Hi {{first_name}} ,

If you’ve followed this series, you’d have done some real thinking this month.

Two issues ago, we walked through the three routes: traditional, self-publishing, and hybrid/assisted.
Last time we asked three questions: What is this book for? How much control do you want to keep? How much of the work do you want to carry?

Today is the part most writers skip. It usually arrives right when the excitement peaks: the moment someone offers to publish your book.

“For which of you, intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?” (Luke 14:28)

A book is a kind of tower. Having a message is the foundation. But the full structure, what people get to see and read, is the part many writers don’t think about or fully understand.

So, how much of the “book structure” do you actually know?

Whatever publishing route you choose, at some point, you’ll be handed an agreement (digital or physical): a publishing contract, a hybrid package, a service quote, or a platform’s terms.

Here are five questions we want every Keset writer to answer before signing anything:

1. Who owns the rights, and for how long?
Check which rights you’re granting (print, ebook, audio, translation) and whether there’s a clear way to get them back if the book goes out of print or the relationship ends.

2. Whose name is on the ISBN?
Whoever registers the ISBN is listed as the publisher of record. If you’re self-publishing and want to be the publisher, the ISBN should be in your name.

3. What exactly am I paying for?
Ask for an itemised list. Editing, cover design, formatting, distribution and marketing are separate pieces of work, and a neat bundle can hide which parts are thin.

4. How do the royalties get to me?
Find out whether sales flow to you directly from retailers or through the company first, how often you’re paid, and what sales reports you’ll see.

5. Who decides?
From the title, to cover, to price, to the release date. Whatever you sign should match the control you said you wanted.
Go back to your answer to last issue’s second question.

Note: This isn’t legal advice. If you’re about to sign anything, have a qualified adviser look it over.

These five questions matter most once you know your route. If you’re still weighing your options, we built something for you.

Find Your Book’s Best Publishing Path is a free quiz that takes under five minutes. It turns the three questions from our last issue into simple choices about your book: what it’s for, how much control you want, and how much of the work you want to carry. At the end, you’ll see which route fits your book best, why it fits, what to watch out for, and your next steps.

Take the quiz → keset.ink/publishing-route-quiz

Your turn
Have you ever been handed an agreement for your book or any creative work, and felt unsure what you were signing? Hit reply and tell us the one question you wish you’d asked. It might shape what we cover on the 13th.

Keep writing, and keep counting the cost,

Esther
Founder, Keset

P.S.: Know someone who keeps saying “one day I’ll publish my book”? Forward them this email, or just send them the quiz: keset.ink/publishing-route-quiz. Five minutes could be the start of finally getting that message out.