Self-publishing

Admin Joined : 11 Jan 2008 Posts : 2069 Location : UK

If you are about to self-publish or you would like to know more about self-publishing, check out this first:

http://www.fonerbooks.com/paper.htm

Subject: Re: Self-publishing Mon Feb 04, 2008 6:42 am

Interesting topic. There are so many options today, that it requires much consideration on all counts. I would suppose that it would depend greatly on the genre, why it was written and the target audience as to which route were the best one to take.

Lots of research!! study

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Zada Connaway
Mother's Journals: parts 1, 2 and 3 ISBN # 1-4241-6969-0

http://www.zadaconnaway.com/

Admin Joined : 11 Jan 2008 Posts : 2069 Location : UK

Yes Zada, lots of research! You cannot know too much about the business of publishing books. There is always something new to learn! study

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Shelagh Watkins
http://shelaghwatkins.co.uk/

Subject: Re: Self-publishing Sat Feb 09, 2008 2:51 am

That's a decent article, Shelagh, for those who've studied their options and want to self publish by setting up their own company.

I still have strong doubts that this is viable for fiction.

Malcolm
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Malcolm R. Campbell

http://www.malcolmrcampbell.com

Four Star Member Joined : 11 Jan 2008 Posts : 376

I've thought about this much this last few days. So, even if I got a brilliant publishing deal from a good publishing house, I could probably only expect to make £10,000 from sales of a novel, at best, unless it was a runaway bestseller. In reality I'd probably get less and have to live with the constant dread of getting binned at any time.

Maths time. Going the PoD route I could make much more on each copy if I had my own stock and managed to sell them, say £5 per copy as opposed to less than £1 per copy.

So if I had a stock of 2000 copies of my own novel and sold them all, I'd make £10,000 and not have to worry about being binned by some heartless publisher who cares more about lining their pockets than about me and my readers.

Hmmm, I'm going to have to open a shop online and have my own stock of books. More research to do . . .

Subject: Re: Self-publishing Sat Feb 09, 2008 3:01 pm

Hi George,
I agree with you, especially in the sense that most publishers actually want/expect you to market to your own network and beyond before and after they publish the book. Since it is so tough to get books in the brick and mortar store in either case, and a bit of a disappointment to walk into a bookstore and see the mound of books that are 30% off, I am really fine with reaping more of the rewards of my efforts than letting a publisher have them and I only get a 10% royalty. Smile

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Pam Robertson

http://andthebandplayedonmylawn.blogspot.com

Subject: Re: Self-publishing Wed Apr 09, 2008 8:12 pm

My question, George, is how in the heck somebody sells 2,000 copies of their own novel. According to the statistics in the States, most POD novels sell less than 100 and it's rare for any of them to ever sell a thousand or more.

Fact of life, almost no book stores will take a POD book and, since chains don't like to hassle with special arrangements, it's almost impossible to get books placed in a store on consignment. Partly, that's because no newspapers will review POD books.

So, if you're going to sell 2,000, are you going to hit the road selling them out of your car or what?

Curiously,

Malcolm
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Malcolm R. Campbell

http://www.malcolmrcampbell.com

Subject: Re: Self-publishing Wed Apr 09, 2008 9:19 pm

Hey Malcolm, I think that if you have 2000 you probably also have a pretty decent sized mailing list already. When I published mine, I ordere 225 copies, and I think there are still about 50 in my basement.
On the other hand, when I work in the non-fiction and business side of things, I can sell my business related stuff at conferences. Much easier in some ways, as long as I don't try to take boxes of them across the border...
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Pam Robertson

http://andthebandplayedonmylawn.blogspot.com

Subject: Re: Self-publishing Thu Apr 10, 2008 3:06 pm

Only 50 left in the basement, Pam? Well that's not so bad.

Malcolm
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Malcolm R. Campbell

http://www.malcolmrcampbell.com

Admin Joined : 11 Jan 2008 Posts : 2069 Location : UK

Hi Malcolm,

Thanks for leaving the comment on my blog. You asked "if an unknown author has trouble selling an iUniverse or Lulu novel, how does publishing his own book make him less unknown? That is, if I start CAMPBELL PUBLISHING COMPANY, now I have a company AND a book nobody's ever heard of and I'm not sure how I'm better off even though I'm calling more of the shots."

I think the bottom line is costs. How much does it cost to see your book in print? With PublishAmerica it costs nothing and, consequently, sales are low. However, if you are sensible, the biggest drain on your expenses will be your time. Promotional materials will barely bring in enough sales to cover the costs, so should be kept to a minimum. That's the catch 22. How do you sell a substantial amount of books without spending money? The answer is: you can't. Only traditional publishers can aford to spend large amounts of money on marketing and promotion.

Non-fiction books can be successfully self-published, especially if the book offers information that can't be found elsewhere. Fiction writers are in competition with authors published by the top publishing houses and simply cannot compete. Anyone writing a non-fiction book will look for gaps in the market to fill. Fiction writers are just adding to what's already out there.

So, the answer to setting up CPC is, don't do it if you want to make money. If the money doesn't matter and you are willing to give your time to doing something you enjoy doing, then go for it. All you have to lose is your time.

~Shelagh
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Shelagh Watkins
http://shelaghwatkins.co.uk/

Subject: Re: Self-publishing Thu Apr 10, 2008 4:06 pm

There are PLENTY of people who've sold 2000 copies of a novel themselves.

I sold that many copies of a book of POETRY in a year. Before there was an internet.

Writers aren't all that often salespeople. (And when they are they mostly write books on how to sell :-) But these are great times for somebody to get out there and move their own novel.

If it's either something people will want to read, or SEEMS like it is.

All this quite apart from the many other reasons a person would want to publish their story and be tickled pink to break even.

THAT, by the way, is the REAL magic word in this whole POD/amazon/website/socialnetwork/videotrailer reality: the cost of making the nut has been reduced so dramatically.
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Subject: Re: Self-publishing Thu Apr 10, 2008 7:21 pm

Having 50 books in my basement makes me loony, truth be told, although I did sell one at lunch today (I generally have a copy in my oversized shoulder bag Shocked

However, not to be done in by this hearwrenching business, I am now seeking endorsements and doing a lot more marketing. You are right Lin, in that when I finished the book, I was not a salesperson nor a marketer. Now I have learned plenty about both areas and so it is coming along. Of course, so is Christmas -- ha ha!
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Pam Robertson

http://andthebandplayedonmylawn.blogspot.com

Subject: Re: Self-publishing Thu Apr 10, 2008 11:33 pm

I'm thinking of setting up a program where girl scouts sell my books door to door.
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Subject: Re: Self-publishing Fri Apr 11, 2008 4:04 am

I never thought of girl scouts. You could have them sell your books as an add on when someone buys a box of cookies. Brilliant Lin! Let's here the rest of those ideas...I must sell some books!
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Pam Robertson

http://andthebandplayedonmylawn.blogspot.com

Subject: Re: Self-publishing Fri Apr 11, 2008 2:50 pm

Two words: cereal boxes
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