Tips for the Writing Journey
By Martin Wiles
My rights have been returned!
Wait a minute. The rights for two books I signed over to the publishing company. The rights they accepted. Now, they were returning them? What exactly did that mean? That my two books would no longer be available? What about the separate year-long journeys of edits and re-edits I made? And what about all the time I had invested in writing them? And who could forget the waiting game I played—on editorial suggestions, on design, on production. Then came the day when I finally held a copy of each book, along with the excitement that I had written what lay inside the covers. Now, it was all over.
I emailed my executive editor, who was a successful novelist, writing coach, and inspirational article writer. Also, a friend. I needed comfort … reassurance. Was I finished as a writer?
“What they’ve done is typical,” she emailed back. “About two years is the life span for an inspirational book. If it’s any comfort, they returned my rights too.” (One of her books had been published by the same company as mine). My books had exceeded the norm by one year. I guess something could be said for that. Maybe, I wasn’t washed up after all.
Did she say they had returned her rights? Her words of comfort made me feel better. If she—as a moderately successful writer—could have rights returned, then maybe … just maybe … I shouldn’t put away my pen and paper just yet.
A few months before receiving this news, I had learned about the fate of my first three books—published with another company. One I had recently learned was not that reputable. Perhaps, I should have examined that entity more carefully, but I was a newbie to the publishing world. I had not heard anything about royalties in a long time. When I googled my three books on Amazon, I noticed their prices had gone through the roof.
I typed the publisher’s url address in my search bar. Nothing. So, I asked god … the little god—Google. The company had been bought out by another company that declared bankruptcy shortly after making the purchase. The problem? They had not returned the book rights to any author. Lawsuits ensued. My first three books were unavailable, and I could not submit those manuscripts to any other publisher for fear the original publication company might sue me if they found out.
On top of that sad news came the news about the rights for my next two books from a reputable publisher being returned. Was there no saving grace? Fortunately, the owner of that publishing company was a friend. I emailed him to see if I had any options. He suggested Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing. He even offered to complete the set-up process for me. Within a few weeks, my two rights-returned books made their appearance on Amazon.
Does any relief exist in this madhouse world of publishing? Sure. Write another book and either try the same publishing company again or look for a different one. I did, and within the year, I had another manuscript ready to offer to another interested publisher, which I soon found. And within another year, I was opening my box of 100 copies of my next book. And hopefully this year, I will hold in my hand a copy of my newest.
I display a copy of each of my books in my classroom. Sometimes, students remark, “You have written six books?” As if they wonder why I am still teaching since I am such a successful author. They’re too young to understand the writing world completely. The world where most writers—and other artists—starve if they quit their day jobs and try to do full-time what they love most in life.
So, what are my tips for writers who’ve had the rights to their book returned?
Instead of fretting, be glad the publishing company has returned your rights. If they don’t, you’ll find yourself stuck as I am with the first three books I had published. As the lawsuits against the now-defunct publishing company make their snail’s pace through the legal shuffle, I have three dormant books that no one will ever read unless the lawsuits are someday settled and the rights returned to all the authors. Having the rights to our books returned—although we might find the process humiliating—is much better than the alternative of a dead book.
Treat your returned rights as a fresh start. Rights returned also means manuscript returned. Your manuscript. Not the publishing company’s manuscript anymore. By now, you have probably found a few typos or noticed some other things you would like to revise or add. Feel free. It is your manuscript. Do with it as you wish. Our writing improves over time, so take this as an opportunity to improve your manuscript. Don’t file it.
Self-publish. Self-publishing was once considered the type of publishing done by writers whose writing was below industry standards and who could not secure an agent or a publisher for their work. Not anymore. And since your manuscript has been returned, you are ahead of the game. Your manuscript has already been edited, which saves you the cost of hiring someone to do the job. Pay for a good cover design (if the publishing company won’t sell or give you the original one), and head on over to Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing. The program will walk you through formatting and other necessary steps to get your book back up and running. You won’t get rich, but it will get your work back in the book market.
Send your manuscript out to agents or publishers not requiring agents. Do the research. Find reputable small, medium, and large publishers. Read their submission guidelines. Follow them closely, as you did when you originally submitted your manuscript. Let them know the manuscript was previously published, but that you have made revisions and that your rights to the work have been returned. They may want you to provide information on how the book sold when it was on the market and proof that you have the returned rights.
Put the manuscript’s material on your website or blog. A book is never dead unless we want it to be. This may take creativity on your part, depending on what type of genre you have written, but it can be done. The world can see your work, regardless of whether a publisher has distributed it or not.
Don’t let rejection or returned rights get you down. Your book was meant for someone, even if that someone is only one person.
Martin Wiles is the founder of Love Lines from God (www.lovelinesfromgod.com) and serves as Managing Editor for Christian Devotions, Senior Editor for Inspire a Fire, Proof Editor for Courier Publishing and Assistant Editor for Vinewords.net. He has authored seven books and has been published in numerous publications. His most recent book, Don’t Just Live…Really Live released in October 2021. He is a freelance editor, English teacher, author, and pastor. You can follow him at https://www.facebook.com/martin.n.michelle and at https://twitter.com/linesfromgod.