Info-dump-- brace yerself!
I'm thinking about self-publishing for a small project that won't have the kind a commercial value my other publishers want. I'll be doing a small print run of 300 copies.
These are the main rules for self-publishing, gakked from another writer's blog:
- You'll likely never make money at it.
- You may NEVER recover your costs, much less show a profit.
- It doesn't count as a professional publishing credit. Really. It doesn't, no matter what the scammers tell you.
- It's hard to sell, especially if you're a complete unknown.
- You don't get no respect. Not from no one.
- Bookstores won't like you unless your name is Dr. Phil.
- Your name on a book cover doesn't mean squat, especially if you paid for it to be there.
That in mind, I'm still thinking of doing it. After more than 18 years of pro sales I've got a moderate reader base. I can count on a few hundred people to buy a copy direct from me via my website. Any more than that...well, the odds aren't good.
If you are a new, unknown writer you won't have any kind of a reader base at all.
That said, so I have a clean conscience,
I'll be going to a printer, not an e-pub or lulu (this is cheaper than lulu for me).
I like the feel of a book in my hands! (So do my readers.) The monetary risk is all mine. I'll deal with buying envelopes, postage, & deal with mail order demands myself. Payment will be through Paypal--they will take their cut from the sales pie, too.
I'm be using
Morris Publishing. They're up front with printing fees, and there's nothing against them on P&E.
Through them you can buy the ISBN numbers and register your copyright. They give an alternative address to get the copyright with the US copyright office, and I think it's cheaper with them, less than 40.00.
You can set the book up yourself, interior layout, covers, etc. or they can do it for you for a fee. You can send them a .pdf file so long as it fits their templates. I'm making a cover using Photoshop and royalty-free images bought from istockphotos.com.
I did not see editing/copyediting offered, but I'm qualified for both, and will have another editor look things over.
They have one thing glaringly wrong:
"As a self-publisher, you own all rights to your book. If you use a traditional publishing house, they will own all rights. If they lose interest in your book, you will not be able to print additional copies unless you purchase those rights back. "
A traditional (sic) publisher buys the rights to your book for a
limited period of time. It will be in the boilerplate of any contract with a legit house. (Figure PubliSHAMerica ain't one of 'em!) If the book goes out of print (the
only reason they'd "lose interest"), the rights revert to you, either automatically or when the time period expires. I've
never had to "purchase" my rights back on any of my novels! In some cases you ask your house editor "May I have the rights back on title ___ since it's out of print?" and they'll put it through to the legal dept. and no problem. Usually my agent does that kind of thing for me.
I've checked other sites, and have been horrified by the fees charged for doing essentially nothing at all. In one e-house they will save your book as .pdf for 200.00! I can do that myself with software I downloaded FREE from Adobe! Yikes!
The best thing you can do is go to as many sites as you can and take notes on what's offered and how much.
Figure out the total cost for set up, fees, printing, shipping to you vs how much you can sell the book for. Make sure YOUR price is compatible with similar sizes at the bookstore. Do not sell a 100 page book for 20.00. No one will buy it.
Mine will be around 200-300 pages to sell for 10-12.00 + 2.00 S&H via Media Mail rates.
Go to the "not recommended" sites on P&E to see how scammers like PubiSHAMerica and AuthorHouse operate. When you see similar bad things on another website, you can take them off your search list!
Print out this page:
http://anotherealm.com/prededitors/pubwarn.htm
and keep it handy!
Please
do be careful out there, and DON'T be in a hurry. Impatience is a frighteningly efficient way to clean out your bank account and put you in debt!
Good luck!
PS--a legit e-house is Cerridwyn Press, a branch of the highly successful Ellora's Cave. They do both e-books and print copies. No advance, but a chance of royalties. Neither is a self-pub business, though.
