What Publishers Actually Do for Authors
7 Essential Services Traditional Publishers Provide to Every Author
Michelle Richmond is the New York Times bestselling author of nine books of fiction, including The Marriage Pact, The Year of Fog, and The Wonder Test. Subscribe to The Caffeinated Writer to get publishing insights, essays on the craft of fiction, and expert advice on building an author platform delivered to your inbox.
What is the relationship between publishers and authors? And what do traditional publishers actually do for authors? There’s a misconception that publishers do almost nothing for most authors. One viral Substack article claimed that that most non-celebrity, non-franchise authors working under the traditional publishing model will reach about “a dozen readers.” Just from a common sense standpoint, this isn’t remotely true. Why would publishers invest time, money, and staff in a book that will sell a dozen copies? (Lincoln Michel of Counter Craft offers a more realistic perspective on the “nobody buys books anymore” claim.)
In this post, I’d like to share what publishers actually do for authors, and what they’ve done for me. I’ve been one of those authors with a tiny advance from a small press, and I’ve also been a “bestselling” author with six-figure advances from a Big 5 publisher.
At every stage of my career, publishers have done things I couldn’t afford to do for myself, things I didn’t have time to do, and things I could not have have done with any amount of time or money.
This is definitely not to say that traditional publishing is the only path, or even the best path, for most writers. I understand it’s tough to break in. I also understand that many writers prefer the immediacy of serializing on Substack, self-publishing, or hybrid publishing. So this post isn’t about what you or any other writer should do. It’s only about what traditional publishers do, and have done, for writers for many decades.
What Publishers Do
There’s a ton of misinformation about what publishers do and don’t do. When I commented about services publishers provide on a different article, a reader replied that these services “certainly” aren’t for a first-time author “who doesn't know how to market, doesn't have his own marketing budget since he's barely making ends meet, and doesn't have the knowhow or time to figure it out...”
But in fact, yes, these services are provided free of charge for all authors whose books are published by a traditional publisher—regardless of the size of the advance or the author’s follower count.
If the publisher has decided to publish your book, they’re not going to decide, “oh, this person doesn’t get an editor” or “we’re not submitting any review copies” just because it’s a debut book! They certainly don’t decide not to cover printing costs just because you don’t understand marketing! It just doesn’t work that way.
Upgrade to learn:
7 Things All Traditional Publishers Do for Authors
Additional Services depending on the size of the publisher and the budget for your book
How publishers support “small” books by unknown authors
The other traditional publisher: university presses
How traditional publishing helps authors generate additional income streams beyond the book itself