishing opportunities. Understanding those implications early can help you build an audience without unnecessarily limiting your options.
“Bestseller” gets printed on more book covers than most readers realize, and that’s because the word means something different depending on which list put it there. Some lists count every sale, everywhere. Others rely on an editorial process you can’t buy your way into. A few only count sales from a specific slice of retailers you may not even be selling through.
If your memoir gets you sued, you—the author—are usually the one financially liable, not the publisher, because most publishing contracts include a warranty and indemnification clause that makes you responsible for the accuracy of your own story.
Print-on-demand pricing is built from three stacked costs—a flat production charge per copy, a distribution or “market access” fee taken as a percentage of your list price, and the trade discount wholesalers and bookstores require—and your royalty is whatever remains of the list price after all three are subtracted.
Why Most Books Belong on Screens and Shelves There’s nothing quite like holding a printed copy of your book. But many of …
Accept, Adapt, Discuss, or Decline: A Guide to Editorial Notes You’ve spent months, maybe years, on your manuscript. Then the edit letter …
Merch and Swag Ideas to Help You Sell Books A bookmark tucked into a signed copy. A sticker on a reader’s laptop. …