Self-Publish vs. The Standard

[barleybree]

Greetings :)

I'm new to this forum, but I have benefited from the sage advice gleaned here. Thanks for that!

I have a question and would love any and all opinions. I just recently completed a YA manuscript. I intend to donate all the proceeds to charity. I was wondering, since I want to get the most buck out of my sales, (for the sake of the charity) is self-publishing a better option for that than going the standard route of agent/publisher?

Thanks for your thoughts!

[janetbellinger]

Well, I wouldn't count on getting a lot of sales from self-publishing. It's usually just your good friends and relatives who buy your self-published books. You might even end up going in the hole. It might be cheaper just to donate some money to charity. Sorry to sound so bleak, but I've pretty well seen it all with regards to self-publishing and it ain't pretty. Good luck all the same.

[ChaosTitan]

Hi barleybree.

There are ups and downs to both routes of publishing. Traditional methods of finding an agent (which can take months to years) and then letting them sell the book for you (months, weeks, years) is the best method if you see yourself as a career novelist. Agents exist to manage your career, negotiate deals, and be your middleman with the publisher. One may get you a decent advance (if they feel your book is saleable), but first novels rarely sell out the advance. Once your agent takes their 15%, all you'd have to donate is the rest of that advance.

Do you have a marketing plan in mind? A distribution system or built-in audience? If so, a POD printer may be your best option. Lulu.com is the best printer for this type of book. All you pay is cost and shipping, and you can set your own price and decide profit. If you sell directly from the website, then you won't pay anything out of pocket. Have you checked out the POD, Self-Publishing and E-Publishing board down at the bottom of the main forum?

I applaud your willingness to donate proceeds to charity. It sounds like a good cause.

[Dave.C.Robinson]

The only way I can see self-publishing working for you is if you self-pub it and then give the charity the entire print run. That way they can sell or distribute it and use that to raise funds. I wouldn't self-pub it otherwise.

If you want to give them money instead you need to go the traditional route. All other forms have money flowing from the author, which won't help the charity.

[Jamesaritchie]

The average self-published novel earns one hundred bucks per year.

[Sheryl Nantus]

I would say that if you really, REALLY want to help out the charity that you pursue the traditional method of being published - self-pubbing is not going to generate anything near a decent amount.

If you wander over to PublishAmerica you'll see numerous authors who wanted to donate part of their royalties to charities and who have ended up with pennies for their trouble. The best of intentions don't work when you have no distributor, no publisher standing behind you and no way of getting them into bookstores.

jmo.

[aka eraser]

Self-pubbing a novel is almost always a bad idea, especially if making money (for whatever reason) is a goal.

[Maryn]

James, I'd love to know the source of your $100/year average. Can you cite a source? I'm frequently the "bad guy" at another writing site when I attempt to explain the realities of self-publishing novels and how little a novel might earn its author.

Your figure is actually substantially higher than any I've seen--but my most recent numbers are at least a couple years old.

Maryn, collecting data

[barleybree]

WOW! Thanks for all the input, gang. It was very helpful. I suppose I should have provided a little more information. The book is a biography and I have already been assured of some significant marketing opportunities from the subject's family and friends. I have a few offers to sell on related webpages, schools, libraries and other related businesses. I was thinking this might be (to self-publish and begin with my leads) a good way to begin, and then if a publisher was so inclined, he/she could always offer to pick it up?

My main goal is not so much to be "discovered" as a writer, but to get this inspirational story out to kids. I feel it would really benefit the youth of today. And I don't mean that because my writing is so great, I mean the subject of my story is! I guess that's why self-publishing seemed like a more realistic/successful option for my personal goals. I will take all your advice on board for sure!

Thanks again! I look forward to more discussions here.

[kristie911]

I was thinking this might be (to self-publish and begin with my leads) a good way to begin, and then if a publisher was so inclined, he/she could always offer to pick it up?


This very, very rarely happens. In most cases, once you self-pub a traditional publisher won't touch it.

Why don't you try the traditional way first and if you don't have any bites, you can always go the self-pub route later? That way you won't be left wondering if you could have done more with it.

Good luck!

[ResearchGuy]

. . . is self-publishing a better option for that than going the standard route of agent/publisher?. . .

The answer is a complicated "it depends." AW has extensive threads on self-publishing. I would recommend that you spend some time with them. I would also recommend that before you even think of self-publishing, you should read Dan Poynter's Self-Publishing Manual. Be CERTAIN also that you understand the difference between self-publishing, subsidy publishing, and vanity publishing. (I have a booklet available via www.lulu.com (http://www.lulu.com) -- you can search there on my name -- that concisely outlines the difference and provides a good list of resources for those seeking publication of a book.)

HOWEVER: It is a near certainty that your best long-term choice is to systematically and professionally pursue commercial publication of your book. Polish the manuscript, make sure it is the best it can be, and then go through the process of seeking an agent or a publisher that accepts unagented work. (The booklet to which I alluded includes information on the resources that will help you find agents and publishers that might be appropriate.) Without an extraordinarily good reason otherwise, and without an itch to run a business (self-publishing IS a business, with all that implies), do not self-publish -- and absolutely do not do so as first resort. I support self-publishing, which can be the best choice for some authors under some circumstances and for some purposes, but would not advise that you start there on the basis of your post.

--Ken

[Tallymark]

Why not try to get a publisher to take it first, and if that fails, then self publish it? Rather than starting small and hoping someone will spot it and decide to take it big (worked for Eragon, but that's the one-in-a-million exception), start big and if that doesn't work then go small. It doesn't hurt--the worst that will happen is they say no.

Since you've already got a marketing plan in place, the self-publishing fallback sounds a lot better for you than it does for most people. But your widest distribution will still be with a regular publisher...so it depends what goal is most important to you. With the self publishing, you may make more money per book, but if you regular publish, more kids across the country will get to see the story. And more books will be sold.

If you do get a publisher to take you, then you can still go ahead with your own marketing plan.

[ResearchGuy]

. . . I have already been assured of some significant marketing opportunities from the subject's family and friends. I have a few offers to sell on related webpages, schools, libraries and other related businesses. . . . .

All of that can also be influential with an agent or commercial publisher. Study up on writing queries and book proposals as well as researching agents and publishers. Again, see my booklet. It WILL help you, as you are precisely the sort of person for whom I wrote it.

--Ken

[barleybree]

Thanks Ken and Tally. I have queried (pretty extensively) both publishers and agents. I did get a "let's see the manuscript" from one publisher and an agent. I'm just trying to cover all options as patience has never been one of my strong suits!

You have all pretty much confirmed my initial gut feeling, which is to try and get the book published "the conventional way" first. I do think it has a much better chance of reaching a wider audience and therefore making more of a return for the charity.

Cheers!

[ResearchGuy]

. . . I do think it has a much better chance of reaching a wider audience and therefore making more of a return for the charity.

Cheers!
Best wishes for success! Keep us posted!

--Ken

[Jamesaritchie]

James, I'd love to know the source of your $100/year average. Can you cite a source? I'm frequently the "bad guy" at another writing site when I attempt to explain the realities of self-publishing novels and how little a novel might earn its author.

Your figure is actually substantially higher than any I've seen--but my most recent numbers are at least a couple years old.

Maryn, collecting data

I can try to find the actual source, but this is the number a large publisher I work for gives me. They like to keep track of the "competition," and this is the number the marketing and research guys consistently arrive at.