Self Pubbing as Course in Publishing

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Richard L. Sutton

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I self-published my first book, last year. There had been six years in the research and writing and after a year of rejection slips -- each with lots of encouragement, "just not right for us at this time" -- I began to realize I didn't really know what I was doing. It was hard to accept that as I had come out of a 20 year advertising design and marketing background and had written , well...copy, for years. But as I wondered what to do, a few things became apparent.

First, with a soft market, any product must be perfectly niched. My book was not ever going to be a mass-market best seller. At least I understood that much. I also realized I had to begin thinking of my book as a product. A package on a shelf.

Coming to the realization also that it would take a long time to find an agent who thought they could actually make money from a narrow market book, in a terrible market, I began to wonder if self-pubbing it might be the way to go. I finally learned it wasn't the agents that were to blame. They all wanted to do business, but they needed to know it was not going to be a waste of their time. No promises mean you have to get real about what you are writing.

Since POD Self-Publishing involved some minor expenses (all told, well under $100), it forced me to focus and study. I read overviews everywhere and promotional material as it filled my mailbox. I eventually settled on the POD publisher who did the very least, but provided a good quality product and had some useful connections. As the entire market changed over the interim, the distribution opened up and eventually I began to see my book out there. I started to see it more as my calling card, not an end in itself. More of a way to establish a brand.

I have learned things I could never have picked up through advice or suggestion alone. I think as a teaching device, the move to POD the first book was very effective. I'm not as doubtful and hard on the "industry" as I was, and I know how the layers within it mesh to form a self-instituted quality control program. Not a bad way for a manufacturing industry to proceed, is it?

To cut to the chase, my second book, a sequel, is due to be released this August, also self-pubbed. I'm seeing some royalties and some reviews come in, most of them very good (the reviews, not the royalties.), but then I never expected to give up my day job. As a learning experience, it's been great. Currently I'm working on my third novel. This one is mainstream enough that I'm going to pitch it like mad, but at least now, I have a glimmer of how to do that more effectively, too. I would not dissuade a debut novelist from self pubbing it, but they need to know why they are doing so, first.
 

jerrywaxler

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nicely said, pub as learning

Hi Richard,

Thanks for this post. It's a good validation of some of the many creative and practical benefits of self publishing.

Like you, my first two self published books are fantastic tools for my workshops, and I've learned so much about what publishers do. (Since I now am one.) I'd like to get my third one out with better distribution. It turns out that self-publishing is a lot of work and requires a lot of expertise.

So I keep lurking and learning. In other words, the first couple of books just taught me the basics. There is a lot more to learn in order to do it excellently.

Jerry
 

Tippecanoe1841

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Richard, you've got some great insights and your post is very encouraging to me. Though my book is in a different genre that yours, I have tried to adopt the same approach. I am an insurance claims adjuster with a B.S. degree in finance who wrote a book about a U.S. president. I do not have the credentials to interest a New York publisher, academic publisher, or even a small press that prints just a few titles a year. I considered going through a vanity press, but thought better of it. Instead, I am self-pubbing all the way. I researched and wrote the book, I'm doing the editing and proofreading, page layout, cover design, and website design, and I'll have the book printed by Lightning Source. It won't be in stores, but it will be available on Amazon and through Ingram and on my yet to be completed website.

I learned through research that no non-fiction book is taken seriously if it doesn't have an index. I knew very little about indexing, so I went to my local public library and checked out every book they had on indexing. I am giving myself a crash course on preparing a back of the book index.

I will also run the marketing campaign. My book has mostly regional appeal in the lower midwestern United States. Fortunately, I live in that area. I will target my marketing efforts in those areas where there is a William Henry Harrison presidential site and hence, more general interest in him: his birthplace in Charles City, Virginia; his mansion and Indiana Territory government headquarters in Vincennes, Indiana; Tippecanoe Battlefield near Lafayette, IN; Fort Meigs & Fallen Timbers battlefields in northern Ohio; and his tomb in North Bend, Ohio.

It has been an incredible learning experience. I am still a novice when it comes to publishing. In fact, I don't even know enough to be dangerous. I am determined to do it myself and learn as much as I can along the way. Truth be told, I wish my book was being published by a reputable, well-established publisher (I refuse to use the term "traditional publisher. This term was invented by Publish America to try to legitimize their scam. Real publishers call themselves simply a "publisher," not a "traditional publisher." But that is beside the point and is for another thread) I wish the money was flowing to the author, as Uncle Jim likes to say. The 3 1/2 year process of researching and writing my book has already cost me a fortune, and it isn't even published yet. However, I have accepted the reality that I have not landed an agent or a publishing house, and I'm making the best of it. In the process, I have learned a host of new skills: editing, page layout, cover design, indexing, website design. I believe in my book because I have put so much in to it. It is my baby. The road to self-publishing my book has so far been an incredible learning experience.

Sorry for my off-topic rambling. Your insight has really encouraged me and validated my decision to self-publish. Best of wishes to you in your current and future writing endeavors.
 
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valeriec80

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Good luck, Keith! It sounds like you're doing everything right. :)
 

ResearchGuy

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. . . . The 3 1/2 year process of researching and writing my book has already cost me a fortune . . . .
IMHO, that is investment in the product, and necessary whether the book is to be self-published or commercially published. Even fiction writers may have to make considerable investments in research (visiting sites, traveling to interview experts, verifying historical references, and so on -- Elizabeth George, for one, has written about her research practices). Nonfiction writers might have some or much of their research and development investment offset by an advance against royalties offered by a commercial publisher, but not necessarily. I don't think that sort of expense/investment is pertinent to the so-called "Yog's law." It is not as though those expenses are dollars flowing to the publisher for its services.

Someone who is already an authority on a topic (a college professor, perhaps, who specializes in that area, or a scientist writing about his or her area of expertise) might need to spend little other than time to write the book. Many others are not in that position. And they have to support themselves until the book is done and sold.

My views, FWIW . . .

--Ken
 

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I learned through research that no non-fiction book is taken seriously if it doesn't have an index. I knew very little about indexing, so I went to my local public library and checked out every book they had on indexing. I am giving myself a crash course on preparing a back of the book index.

If you're using Microsoftword for the final output, do take advantage of their indexing tools. Practice on a copy or an excerpt first, and save frequently.

In fact, I'd suggest saving with new file names like filename.1.doc or something.

On a large file MSword's indexing can bulk it up as much as 20%, so do take a belt-and-suspenders approach.

But once you learn the tools, it can save you hours of labor.

I'm so glad we don't use shoe-boxes of index cards now--I used to pay for my textbooks doing indexing the old way.
 
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