Publishing Paths for Writers: What Is Boutique Independent Publishing?

From Edie: Discover what boutique independent publishing is and how it compares to other publishing paths. Learn how this model gives authors full ownership, professional support, and long-term control of their work.

Publishing Paths for Writers: What Is Boutique Independent Publishing?

by PeggySueWells @PeggySueWells

Writers today have more publishing options than at any point in history, and that abundance can be both exciting and confusing. With so many paths available, many writers ask the same question: Which option actually serves the author’s goals and protects the work?

One option that is gaining attention among professional authors is boutique independent publishing. Understanding how it works can help you decide if this path fits your goals.

Publishing Paths for Writers: Understanding Done-for-You Publishing Services (Part 5)

From Edie: Learn how done-for-you publishing services work, what they include, and what authors should watch for. Understand costs, control, and key decisions before choosing this publishing path.

Publishing Paths for Writers: Understanding Done-for-You Publishing Services

By PeggySue Wells @PeggySueWells

Authors can choose from six publishing options to make their project available.

• Traditional Publishing
• Hybrid Publishing
• Independent Publishing
• Vanity Press
• Done For You Publishing Services
• Boutique Publishing

Done For You 

Also known as Do It For You publishing, Done For You services are designed to handle the administrative, operational, and technical parts of turning a manuscript into a book. This publishing option is a step between traditional publishing and true do-it-yourself independent publishing. Important for the author to know, the quality and ethics of these services vary widely, so do your homework before making your decision.

Publishing Paths for Writers: Understanding Vanity Presses Before You Sign (Part 4)

From Edie: Vanity presses can be confusing and costly. Learn what vanity presses are, how they work, and what authors should know before signing a publishing contract.

Publishing Paths for Writers: Understanding Vanity Presses Before You Sign

by PeggySue Wells @PeggySueWells

Today, authors have a variety of options when it comes to getting their book published, including traditional publishing, hybrid presses, independent publishing, vanity presses, self-publishing support services, and boutique publishing.

Hybrid publishing and vanity presses are frequently confused, yet there are significant differences between the two. All vanity presses are author-funded, but not all author-funded models are vanity presses.

Publishing Paths for Writers: Understanding Independent Publishing and Long-Term Control (Part 3)

From Edie: A clear, practical guide to independent publishing for writers, covering control, responsibility, and long-term strategy to help authors make informed career decisions.

Publishing Paths for Writers: Understanding Independent Publishing and Long-Term Control

by PeggySue Wells @PeggySueWells

Authors today have more options than ever before when it comes to bringing their work into the world. The publishing landscape has expanded well beyond the traditional gatekeepers, offering new pathways that didn’t exist even a decade ago.

Most authors encounter three primary routes: traditional publishing, hybrid publishing, and independent publishing. Each comes with its own tradeoffs. Understanding those tradeoffs is essential before making a decision that affects a single book, and potentially an entire writing career.

Publishing Paths for Writers: Understanding Your Options With Hybrid Publishing (Part 2)

From Edie: Learn how hybrid publishing works and whether it’s the right path for your book. This guide explains the hybrid model, its costs, benefits, and limitations, and how it compares to traditional and independent publishing so writers can make informed decisions about their publishing journey.

Publishing Paths for Writers: Understanding Your Options With Hybrid Publishing (Part 2)

by PeggySue Wells @PeggySueWells

Authors have several viable options to make their work available. 

Essentially, the three most common tracks are traditional publishing, hybrid publishing, or independent publishing.

Publishing Paths for Writers: Understanding Your Options with Traditional Publishing (Part 1)

From Edie: Discover what it really takes to secure a traditional book deal. This practical guide for writers explains agents, proposals, advances, royalties, platform expectations, and how to know if traditional publishing is the right path for your writing career.

Publishing Paths for Writers: Understanding Your Options with Traditional Publishing (Part 1)

by PeggySue Wells @PeggySueWells

Authors have more choices about how to feature their work than ever before. 

Essentially, the three most common tracks are traditional publishing, hybrid publishing, or independent publishing.

Traditional Publishing

Mastering Point of View: How to Fix Common POV Mistakes and Write More Compelling Stories

From Edie: Learn how to master point of view in your writing. Fix common POV mistakes, strengthen emotion, and craft compelling stories that keep readers hooked.

Mastering Point of View: How to Fix Common POV Mistakes and Write More Compelling Stories

by PeggySue Wells @PeggySueWells

How important is point of view to create compelling, page-turning, suspenseful projects? Take this pop quiz and see.

What is the issue most fixed by editors?

Point of view is the issue most fixed by editors. POV is complex and even skilled writers can occasionally shift in or out of POV without realizing it. Writers benefit from having a small circle of smart and loyal prereaders who can catch POV issues before the manuscript goes to the editor.

Struggling with a Weak Chapter? Try Rewriting from Another POV

From Edie: PeggySue shares how to revive flat scenes by shifting POV. Discover how choosing the character with the most at stake adds suspense, tension, and depth to your story.

Struggling with a Weak Chapter? Try Rewriting from Another POV

by PeggySue Wells @PeggySueWells

The plot is fueled by conflict, and conflict is often a matter of point of view. If your chapter lacks suspense and when a story is not working, try changing the POV. 

Consider who in the story has the most at stake. 

Writing Trends and POV Choices: How Storytelling Styles Evolve (and What Readers Want Now)

by PeggySue Wells @PeggySueWells

Writing, like hair styles and clothing fashions, follows trends. Writers must stay plugged into the industry and attend the occasional conference to stay up to date with what is popular in publishing. The alternative is become a dinosaur whose career drifts out of style.

In earlier years, writers were paid per word for their work. Writers like Victor Hugo who penned Les Miserables spent the first 100 pages describing lesser characters like the Priest who gives the main character, Jean Valjean, a second chance. 

Additionally, prior to television, readers were not as familiar with how places and activities looked. Herman Melville spent the better part of Moby Dick describing life in the American colonies and the practice of whaling. The advent of widespread television made a lot of description unnecessary. Through media, readers were now aware of what other countries and lifestyles looked like. 

A Writer Can Rely on the Unreliable Narrator POV

by PeggySue Wells @PeggySueWells

Point of View signifies who is telling or narrating the story. 

Occasionally, the reader is surprised to discover that the narrator is far from reliable. Yes, the narrator is relaying the tale but their POV is skewed. The slant can be caused from a variety of reasons. 

Be All-Seeing By Writing Third Person Omniscient

by PeggySue Wells @PeggySueWells

The Third Person Omniscient POV is told from a narrator who is all-knowing while not involved.

The cult classic, The Princess Bride, is a brilliant example of a tale told in Third Person Omniscient POV. The narrator, the grandfather, knows the actions, feelings, history, motivation, and thoughts of all the characters. Additionally, the narrator is privy to secret events and is not limited by space or time. 

Writing in Third Person Omniscient POV, the narrator shares freely about everyone and everything in the story. The narrator is not limited by space, time, or view to know anything about the workings of the tale. 

Fourth Person May Be The Least Used POV

by PeggySue Wells @PeggySueWells

Fourth Person POV is characterized by the pronouns Anyone, Anybody, One, One's, Oneself, Somebody, and Someone.

In the commercial industry of professional writing, Fourth Person may be the least used point of view. This POV does little to assign responsibility or ownership for actions, opinions, or possessions. 

No Objections to Third Person Objective POV

by PeggySue Wells @PeggySueWells

In Third Person Objective POV, the author narrates what happens without sharing the character’s thoughts or feelings.

This perspective is characterized by the pronouns He, She, and They.

In stories told in Third Person Objective POV, the narrator is a neutral entity, relying on observations of characters rather than seeing from the character's head. The tale is told as if the author is a fly on the wall, a mouse in the corner, or a non-participating person in the background who is free to observe. 

Learn the Craft of Writing: The Three Lives of Third Person POV

by PeggySue Wells @PeggySueWells

Third Person POV is characterized by pronouns He and She, They, and It.

In the Third Person point of view, the author tells the story of different characters. The story unfolds through the POV of one character at a time. 

When using more than one character to tell the story, the author does not need to vary the chapters equally, or always bounce from the hero to the antagonist and back again every other chapter. Instead, the author is free to tell the story in the most compelling fashion. The reader is not counting which character has the most chapters in their POV. 

The First Paragraph Leads to the First Chapter

by PeggySue Wells @PeggySueWells

Take a look at your manuscript. Does your first line compel the reader to take in the first paragraph? Is the opening paragraph an incentive to read the first chapter? 

The Places You’ll Go in Your Writing With Second Person POV

by PeggySue Wells @PeggySueWells

The flavor of Second Person POV is distinctive. 

One familiar example is found in the book most often given as a gift to high school and college graduates, Oh, The Places You'll Go! 

Popular children's books author Dr. Seuss used Second Person POV in this classic when he wrote

“You have brains in your head.

You have feet in your shoes.

You can steer yourself any direction you choose.

You're on your own.

And you know what you know.

And YOU are the one who'll decide where to go...”

Second Person POV uses the pronouns You, Yours, and Yourself. 

Writing in First Person Personal, The POV Jefferson Used To Write The Preamble

by PeggySue Wells @PeggySueWells

First Person Plural POV is one of four subcategories under the category of First Person POV.

While the pronouns I, me, my, and mine are found in First Person Epistolary, Flashback, and Cinematic, as the name implies First Person Plural shares events from a group of people. First Person Plural uses We and Us, Our and Ourselves.

Make the Story You Write Read Like A Film With First Person Cinematic POV

by PeggySue Wells @PeggySueWells

A writer’s most important job is to elicit emotion in the reader.

Beyond being the single issue most often fixed by editors, Point of View is possibly the most powerful tool used by a storyteller to evoke emotion in the reader.

First Person Cinematic is one of the nine forms of POV at a writer’s disposal. As the name implies, the Cinematic perspective narrates the story in manner that simulates the experience of a viewer watching a film. The author writes with the focus trained on the characters, reporting what they say and do. 

How to Write First Person POV: Flashback

by PeggySue Wells @PeggySueWells

Point of View encompasses the narrator's position in relation to a story being told.

Who is the narrator or storyteller? Essentially, there are four categories of point of view. Within those four, a couple have subcategories. 

Learn to Elicit Emotion Through Point of View When You Write

by PeggySue Wells @PeggySueWells

Point of View may be the most efficient and effective tool a writer wields to elicit emotion in the reader. 

Who is the narrator or storyteller of the project? Essentially, there are four categories of point of view. Within those four, a couple have subcategories. 

Point of View Categories for Writers

• First Person
• Epistolary
• Flashback
• Cinematic
• Plural

• Second person

• Third person
• Limited
• Objective 
• Omniscient

• Fourth person

First Person POV is a story told from the character’s viewpoint. Characterized by the words I, Me, My, and Mine, the story unfolds as seen solely through the eyes of the central character.

Within the category of First Person, John Erickson is a master. Author of the multi-book Hank the Cowdog series, Erickson begins and ends each of his adventures with the same phrase. Head of Ranch Security, Hank the Cowdog opens each detective case with, “It’s me again, Hank the Cowdog.” Each book concludes with Hank the Cowdog declaring, “Case closed.”

Huckleberry Finn from The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain is self-aware about his role as a teller of his own story, mentioning the existence of the book The Adventures of Tom Sawyer within the narrative.

An advantage to First Person POV is the reader can connect with the character when experiencing life through the character’s eyes, emotions, and thoughts. Readers consider:

• Would I feel the same in this situation?
• What does the character not know or understand?
• Are the conclusions of the character accurate?

In nonfiction writing, first-person POV provides curiosity, credibility, and integrity when the author is an expert in their field. Militant peacemaker and author Jamie Winship speaks from experience in his book, Living Fearless: Exchanging the Lies of the World for the Liberating Truth of God. “If you endeavor to love God with your soul, life becomes nearly unimaginable—the impossible moves into the sphere of possibility. If you endeavor to love God with your body, you will physically change. You will look different. You will move beyond being well into being fit.”

First-person POV can feel intimate and immediate as the reader experiences the story from inside the narrator's head. This angle can hook the reader into the character's plight such as when the main character is betrayed or finds true love. Simultaneously, the author is limited to reveal plot points only within the narrator’s knowledge without exploring the thoughts or motivations of other characters. 

In the book, Christy, by Catherine Marshall, the reader shares Christy’s curiosity around who calls her back from joining Fairlight. “From a great distance, someone was calling my name. The voice was familiar. Whose? I did not want to hear it. The voice was a weight pulling me backward, drawing me away from the light. I would ignore it.”

Alongside Christy in this final scene of the beloved novel, the reader shares the exquisite surprise Christy feels to learn who truly loves her. “So his was the voice that called me back, Dr. MacNeill’s. He needed me. He loved me. He loved me like that.”

Within First Person POV are four subcategories.

• Epistolary
• Flashback
• Cinematic
• Plural

POV is the tool a writer wields to collaborate with and tell the story in the most compelling manner.

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PeggySue Wells is the bestselling author of 40 books and collaborator of many more. Action and adventure, romantic suspense, military romance, and cozy mystery are the page-turning novels by P.S. Wells, including Homeless for the Holidays, Chasing Sunrise, The Patent, and Unnatural Cause. How to live better, easier, and simpler is the focus of her nonfiction including The Ten Best Decisions A Single Mom Can Make. Founder of SingleMomCircle.com, PeggySue coaches writing and speaks at events and conferences. When not writing, she parasails, skydives, snorkels, scuba dives, rides horses, and has taken (but not passed) pilot training. Connect with her at www.PeggySueWells.com, on Facebook at PeggySue Wells, and LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/peggysuewells