At biglang may mga nagtatanong sa akin kung OK daw ba yung offer ng publisher na ganito at ganyan. First of all, I can't tell you to refuse anything or not do anything. Pangarap mo ito. Pareho lang ng pangarap ko nung nag-umpisa ako. In the end, you do what's best for you and what makes things happen for you.
Eto lang ang wishlist ko, for publisher offers. Ikumpara na lang sa sarili mong wishes:
- FULL COPYRIGHT OWNERSHIP to the author. Kasi ako yung nag-conceptualize at nagsulat ng storya. At hindi rin ako na-hire para isulat ang storya. Gawa ko ito, using my own free time and energy, so I deserve the right to keep FULL COPYRIGHT. Copyright means I can write sequels, spin-offs, one-shots, alternate endings, everything using the same characters and settings, because the story remains mine, and I don't need to ask permission from anyone to keep doing what I love.
- FAIR COMPENSATION AND ROYALTY SHARE. What is fair? Mahirap i-explain. Pero para sa effort at skill ko, may mga amount na di ako papayag.
- NO EXCLUSIVITY. I want the option to work with another publisher (for future books), if I don't like how one has treated me (while working with them on one book). Publisher partners I work with can see this positively: If I continue to work with you, it's because I like you and you treat me well!
- SKILLED EDITING. Kung ako yung author, gusto ko iba yung editor, at may experience at skill siya sa pag-edit. Gusto kong malaman kung paano mas magiging maganda yung kwento. Gusto kong sabihan ako kung may mali sa gawa ko, para sa next book ko maiwasan ko lahat yon. Ito ang biggest advantage for me ng trad pub over self pub, because a traditional publisher will usually have a SKILLED EDITOR on staff and I can trust them with my work.
- AWESOME COVERS. Something that'll make me want to buy the book, if I didn't know anything about it!
- QUALITY PRINTING. Better than I can make myself, with an inkjet printer haha.
- BOOKSTORE DISTRIBUTION. If I have readers, will they be able to find my book? Where? Ideally everywhere, but nationwide is good enough haha.
- MARKETING AND PR. So that people beyond my readers can find out about the book too. It's important to me that my books are read by as many people as possible, and I want to be marketed to people BEYOND my existing reader base. Kung yung mga existing readers ko lang yung bibili ng book ko, eh di walang marketing talaga na naganap, in my view.
BINABASA MO ANG
Publishing and Self-publishing: Advice for Writers
Non-Fiction[FILIPINO/ENGLISH] Advice for writers based on my experience self-publishing (more than 20 novels as of now) and traditional publishing (more than 10 novels with a traditional publisher, and consulting for other fellow authors). Read and learn, but...
