Accomplish Your Goals in New Mexico: Publish a Book
Today, we’re starting a fun and interesting new blog series on how to Accomplish Your Goals in New Mexico. Since October is National Book Month, and many New Mexicans dream of becoming published authors, let’s learn how you can publish a book in New Mexico.
Naturally, you have to start with something to publish. Maybe you love to construct a good mystery or know how to create an effective self-help book. Perhaps you’re a horror writer or one of New Mexico’s great poets. You might even be a hobbyist or an expert in something you’d like to share with the world. Some want to create a book of art or publish their family photos and genealogy for posterity. Whatever your passion is, if you want to publish a book, this is the perfect time to learn about the process.
Writing and finishing your book is the hardest part. If you can do that, you can make it through the publishing process. A nearly finished project could be published by the end of October. Otherwise, you could get started today and be promoting your own book by the time the next National Book Month comes around!
Different Options to Publish a Book in New Mexico
There’s more than one way to publish a book in New Mexico. There is the traditional publishing route, with a literary agent and publisher. Or there’s the self-publishing route, where you can take on the whole process yourself and self-publish your book. You might even choose to hire an affordable editor or content specialist to help with self-publishing, so you don’t have to do it alone.
Seek Editing Services Before You Publish a Book in New Mexico
No matter how you choose to publish a book in New Mexico, you’ll want a professional editor to ensure that your work is of the highest quality. Most freelance editors know exactly how to format and prepare manuscripts for self-publication. They can often walk you through the process or even handle all of the steps for you, according to your wishes and goals. An editor is important for many other reasons too.
If you’re publishing a book with personal stories, for example, you want an editor to advise you on the necessary considerations of such a venture, like considering anonymity for yourself or others. Writers find editors on freelance websites, like Upwork, where you can post your job and interview applicants before choosing one.
There are some pros and cons to traditional publishing and self-publishing. We’ll go over each process, and point out the advantages and disadvantages as we go, so you can make the right choice for you. If the traditional publishing route doesn’t appeal to you, then scroll down to learn more about self-publishing.
Publish a Book the Traditional Way in New Mexico
Traditional publishing is the way that almost all publishing was done before it became so simple for people to self-publish. It involves writing a query letter, submitting your work to a publisher, and hoping that they accept your work. Most publishers will only consider your project if you have a literary agent, so you’ll want to get started on the right path by contacting a New Mexico literary agent.
Find a New Mexico Literary Agent to Help Publish a Book
When you’re looking for a New Mexico literary agent to help you publish a book, you’ll want to have a list handy. It can be challenging and intimidating to write an intriguing query letter, and you’ll probably still be disappointed by rejection letters. The query letter proposes your idea, and you want it to grab the attention of the reader. Still, it may take time to get your foot in the door, and you’ll probably need to send query letters to multiple literary agents before you find one who is interested in your work.
Here are a few New Mexico literary agents to add to your list:
- JET Literary Associates, Inc. (Santa Fe)
- Hurley Media LLC (Santa Fe)
- Daniel Myers at Word|Link Literary (Santa Fe)
- Carol Franco at Kneerim, Williams & Bloom (Santa Fe)
- Jo Sauza at Sauza LLC (Santa Fe)
- Irene Webb Productions (Santa Fe)
You can also contact New Mexico publishing companies that accept submissions:
- Clear Light Publishing (Santa Fe)
- Soleyn Publishing (Albuquerque)
- Azro Press (Santa Fe)
- Museum of New Mexico Press (Albuquerque)
- Twin Palms Publishers (Santa Fe)
- Amador Publishers (Albuquerque)
Be Prepared for Rejection Letters when You Try to Publish a Book
The biggest downside to the traditional publishing route is getting through the initial steps of finding a literary agent and a publishing company. Many famous authors had to make it past several discouraging rejection letters before they found success. Some notable examples include Kurt Vonnegut, Stephen King, and Jack Kerouac.
Of course, there are tremendous advantages to the traditional way to publish your book. When you get a literary agent to accept your work, this agent will work on selling your book to publishers. Once your book is accepted by a publisher, you’ll get an up front advance on the work. This certainly doesn’t happen with self-publishing.
With traditional publishing, you will also have the benefit of a team of professionals to manage the editing, design, and marketing, without the need to invest in this up front. You can also expect to get better distribution and you’re more likely to find your book in stores and libraries.
If you’re concerned about those rejection letters, then give yourself a better outlook by reaching out to New Mexico’s Greenleaf Literary Services. Accomplished author and editor, William Greenleaf of Rio Rancho, New Mexico, offers a valuable and relatively unique service to new authors. He’ll set you up with a list of appropriate literary agents, make sure that you’re prepared to reach out to them, and give you the best chance of success.
Publish a Book via Self-Publishing in New Mexico
If you choose the route of self-publishing to publish your book, then the first thing you need to do after writing the book is to hire an editor. This isn’t a step that you want to skip. It’s not too difficult to find a freelance editor with online freelancing websites, as mentioned above. You can also seek out an individual or company with the experience, skills, and affordable fees to handle your project.
The next step is to decide if you want help with the self-publication process. Either way, ask your editor to format the book for eBook publication. They should ensure that your margins, headings, page size, images, and other elements of the work are properly formatted. If you’re doing the formatting on your own, learn how to manage each of these elements before you start. At this point, you need to choose a publishing platform.
The good news is that there are plenty of respected self-publishing platforms available that do not charge you anything up front to upload and publish your book. Rather, the price that you set on your completed book will include the fee for the publishing tool. Amazon’s CreateSpace is one of the more popular and user friendly options. Once you’ve chosen your platform, learn as much as you can about it. You can do this through research, watching tutorial videos, or asking for an editor’s advice.
Success is On You When You Self-Publish a Book
Self-publishing has the advantage of not requiring the approval or acceptance of a literary agent or publisher. You have creative freedom and control. Yet, there are a few disadvantages to self-publishing your book, too.
You won’t get paid anything up front. In fact, you won’t get paid at all unless you sell your book. You have to arrange your own marketing and encourage people to buy it. You also won’t have a publishing company to invest in the editing or design. You’ll have to take care of these things yourself, unless you hire help.
Hiring Help to Self-Publish a Book in New Mexico
Self-published authors frequently find that they are far more successful when they get the assistance and guidance of professionals who are experienced in self-publishing. Fortunately, there are motivated editors and content specialists, creative graphic designers, and brilliant marketing professionals to help.
Services like Flawless Content and NMCO Media can offer consultations and professional work on the content and cover design for your book.
Here are a few other resources for help with self-publishing in New Mexico:
- Blessingway Authors’ Services (Santa Fe)
- Nuevo Books (Albuquerque)
- Mercury Heartlink (Albuquerque)
Successful Self-Published Authors in New Mexico
Because self-publishing is something that everyone has access to, there is a common misconception that self-published authors are less successful than traditionally published authors. This couldn’t be further from the truth.
There are many people who self-publish work for their personal use and many others who do not manage to succeed at their goals. Yet, there are plenty of authors who do succeed with self-publishing, and they usually make even more money than their traditionally published peers. Many of them even become bestsellers! Meanwhile, 98% of writers who try traditional publishing never get published.
Here are just a few examples of successful self-published authors in New Mexico:
- Denys Cope (Santa Fe) – Won 2008 New Mexico Book Award for self-help book, Dying: A Natural Passage
- Chris Griscom (Galisteo) – Nominated for Templeton Prize for Progress in Religion, The Evolution of God
- Mary Chloe Schoolcraft Saunders (Albuquerque) – Won Writer’s Digest National Self Published Book Award, Spread Your Wings and Fly: An Origami Fold-and-Tell Story
- Julia Cameron (Santa Fe) – Set records in self-publishing, The Artist’s Way : a spiritual path to higher creativity
Celebrate Book Month by Publishing a Book
There’s no better time than the present to reach for one of your dreams and publish a book in New Mexico. Whether you go the traditional route or use self-publishing to accomplish your goals, there’s nothing stopping you from becoming New Mexico’s next great author. Get out there and publish your book! Then come back and share your link to purchase in the comments. We can’t wait to read your work!
Do you have another goal that you’d like to know how to accomplish in New Mexico? Do tell!
