Good morning everyone. Today’s blog post is courtesy of Sue Collier. See her bio below.<\/p>\n
You\u2019ve written your manuscript and you\u2019ve decided that self-publishing is your best option for getting into print. What\u2019s your next step?<\/p>\n
A Google search on \u201cself-publishing\u201d or \u201cPOD self-publishing\u201d will bring up ads and websites for companies like iUniverse, AuthorHouse, Trafford, Xlibris, and Outskirts Press. Unfortunately, not one of those companies will enable you to actually \u201cself\u201d publish. All are vanity presses masquerading as self-publishers. Most serious self-publishers who plan to make a profit should steer clear. Why?<\/p>\n
The main reason is that these companies are simply a \u201cmiddleman\u201d between you and the print-on-demand printer they use (usually Lightning Source). These companies mark up their printing costs, then pay you a small percentage of sales (they call it a \u201croyalty). This also usually inflates the price of the book, often so much so it\u2019s impossible to be competitive with other books in the same genre.
\nSomething else most authors don\u2019t realize\u2014often until it\u2019s too late\u2014is that these companies are the publisher of record on their books. Hence, the books are not self-published. And once you\u2019ve got the Outskirts Press\u2014or others of their ilk\u2014imprint on your book, it\u2019s like the kiss of death in the publishing world. The books are generally expected to be poorly edited and are usually badly designed. Sales are dismal\u2014less than 50 copies might be sold (and usually those are sold to the author).<\/p>\n
To truly self-publish and to make the most profit from your book, you need to be the publisher of record. You can do that by buying your own block of ISBN (International Standard Book Number) from Bowker. Having your own ISBNs now makes it possible for you to go to a POD (or offset) printer directly\u2014no middleman required. You\u2019ll need to start up a publishing company\u2014not nearly as complicated as it sounds\u2014because Bowker (as well as Lightning Source\u2014more on that later) works with publishers not authors.<\/p>\n
Once you\u2019ve got your publishing company name and ISBNs, then what? Your best bet is to find professionals to help you with the book production process so you can take the book to a printer yourself. Ask around to other authors who have truly self-published to see who they\u2019ve used. You\u2019ll definitely want to hire an editor to edit your book and a graphic artist to design your book cover; skimping on these two areas may mean a significantly lower quality book. Outfits such as Outskirts, AuthorHouse, and the like offer these services, but they are almost always poorly done. Books are often full of errors and covers tend to be your choice of a picture and a font (so another book could have your exact same cover with a different title). These books are pretty much unmarketable; even worse, they may put the author\u2019s reputation at risk.<\/p>\n
Once your book is ready for print (either ebook or paper book) I recommend either CreateSpace (owned by Amazon.com) or Lightning Source (owned by wholesale giant Ingram). Many self-publishers think they need to work with an outfit such as Lulu or Fast Pencil in order to get their books printed digitally (POD); that\u2019s not true. Both CreateSpace and Lightning Source work directly with self-publishers\u2014no middleman required. A 200-page book would cost $9.30 to manufacture at Fast Pencil; the same book costs only $3.50 at Lightning Source. Why spend almost $6 more per book?
\nI\u2019ll be self-publishing Jump Start Your Books Sales, 2nd Edition, this summer, and my plan is to go to Lightning Source. Although they have higher setup fees than CreateSpace, they offer better distribution to the trade. If you only want to sell your books through Amazon and you plan to release just one title, CreateSpace might be your best bet.<\/p>\n
Educate yourself on exactly what you are getting into before you sign any dotted lines. Make sure you understand the difference between subsidy publishing and true self-publishing before deciding on your best way to get your book into print. <\/p>\n
Self-publishing expert SUE COLLIER is coauthor of The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing,5th Edition (Writer\u2019s Digest Books, 2010) and the forthcoming Jump Start Your Books Sales, 2nd Edition (Communication Creativity, 2011). She has been working with authors and small presses for nearly two decades, providing writing, editing, production, and promotions work for hundreds of book projects. Visit her self-publishing blog at Self-Publishing Resources. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Good morning everyone. Today’s blog post is courtesy of Sue Collier. See her bio below. You\u2019ve written your manuscript and you\u2019ve decided that self-publishing is your best option for getting into print. What\u2019s your next step? A Google search on \u201cself-publishing\u201d or \u201cPOD self-publishing\u201d will bring up ads and websites for companies like iUniverse, AuthorHouse, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[3],"tags":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t