Another self published vs traditionally published question...

IMHO, with the right press you might gain all kinds of things, but the chance of that happening is not high. It is not impossible that a publisher will take an already self-published book based on a query, but it's not likely. I don't think 900 in that time period is going to count as viral interest. They'd have to see this as a platform much bigger than the book that just happens to meet their current focus/strategy for aquisitions.

Bongo said:

I understand there are tons of variables, but I'm looking for some basics here as I know nothing at all about traditional publishing (hope I'm using the right term cuz I vaguely remember getting reprimanded about this when I first joined this forum ).

Click to expand...

The term is "trade publishing." (I see "traditional" used by a lot of folks off of this forum, but "trade" is the accurate term.)

I can't answer all your questions - and I write fiction, so my knowledge isn't directly transferrable to non-fiction - but here are my thoughts:

Bongo said:

Knowing nothing outside of doing this all myself, do I have anything to gain by starting to knock on publisher's doors?

Click to expand...

It's less an issue of your gain than theirs. They'd need to believe there was a large enough market (over and above your 900 readers) to justify their expenses. 99.99% of the time, though, if you're looking for a trade deal, you'll have vastly better luck with an unpublished book.

Bongo said:

Can I even do it? Having already assigned an ISBN # and all, can the book still be picked up by a publisher?

Click to expand...

AFAIK this does not violate the laws of physics, or publishing. I'm almost certain you'd end up with a new ISBN (and a new edition).

Bongo said:

Will they do anything as far as promotion goes, or would that still be up to me, anyhow?

Click to expand...

My understanding is that non-fiction authors are encouraged to have an author platform, but even so a publisher is going to want to get their money back (and earn a profit if they can). I'd personally stay away from any publisher that doesn't do some promotion for you.

Bongo said:

I understand I would get a much smaller Royalty. If I'm confident of my own marketing plans, should I just plow forward?

Click to expand...

In this case, the idea would be you'd get a smaller slice of a much larger pie. Also, if you find a place that'll do a print edition, getting into physical bookstores can be a huge sales boost.

Bongo said:

If this book starts doing really well, what do I have to gain by attempting to go traditional on my next book?

Click to expand...

That's really going to depend on your goals. I can think of two authors - Amanda Hocking and Andy Weir - who were both quite successful self-publishing, but eventually went with trade. There's a lot of mechanical stuff around book sales that's much nicer to be able to leave to someone else. If you're happy with your sales both ways, it's really a personal preference thing.

Bongo said:

Thanks.

I think I'm going to put all my time into promo for the rest of this year, and see where that number goes. I'm hopeful, but realistic also. I'm doing a Kindle $.99 deal starting tonight to hopefully raise my sales a bit, and then I'm going to start pushcing my comfort zone and go full out -- I have a long list of activities/plans I haven't yet implemented.

I'll add that yooz guys here seem like a nice bunch, so I'll probably stop being anonymous and post my $.99 deal when it starts. Can I do that on this forum? Or do I need a certain amount of posts first?

Click to expand...

Someone can correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe the place to do that is the Announcements, Events, and Book Promotion forum, which you do need 50 substantive posts in order to start a thread in. In the meantime, you can place a link in your sig for people to click through and buy that way.

Good luck, BTW! I hope you have massive sales and a trade publisher comes knocking on your door and saves you all the dilemmas.

Just a suggestion, but before you sink a lot of money into promo, you should consider plumping up the info on the Amazon page. Add a Look Inside feature and create an author page to tout your credentials and round out the profile.

I took a brief look inside. I'm not an alt-med kind of gal, but I did like your format: "This is how to do it." You have great reviews, and 35 is a lot of reviews. Sales look good.

I have no expertise in marketing or publishing so my suggestion is just a lay opinion. But I would keep doing what you are doing to promote your book, it can't hurt to send out queries to publishers. If one is interested, great. If not, you aren't out much.

Bongo said:

A look inside feature is there, is it not showing for some reason?

The author description I've been holding off on for a few reasons. There's a brief description on the cover, and the Look Inside feature pretty much tells my whole story and gives a very clear idea of what the book is all about.

Click to expand...

Ah, you know, when the page loads, the "Look Inside" logo isn't visible when you scroll over the cover. But I realize that this is a change to Amazon's website that I just haven't noticed.

Never mind! Sorry!

MaeZe said:

I took a brief look inside. I'm not an alt-med kind of gal, but I did like your format: "This is how to do it." You have great reviews, and 35 is a lot of reviews. Sales look good.

Click to expand...

Seconding this. I was skeptical at first, but the excerpt is clean, well-written, and very easy to follow. I really like the numbered format and the "How to actually do it" at the end of every chapter. It makes things so much simpler and more accessible. Love it! I can actually think of several people who might benefit from this book...