Every aspiring or amateur writer’s goal is to sell his book to people and have a name in the world of literature. This means he has to publish his book.

Publishing is the process of producing and distributing literature or information so that such is available to the public. The source of this information is mostly from authors.

The biggest obstacle of aspiring writers who haven’t published any book yet is actually the book publishers themselves. Book publishers have protocols and standards to follow. They have set standards and a rigid manuscript selection process to make sure that the book sells; the bulk of their revenue comes from part of the book’s sales. Publishing a non- or poor-selling book can result to losses from printing expenses and a waste of space in warehousing.

Because of the intricacies of book publishing, it is important for a writer to know how to publish a book, how the publishing process works, and what tips to follow to ensure a bigger chance of his work being published.

Aspiring writers who are about to publish their work are advised to get book publishing guides which will help them about the details of publishing.

The cadre of book publishing guides starts with reference books, listing all the publishing houses in the country. The current edition of the Writer’s Market, which is available in many bookstores and libraries, is a very good and detailed reference book. Another reference book, the Literary Marketplace, provides a comprehensive list of book publishers, agents, and other resources in the publishing field.

Also get a copy of Jeff Herman’s Guide to Book Publishers, Editors, and Literary Agents. This book gives specific information on a selected number of agents and publishing houses and their subject preferences.

Agents usually request for a sample of your work, a synopsis, or your entire manuscript if you are writing fiction. Authors working on nonfiction material are expected to submit a proposal. There are excellent book publishing guides that tackles writing effective and persuasive proposals. One is Michael Larsen’s How to Write a Book Proposal. The other is Moira Allen’s Writer’s Guide to Queries, Pitches, and Proposals. There are also other book publishing guides that discuss the matter of making proposals such as Write the Perfect Book Proposal by Jeff Herman and Deborah Adams, The Shortest Distance Between You and a Published Book by Susan Page, and a website titled YouCanWrite.com.

Very few writers get published in a standard publishing house right away. To address the large number of writers who want a chance to be published, an alternative way of publishing is developed. This is called co-op publishing. Co-op publishers charge the author with fees for the production and publication of their work. In co-op publishing, the author pays the full cost of publication for a small number of books. This is different from traditional publishing that the author is totally dependent on the publisher’s decision to publish his work.

Most co-op firm produce books by print-on-demand (POD) technology and scheme. That means the books are produced in the exact quantities that are ordered. Thus co-op companies do not have to worry about warehousing.

For authors opting co-op publishing, there is another book publishing guide that can help them. Everything You Always Wanted to Know About POD Publishing by John Harnish provides authors with great tips on how to maximize exposure and sales of the book.

There are aspiring writers who have enough money to self-publish. Self-publishing means that the author becomes his own publisher; he makes the book design, selects the printing house, licenses his own book, and distributes it to bookstores. Two great book publishing guides for self publishing is the Complete Guide to Self Publishing by Tom and Marilyn Ross and Self Publishing Manual by Dan Poynter.