You see an opportunity to contribute a chapter to a compilation book. It sounds exciting. Before you say yes, here’s what to consider.
Yes, a chapter in a compilation book makes you a published author. And it can be a great way to lead you to the next step: a book of your own.
A compilation book, sometimes called an anthology, gathers chapters from many authors under one title. The person coordinating this project picks the theme and invites the contributors. From this point, the person may oversee all aspects of creating and self-publishing the book or may work with a publisher who assumes responsibility for part of the steps.
You write one chapter.
Understanding the Difference between Collaboration Books and Texts from Traditional Publishers
Collaboration Book Model
In a collaboration book, authors help to subsidize the cost of editing and publishing the book. When the editor self-publishes the book, they receive the fees from the authors and the revenue generated by book sales. They handle all the editing, layout, cover design, marketing, and book launch activities.
The author typically receives no portion of the book sales and may purchase copies of the book at a discount to sell or give away.
I’ve been the editor of six self-published collaboration books – five volumes of Medical Record Analysis and one on starting a business.
The editor may work with a publisher who pays for all the publishing steps. In an entrepreneurial model, the editor and publisher work out how the editor is compensated, depending on the type of publisher involved in the project and the role of the editor.
Traditional Textbook Model
In a book published by a traditional publisher, when the editor recruits and oversees the work of the people providing chapters, the editor receives royalties (typically 10-12% of the price of the book.) The publisher pays for the editing, layout, printing, marketing, and distribution of the book.
The author typically pays nothing to be included in the book and may purchase copies of the book at a discount to sell or give away. Authors usually don’t receive any royalties from the book sales.
Beginning in 1995, I began helping Lawyers and Judges Publishing Company as an editor for several medical legal textbooks, some of which went into four editions. I edited the chapters before I turned them over to the publishing company, and then they had their own team of editors work on the files. Some of the larger books required co-editors, and we worked together to get the books completed, and share in the royalties.
I assisted my professional association by volunteering as the chief editor of our textbook, Principles and Practices of Legal Nurse Consulting, Second Edition. I oversaw the work of my associate editors, each of whom had a set of authors to recruit and manage.
Is it Worthwhile to be in a Compilation Book?
If someone has invited you to contribute to a compilation book, you may be asking yourself:
- Will this make me an author?
- Is one chapter enough to attract clients?
- Who decides what happens to my words?
- What should I expect to pay to be included?
- How will this get me closer to my own book?
Every one of those deserves an answer before you sign. The last one matters most. Here’s how to weigh the rest.
What a compilation book does well
- It gets your name in print without a year of work. One chapter takes weeks, not the year or more a full book can take. The editor or publishing company also handles the cover, the layout, and the publishing details you would otherwise have to learn on your own. For a busy professional, it may be the only writing project that fits on the calendar right now.
- It hands you a deadline and an editor. Many books stall because there is no firm deadline. In a compilation book, the editor is waiting, and so are the other authors. You’ll finish your chapter because people are counting on you.
- It opens doors. My first book was translated into Spanish, and a school of nursing in Spain invited me to speak. How would those students and faculty ever have gotten to know me unless I had a book and my name was on the book? A chapter creates opportunities. It gives you a reason to send a prospect something with your name in it. Each contributor also promotes the book to their own contacts, so your chapter reaches readers who have never heard of you.
- It can build relationships. Your chapter in a book gives you visibility with the other authors, which can lead to additional collaborations and consultations. For example, one of my authors received an invitation to contribute a chapter to a prestigious textbook because of the relationship she built with another author.
Where a compilation book falls short
- You don’t control the edit. The editor sets the style, and your chapter gets fitted to it. My first published article, in 1980, was copyedited until I couldn’t find a single sentence I had written. That was the style of that particular journal. Ask before you sign how much of your chapter can change. Also, consider the idea that your work may need extensive editing. The role of the editor is to make you look good, and you may be required to put your ego aside and accept extensive rewrites. Not every author I’ve managed understood this.
- Your publication date depends on the slowest author. In one of my books, one author responsible for two chapters held the publication up for six months while she was overseas serving as a trauma surgeon on a battlefield. All the authors in that book had to wait for her. You can’t make anyone else hit a deadline, including the editor.
- The book isn’t yours. The editor’s name usually goes on the cover, and readers see one title with a stack of chapters inside.
- You won’t get rich on the book sales. I laughingly tell people I’ve made about 35 cents an hour in royalties from my own books. But the doors my books have opened have generated millions of dollars in revenue. Your payback is in the opportunities, and that becomes your compensation for investing in the project.
Before you say yes
Get answers to these questions:
- Who owns the rights to your chapter, and for how long
- Whether you can reuse the chapter later, including in a book of your own
- What you’ll pay and what that fee covers
- Who the other contributors are, and how the book will be marketed
- When the book is due out
A chapter is a start of your publishing credentials, not a substitute
An author contributes to a compilation book, holds the printed copy, and feels the urge to write a book expand. It often stimulates the desire to go further and write their own book. I’ve seen it be the encouragement they need to take on more books. Don’t let the chapter become the reason your own book can wait another year, and then another.
Used well, a chapter is a test run. You learn whether you can write to a deadline, and how it feels when an editor changes your words. You find out whether your topic holds up across a few thousand words, or whether it warrants a whole book. And you get a sample of your writing you can hand to a prospect while the bigger book takes shape.
So go back to that last question. Will this chapter get you closer to your own book?
Write the chapter if it moves you toward your own book. Skip it if it hands you one more reason to put your book off.
Authors work with me as a book coach to help them accomplish their goal of getting that book written. Reach me through the contact form at patiyer.com. and if you’d like to participate in a compilation book, let’s talk about how I can help you.
Pat Iyer MSN RN LNCC is a consultant, speaker, author, editor, and book coach. She has written or edited 73 of her own books and worked with dozens of authors as an editor and book coach.