Self Publishing Recommendations
I am about to (finally) publish my first book. I have decided to self-publish and would like some help and recommendations.
- What sites/companies do you recommend I use? Why.
- What sites/companies do you recommend I stay away from? Why.
- What is something you had to learn the hard way that could save me time?
- Did you copyright your content? If so, advise please.
- What am I forgetting to ask?
Thank you in advance for all of your help!
Good Answers (5)
Shawn G.
Savage and Greene
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I, too, agree with Sue Collier.
Buy your own editor and layout person (if desired); definitely hire a proofreader and graphic artist for the cover.
Buy your own ISBN and be sure to put the bar code and price where it should be. Dan's book will help. Short run printers have the scoop on placement, too.
To buy ISBNs, google "ISBN" and go to the Bowker Link page. When you buy them, you also set yourself up as a publisher. If you want to create a separate publisher name, you can do that by filing a fictitious name statement in your county. Easy peasy.
Shop for "short run" printers. I recommend United Graphics. For graphic design on the cover, I recommend Michel Bohbot. (He didn't design the front cover for my book, but did the back and is great.)
Print a limited number for your first run, even though it's more expensive. That way if you find errors or something you're not stuck with inventory.
Check out Amazon's "Advantage" program and be sure to produce the book so it meets those basic requirements. You'll have to submit it for approval, as well.
As soon as you put something in print, it's copyrighted. However, you can go one step further and copyright it through the US copyright office. Also easy peasy.
See if there are any groups of small and self-published people in your area. I've shown on the the SF area.
Let's see... avoiding mistakes...here are some from some self-published friends:
Ask the printer for book sizes that fit most paper. Strange sizes cost more.
Price your book as per the price of other books on the same topic.
A larger book is neat, but costs more to ship and so you earn less. (My latest error.)
Now go out there and make some terrific mistakes of your own. And have fun with your book!!
Links:
Hi Mel--I highly recommend you stay away from the so-called "POD self-publishers." Books "self-published" that way generally sell only about 50 to 100 copies. Better to go the genuine self-publishing route if you intend to make your book available nationally. By "genuine" I mean starting your own publishing imprint; obtaining your own block of ISBNs; and contracting with vendors for editing, indexing, and interior and cover design. You may also want to obtain help with distribution, and a marketing and promotions plan.
For what it's worth--when you go the traditional publishing route, publishers do not generally put much money and effort into marketing and promoting efforts. Unless you are already a celebrity, the majority of it will be left up to the author. So you might as well self-publish and keep all of the profits.
Links:
Allen R. K.
Writing Coach, Editor, Ghostwriter, PTSD & Trauma Expert
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Hi Mel:
Wow. Lots of varied opinions here. Let's get real... and I have to agree with Sue Collier. POD is not self-publishing. It is a convenient way to get your words "out there." The POD folks get their money upfront. And then when you want to sell or give away a book, you pay again, at least 50% of the cover price. As a result, there's little if anything left over for you to give a bookstore or organization a discount. You do not own the ISBN. The publishing company is not yours.
If you really want to "self-publish", read about independent publishing. Read Dan Poynter's book on self-publishing.
And most of all, make sure your work has been edited by a professional. Write out a marketing plan. And get your book properly copyrighted through the U.S. LIbrary of Congress copyright office.
My best advice--the same I offer my clients--don't be in such a big hurry to get your book published. Once it's out there, your name is on it and you want to be sure it is targeted to your audience and extremely well written. You don't want to have regrets later when you can do nothing about it.
If you'd like to talk about what direction you should go, I'd be happy to talk to you (no charge). I'm not excluding POD, but it's important to know what it is and what it can give you and what you have to pay for. (520) 616-7643.
Best of success,
Allen
Links:
Mel,
I think it all depends on what you want to achieve by publishing your book. Who is it for, what kind of book will it be... And why you have chosen to Self Publish over working with a Publisher.
If you self publish the copyright will remain with you, if you involve a publisher you sign all or some of the rights to them to work on your behalf.
Some options
a) You find yourself a printer, and simply ‘print’ rather than publish your book. All you have to do is supply them with pdf files, one for the text and the other the cover. You can print your book Digital or Litho (my preferred method) Paperback, Hardback and many variations of both of these... Lightning Source are probably a good company for a straight print.
b) You could become a ‘publisher’ buy your own ISBN’s and print as above. You can then market and sell your book.
c) Find a company who will help advise you on all aspects of the publishing company, offering you a package you are happy with. CPI offers these kinds of services, they are friendly and will be happy to offer you advice at any stage.
d) There is also the eBook format to consider, marketing and cost wise this is something worth thinking about.
A few other thoughts
In producing your PDF, ensure all produce as high a resolution as possible, especially if printing Digital. Choose your cover with care, and take as much advice as possible. Pay attention to the margins, font style, spacing... many publishers have ‘Authors guides’ that you could perhaps look at.
Marketing, perhaps consider hosting your own small website, for which you can make sales, getting your book details listed on various book information sites is key to enable you book to be ‘found’.
I think everything else has probably been covered in the other responses.
Good Luck
Francesca
Gretchen H.
Writer, editor, book doctor, writers' conference speaker, business English trainer
Let's take these one at a time. After six traditionally published books, I used Booksurge (soon to be CreateSpace) for Back Again to Me. They were ideal to work with and I recommend them highly. I researched others, but based on what people told me of their self-publishing experiences, this was the choice I made.
What is important to know is that self-publishing or POD places really don't care if your book sells. Once it's in print and ready to be distributed, they've made their money. Most of the so-called "marketing" they do is a joke. So be prepared to market, promote, and handsell your book--relentlessly. It's a full-time job.
Remember that if/when you use a POD house, you don't have to buy a "package." Some of the packages include services you don't want or need, so work with your consultant to design your own publishing program. That's what I liked about Booksurge. They told me upfront there were certain services I could dispense with, and it would be better to save the dollars and put them toward other things that were more important to me.
As an independent editor/book doctor myself, I decided against their editorial services in favor of my own. Are there a couple of proofreading mistakes in the book? Yep, which is unfortunate, but not fatal, and most people won't even notice them. I should have given the book to a last proofreader (and she even offered), but by that time, I just wanted to get moving. Lesson learned. But I'm still satisfied with the outcome.
As others have mentioned, develop a marketing plan and work it, work it, work it. Begin it at least three months before you publish so it will be in place when you have your book in hand.
One of your other respondents says that sales of self-published and POD books are low--and that's right. Lightning strikes are very, very rare. So consider what your goals are before you even think about publishing. It's a tough, tough business and you need a thick skin and the ability to tolerate a lot rejection and neglect. I still think it's a blast, though.
Links:
More Answers (10)
Ursula A.
Seven Steps to Creating Your FutureToday! Experienced coach - life/career change. New Horizon Coaching
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Check out iUniverse.
You will find all the information you asked and more.
Good luck with your book.
Ursula
Links:
Hi Mel.
I've used Lightning Source in the past and always been happy with the results. Quick turnaround, advisor on hand to help, reasonable prices and links to publishers catalogues (needed to get your book on Amazon etc).
No hard lessons I think. Follow their guides and you can't go wrong.
Didn't bother with copyright. Once your material is published, you have concrete proof that it was yours and when you published it. That should be adequate.
My question to you would be, are you self-publishing by choice? or because it's hard to get a publisher to take you on?...
The reason I ask is because self-publishing is cheap and easy, but what it doesn't do is spend a lot of time and effort on marketing and publicity, which is what a publisher will do for you.
All the best,
Gavin.
Dick M.
book editor, book designer—high-quality custom publishing for companies and individuals
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Mel,
Take a couple of giant steps backwards. Why do you believe you are ready to publish your book? Have you read any books about self-publishing by the experts in the field? Have you had your book edited by a professional book editor? Designed by a professional book designer? What about the cover? Have the finished pages been proofread? Was the book indexed by a professional indexer? What's your marketing plan (or is this a book you're going to give away to prospective consulting clients)?
To answer your first question, the only company you should have to deal with is the printer you end up selecting. For everything else, if you're self-publishing, then you're the publisher—with your own imprint, your own ISBNs, your own copyright—and you should be contracting with experienced book professionals to handle the production and marketing tasks you don't have the expertise to handle on your own. In other words, you should stick to your own expertise—the contents of the book and your knowledge of the market for your book, plus what you can learn by reading about self-publishing—and outsource the rest. You'll have a much better book to show for your efforts (and higher profits if you're selling it) if you understand and embrace that approach than if you abdicate to a vanity press masquerading as a "self-publishing company" (an oxymoron if you think about it).
Links:
Elaine B.
Owner at Social Media Strategist and The Professional Bookcoach
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Do you have a marketing plan in place? Unless you plan to just use the book as a calling card for your business you need to market it. It will not sell just because it is published. No matter who or how it is published you need to market the book. Do you plan to sell it locally, nationally? Are you selling it through stores, speaking engagements, online website, radio shows, interviews or anything else?
You do need to copyright the book. There are many reasons that that is important and just having it printed is not the same as copyrighting it. A copyright is vital even if a book is being sold through free edownloads.
Dick Margulis is right about having the book professionally edited, proofread, etc. It is really important to have a professional book designer do the book jacket. Most self-published books are instantly recognized as self-published by their covers.
Do not go with a company that charges you. That is not really self-publishing it is the equivalent of the old vanity presses.
Find your own printer, etc.
Read books on self-publishing. Try Dan Poynter and Fern Reiss and others.
Join the Independent Book Publishers Association. You'll learn a lot.
Links:
Look into whether or not you need/should have an ISBN number.
Don't forget to have someone edit your book. Good luck!
Use your network of experts - folks that you know who can proofread/assist with page layout/make the cover professionally pretty, etc.. How a book looks is everything - from the cover-art to the layout of a page - you're trying to make your book look as if it were handled by the art department of a publishing house. So make sure that you've done the due-diligence of grammar and spelling, and that you've spent time with someone with the real cover "feng shui" so that it looks as beautiful as it can. Then you can go to Lulu.com or one of the sites that takes you through the process of printing and binding, and you can decide what kind of binding works best for your book, Most of the self-publishing sites are priced at the retail-level - what you pay for the book to be printed is about what you would be able to sell the book to a bookstore for - a little more than half of the shelf-price. So, unless you plan to hawk the book yourself, you'll need to print in quantity to get a discount, or you'll need to work with a printer directly - someone that off-shores the book's actual construction can get you a pretty steep discount (about 1/4 of the shelf-price) so that you can even consider using a distributor to get your book out there. Xlibris.com has a pretty good "self-publishing guide" - there are so many different reasons for self-publishing that it is hard to give specific instructions withouth those details. And consider how you will market the book yourself when you get to print - a website of your own? Facebook? And will you want to have a Kindle or other downloadable-book-function ready version of your book?
Protect your content by sending it to yourself in an e-mail and not opening that e-mail - giving you a time-stamped record of that document. Use a professionally published book as a template for your book's copyright page.
And share the cost, if you can. If you go directly to a printer, see if they will make you a few sample-copies. Use that sample to show and tell with friends/family/other potential investors in your publshing project. In other words, do all of the homework before spending any money.
The biggest recommendation I have is to not do this completely on your own. If you're not already in one, find a writer's group/workshop in your area, You can get a lot of help from a community college, even if they don't offer a course in publishing, they should have creative writing classes where you can talk with folks who've been down this road. And good luck. Self-publishing is the future-now. If you do it well, a self-published book becomes the best way for a publisher to find you and know that they want you. . .
Karen O.
SEO Content, Ghost Writing, Developmental Editing
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First off, congratulations on finishing your book.
There are two huge discussion streams at the top of the discussion page in the group Book Publishing Professionals that discuss every facet of self-publishing--and in those topic streams you will find authors comments about companies they have worked with and what kind of experience they have had. If you join the group, you will have access to the discussions.
Based on the experience of authors I have worked with, I would stay away from Publish America. And, while some people are very happy with their iuniverse and booksurge experiences, others have found it horrible.
One thing I suggest for any writer is that they check out the web sites "Writer Beware" and "Preditors & Editors" before taking on agents, editors, publishers, publicists, etc. As with any industry that engages our dreams, there are many predators taking advantage of our hopes for our manuscripts.
Best of luck.
Karen Opas-Lanouette
Jeff SKI K.
Rain Maker. Marketing Mad Man
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Mel
I understand. Been there... done that... got the t-shirt.
Might I suggest you partner with me on publishing your book (assuming that it is of interest to business people)?
I am getting ready to publish my third title (see link). Each time I get significantly better. If your message is important, consider that others (like me) would like to see the message get out. Together, we can focus on the parts of the process that need done with more precision that one person might, working alone.
Let me know if we should talk.
-ski
Links:
JL R.
Administrative Assistant at Rosenheim & Associates
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I recommend http://www.writersweekly.com/. They have a cost comparison of the top POD companies so you can see how they all stack up. This particular company seems to have made a reputation for being very honest and helpful. Doesn't mean you won't have to do any work, but they seem to be more transparent and open to dialogue than some of the other companies.
David G.
VP Sales and Marketing | VP Sales | VP Marketing | Business Leader | Transformation Leader
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- What sites/companies do you recommend I use? Why.
Google Beavers Pond Press and look at the services they offer.
- What sites/companies do you recommend I stay away from? Why.
No input.
- What is something you had to learn the hard way that could save me time?
Book marketing is way harder than writing or printing! You either need a great marketing plan or a partner with great resources to help you get channel, reviewer and bookstore attention.
Stay away from traditional book signings. They never draw enough people to buy your book, and the bookstore/channel keeps all your profit.
Better to sell your book in conjunction with a talk you give at a conference. You can autograph the book and keep all the profit.
- Did you copyright your content? If so, advise please.
Yes, do this.
- What am I forgetting to ask?
Who type of success can I expect? 1% of self published books sell more than 5,000 copies. Expect your first book to be a great learning experience but a financial loss.
Book marketing, for a first time author with no "network" into publishing, is a full time job. Can you devote the time needed for success?
