I'm not interested in making money, and I'd be surprised (though delighted) to get more than a few thousand readers / listeners. So what's the point of going to a publisher, exactly?
At least until you have something
really solid that you can stand behind and have the confidence to put out there through a publisher, you're better off self publishing. My first works were done completely via self publishing, and like you said, there's really not a lot of money in it. I ended up spending much more money giving my stuff away than I ever made in royalties
by far. This is an attractive option for those seeking to gain experience in how the industry works or if you would just rather publish and distribute on your own (not to say you can't make a dollar if you're well versed in distribution, marketing etc) It's a great crash course in what it takes to publish your works, once you can do it yourself, write /record a few pieces that you are okay with and just throw them out there. There are several self publishing companies that will guide you through the process (for a production fee of course), but they can put your product on channels like amazon globally, put your book in smaller shops, create ebooks etc. Get your name out there, build a portfolio. I was lucky enough to escape any debt, but I certainly paid a price for self publishing, which I wasn't really opposed to. I figured I had to start
somewhere.
If you stick with it, develop your craft and become comfortable with it, then big name or even independent publishers might pique an interest in your work. Both the writing industry and music industry are BRUTAL and come with lots of competition. If you feel that you're ready for the next step, submit demos and manuscripts to every place you can get ahold of.
The Writer's Almanac is a great source for this. I'm not quite there yet myself, I see plenty of self published works for me in the future, but Im quite a mediocre writer and feel like I need several more publications before I feel like I'm ready to start the publisher submission process. I'm in my mid-late 20s now, and feel I'll be well into my 30s/40s before anything I produce will be taken seriously on a commercial scale. I don't know your skill level, but what I took from the whole process is that unless you have the money to spend on professional editors, advertisement, distribution channel packages that won't complete screw you over, and the raw appeal to readers/listeners, it's going to take a very long time to get anywhere self publishing. It's not an impossibility, but sadly it's likely improbable.
If you choose the publisher route, submitting manuscripts to publishers in certainly a first step (again, The Writer's Almanac is a great resource) . You may also want to consider a REAL literary agent, a list of which can also be found in the almanac lol. You don't have to pay them a dime until a book is signed, in which they will take a small fee from your royalties. This also comes with a lot of creative forfeiture, you're basically signing your rights over to a publication company, but the money and exposure is certainly a balance to that.
I suppose it all comes down to what you want out of your art. Self publishing is a long and strenuous road, while publishers will set you right up with the connections you need if your product is good enough at the expense of your creative control they will
sell your book for you.. For example, I could write 10k words tomorrow and have it published and ready for sale the next day. Your publisher with have certain stipulations, regulations and oversight. Honestly, I hope to become good enough one day to find the right publisher, produce good content and ride the gravy train for as long as I can. But like I said, I'm a long, long way away from this.
