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I have a chart which shows royality percentages from several pod publishers. This chart is in the packet Mill City Press sends out. As for retail price Xlibris is the highest @ $18.69 printing cost is the same for all publishers acording to this chart @ $3.90 royality pd to authors...Xlibris 25%..Trafford 16.5% Lulu 31%...iuniverse 20% author house 30% Mill City Press 100% authors profit from 100 books sold...
mill city press.$1,009
iuniverse........$280
lulu...............$438
trafford..........$267
xlibris.............$467
authorshouse...$402
Royalty earned by author per book sold..millcity press $10.09
xlibris...$4.67
iuniverse.$2.80
trafford...$$2.67
I believe these sales are from what you sell. I am trying to find info on mill city press. They did not include in their packet what % I would receive from book store sales. Anyone got any info on them? They list nine books they have published.
Rain Dance by Joy DeKok
The Gambit by Gary Nunnally
Moonlight Over The Canal by Ruth Shults
That's a few of them.
Appreciate any help...Barry
I have a chart which shows royality percentages from several pod publishers. This chart is in the packet Mill City Press sends out. As for retail price Xlibris is the highest @ $18.69 printing cost is the same for all publishers acording to this chart @ $3.90 royality pd to authors...Xlibris 25%..Trafford 16.5% Lulu 31%...iuniverse 20% author house 30% Mill City Press 100% authors profit from 100 books sold...
mill city press.$1,009
iuniverse........$280
lulu...............$438
trafford..........$267
xlibris.............$467
authorshouse...$402
Royalty earned by author per book sold..millcity press $10.09
xlibris...$4.67
iuniverse.$2.80
trafford...$$2.67
I believe these sales are from what you sell. I am trying to find info on mill city press. They did not include in their packet what % I would receive from book store sales. Anyone got any info on them? They list nine books they have published.
Rain Dance by Joy DeKok
The Gambit by Gary Nunnally
Moonlight Over The Canal by Ruth Shults
That's a few of them.
Appreciate any help...Barry
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Sidekick,
The question is this how many books are you actually going to sell from a POD self-publisher.
Novels do most poorly in self-pubbing and you have to face the fact that the average sales for a self-pubbed book are about 75 and that includes copies sold to the author.
The odds are not good. Sales are not guaranteed. Whether a distributor will pick up your book is highly doubtful and whether the distribution offered by Mill Creek is worth a squat is very much in question.
Regards,
Scott
The question is this how many books are you actually going to sell from a POD self-publisher.
Novels do most poorly in self-pubbing and you have to face the fact that the average sales for a self-pubbed book are about 75 and that includes copies sold to the author.
The odds are not good. Sales are not guaranteed. Whether a distributor will pick up your book is highly doubtful and whether the distribution offered by Mill Creek is worth a squat is very much in question.
Regards,
Scott
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Moonlight Over the Canal is ranked a trifle over 1.7 million at Amazon. Roughly that means Amazon has sold ONE book so far since the release of the book. It had to sell ONE to get a ranking at all, but 1.7 million is very, very bad.
Regards,
Scott
Regards,
Scott
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For a total of seven or eight. I'd expect greater sales from a legit pubisher--but then Mill Creek is not a legit publisher.
How does one feel after having spent $1,400 when one sells less than ten books?
Regards,
Scott
How does one feel after having spent $1,400 when one sells less than ten books?
Regards,
Scott
pod or not
I have a market for my book once it is published and can sell thousands my self. But I would like it to be in book stores and all the rest also. If one should use POD can the book still make the NY Times best seller list? Thanks for any info any one can give me.
I have a market for my book once it is published and can sell thousands my self. But I would like it to be in book stores and all the rest also. If one should use POD can the book still make the NY Times best seller list? Thanks for any info any one can give me.
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Only a tiny number of POD publishers get book store distribution and not of them, so far as I am aware, are self publishers.
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Your best bet would be traditional publishing if you expect to sell more than 1000 copies. If you need to start out with POD to cover initial printing costs, chose one with a low production fee and do as much as you can by yourself. If you can sell thousands yourself, though, there will probably be interested publishers – and mid-big publishers are really the only way to guarantee bookstore placement.
As for the NY Times – I'd say possible but highly unlikely (and at that point you'd be making WAY less than you would if you printed en mass)
As for the NY Times – I'd say possible but highly unlikely (and at that point you'd be making WAY less than you would if you printed en mass)
I'm with a company called Cleocat Books which produces Educational Children Picture books. I have been working with Xlibris but we are having lots of trouble with them and you do not make any money on your books. I have been looking at Mill City Press, but can not find out any information on this company. There are so many companies for self publishers and many PODs out there. We have lost some much money with Xlibris that it is very important to find the best company to print our books and help sell our books. We must choice the right company or we will have to shut down the our company and quit.
Any information about Mill City Press. No one seems to know much about them or is there a better company?
Any information about Mill City Press. No one seems to know much about them or is there a better company?
Kcooper,
There is a thread about this POD publisher here in the forum you might find some more info. Here it is:
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=77910
Also from their web site 'about us' page:
http://www.millcitypress.net/About-Mill-City-Press.cfm
Mick.
There is a thread about this POD publisher here in the forum you might find some more info. Here it is:
http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=77910
Also from their web site 'about us' page:
http://www.millcitypress.net/About-Mill-City-Press.cfm
Mick.
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Thanks for the reply. No one has really stated if Mill City Press is good or bad. No one has stated if they are using or have used Mill City Press. They just does not seem to be alot of information. I have been to the website several times. It seems like a good company but pricey. They seem to charge you for everything.
I am also surprised that with the Internet and all the writers out their, that several people have not come out and stated that they think "Company X" is the best POD out there and why. How does one choice the right company. Cleocat Books produces Educational Children picture books about 36-40 pages each. Who is the best publisher for these kind of books? If we choose wrong again, it will be the death of the company.
One of the reason for looking at Mill City is the book cost are lower which mean we can finally make some money from selling books, ourselfs. With Xlibris, by the time you purchased the book and paid for shipping, we only made approx. 1.80 per book. With Mill City, we should make about 7.00 per book. Mill City also seems to help market the book, but this come with a price. Mill City Press has lots of little charges. It will cost alot more to go with them on the front end.
If anyone has remarks or comments about who they think would be a good company to print and distribute our books, please talk up or email me. I need your help, our company needs your help. We produce Educational Children Picture Books, full page bleeds and want Perfect Bond and Hard cover books.
I am also surprised that with the Internet and all the writers out their, that several people have not come out and stated that they think "Company X" is the best POD out there and why. How does one choice the right company. Cleocat Books produces Educational Children picture books about 36-40 pages each. Who is the best publisher for these kind of books? If we choose wrong again, it will be the death of the company.
One of the reason for looking at Mill City is the book cost are lower which mean we can finally make some money from selling books, ourselfs. With Xlibris, by the time you purchased the book and paid for shipping, we only made approx. 1.80 per book. With Mill City, we should make about 7.00 per book. Mill City also seems to help market the book, but this come with a price. Mill City Press has lots of little charges. It will cost alot more to go with them on the front end.
If anyone has remarks or comments about who they think would be a good company to print and distribute our books, please talk up or email me. I need your help, our company needs your help. We produce Educational Children Picture Books, full page bleeds and want Perfect Bond and Hard cover books.
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I'd try the "POD Self-Publishing and E-Publishing" subforum here, kcooper.
Have you asked around on Verla Kay's forums at VerlaKay.com? Or on Dan Poynter's forums at parapublishing.com?
Have you asked around on Verla Kay's forums at VerlaKay.com? Or on Dan Poynter's forums at parapublishing.com?
I agree and I've sold well over 1200 copies so far on my own this year. I'm usually in the top 30,000 on Amazon, and my textbook focuses on a small niche audience.
Yet, so far, I'm still out here with in POD land with Booksurge and my own sales with an ebook. Now I want Ingram distribution. Does Mill City provide a logical next step?
Two academic publishers are looking at my work, but we are discussing new books and I still need more attention on my last one. Advice?
Yet, so far, I'm still out here with in POD land with Booksurge and my own sales with an ebook. Now I want Ingram distribution. Does Mill City provide a logical next step?
Two academic publishers are looking at my work, but we are discussing new books and I still need more attention on my last one. Advice?
kcooper, are you an author looking for a publisher or a publisher (Cleocat Books) looking for a printer? If the former, try submitting your manuscripts to standard commercial children's publishers. If the latter, try Lightning Source for POD.
No one is going to say "this is the best publisher" or "this is the best printer" because no publisher or printer is right for everyone. Different people want different things.
No one is going to say "this is the best publisher" or "this is the best printer" because no publisher or printer is right for everyone. Different people want different things.
Mill City Press really doesn't take any royalties
The brochure from which this writer is quoting details how much an author makes from sales the author makes from the author's own website. Because Mill City Press doesn't take royalties like other self-publishing companies, every time an author sells a book through his or her site, he or she makes all the money. Obviously, if a bookstore or other third party buys the books for resale, they get a trade discount...duh. But, Mill City does not take a royalty on top of that. So if Amazon takes a trade discount of 55% of the retail price, the author get the remaining 45% paid to him/her. Mill City makes nothing off the sale.
That is what the purpose of that page in the brochure was.
The brochure from which this writer is quoting details how much an author makes from sales the author makes from the author's own website. Because Mill City Press doesn't take royalties like other self-publishing companies, every time an author sells a book through his or her site, he or she makes all the money. Obviously, if a bookstore or other third party buys the books for resale, they get a trade discount...duh. But, Mill City does not take a royalty on top of that. So if Amazon takes a trade discount of 55% of the retail price, the author get the remaining 45% paid to him/her. Mill City makes nothing off the sale.
That is what the purpose of that page in the brochure was.
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Hi There, KCOOPER -
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE TIP ON MILL CITY PRESS. I HAVE JUST SPENT OVER AN HOUR REVIEWING THEIR WEBSITE AND AUTHOR CONTRACT. I CAME CLOSE TO LOSING $12,299.00 WITH XLIBRIS, SOLELY BECAUSE THEY ARE OWNED BY RANDOM HOUSE. THEN, I WAS EXTEMELY CLOSE TO GOING WITH LULU. I THINK MILL CITY PRESS SOUNDS LIKE THE BEST IN SELF-PUBLISHING, ESPECIALLY IF THE AUTHOR IS SEEKING TO MAKE HIS/HER BOOK A COMMERCIAL SUCCESS. MY MANUSCRIPT, IN THE POLICE/DETECTIVE GENRE IS FICTION (Although based on real incidents). THE TITLE IS: "THE EXECUTION OF JUSTICE".
AGAIN, THANKS TO ALL, THIS IS A GREAT INFORMATIVE, AND MONEY-SAVING SITE!
Regards, Mike Phelps
[email protected]
THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE TIP ON MILL CITY PRESS. I HAVE JUST SPENT OVER AN HOUR REVIEWING THEIR WEBSITE AND AUTHOR CONTRACT. I CAME CLOSE TO LOSING $12,299.00 WITH XLIBRIS, SOLELY BECAUSE THEY ARE OWNED BY RANDOM HOUSE. THEN, I WAS EXTEMELY CLOSE TO GOING WITH LULU. I THINK MILL CITY PRESS SOUNDS LIKE THE BEST IN SELF-PUBLISHING, ESPECIALLY IF THE AUTHOR IS SEEKING TO MAKE HIS/HER BOOK A COMMERCIAL SUCCESS. MY MANUSCRIPT, IN THE POLICE/DETECTIVE GENRE IS FICTION (Although based on real incidents). THE TITLE IS: "THE EXECUTION OF JUSTICE".
AGAIN, THANKS TO ALL, THIS IS A GREAT INFORMATIVE, AND MONEY-SAVING SITE!
Regards, Mike Phelps
[email protected]
Mill City Press Additional Input
I think this company may be of interest. My writing group has been somewhat operating in the dark as far as Self-publishing. There is a book written by Mark Levine, owner of Mill City Press comparing 45 Self-publishing companies. At its second edition, he decided to try to do it better and implement what he had learned. Though one might argue that he did the research so he could "drive" interest to his company - I would argue with that idea since he didn't until after the second printing of his book. It might also be argued that he is trying to do something for the industry....and help us authors. I need to look more at it before deciding. But below is some information taken firsthand from the man himself and how he thinks.
Here is an excerpt from his book in the Intro of it:
The "Fine Print of Self-Publishing" reviews only self-publishing companies
that provide the full range of book publishing services and not
those that simply provide book printing services. All of the publishers
featured in this book have these common characteristics:
• Accept submissions from new or inexperienced writers without
requiring the writer to have an agent
• Publish the book in six months or less (in most cases 60 to 90
days)
• Don’t pay an advance
• Offer little or no marketing budget for the author’s book but
sometimes provide these services for a fee
• Pay higher royalties than traditional publishers
• Charge up-front publishing fees.
I am proud to say that The Fine Print of Self-Publishing has been
well received in the self-publishing community, especially by the ethical
companies whose reputations have been unfairly soiled because of
the actions of the “Publishers to Avoid” listed in Chapter 9. In the last
edition, I sent out questions to all the publishers listed in this book.
Many cooperated, some threatened to sue me, and some just ignored
my requests altogether. I put all of that into the book. Eight of the
publishers even agreed to remove language from their contracts that I
deemed to be unfair for authors.
This time around, my editor contacted each publishing company
discussed in this book as a prospective author—just like any of you
would. The difference between you and her is that I armed her with the
tough questions to ask, regarding justifications for 50%–200% printing
markups, excessive publisher royalties, and more. You will be amazed
at how some of these publishers treated a prospective author, and how
they lied when we started asking the tough questions. We even submitted
a book of poetry by a Jack Russell Terrier (yes, a dog) to some of the
The Fine Print of Self-Publishing xiii publishers who claimed they were “selective”—almost every “selective” publisher accepted it.
So, as you read this book, know that I’ve asked the questions you
might not know to ask and, for the most part, got the answers—good
or bad.
Note: After the second edition of this book was published, I
realized that some of the issues I feel strongest about (like some
publishers taking excessive royalties when they do nothing for
your book and outrageous printing markups) were never going
to be addressed. In late 2006, my company, Click Industries,
invested in a new type of self-publishing company that agreed to
try doing things the way that I believed they should be done. Mill
City Press (http://www.millcitypress.net) is not reviewed in this
book and will not be mentioned again. The publishers covered in
this book that are ranked “Outstanding” and “Pretty Good” are
solid choices. You may want to compare their services to those of
Mill City Press when evaluating your options. Click Industries’
investment in this new venture has given me insight into the
publishing business that I would not otherwise have had
I think this company may be of interest. My writing group has been somewhat operating in the dark as far as Self-publishing. There is a book written by Mark Levine, owner of Mill City Press comparing 45 Self-publishing companies. At its second edition, he decided to try to do it better and implement what he had learned. Though one might argue that he did the research so he could "drive" interest to his company - I would argue with that idea since he didn't until after the second printing of his book. It might also be argued that he is trying to do something for the industry....and help us authors. I need to look more at it before deciding. But below is some information taken firsthand from the man himself and how he thinks.
Here is an excerpt from his book in the Intro of it:
The "Fine Print of Self-Publishing" reviews only self-publishing companies
that provide the full range of book publishing services and not
those that simply provide book printing services. All of the publishers
featured in this book have these common characteristics:
• Accept submissions from new or inexperienced writers without
requiring the writer to have an agent
• Publish the book in six months or less (in most cases 60 to 90
days)
• Don’t pay an advance
• Offer little or no marketing budget for the author’s book but
sometimes provide these services for a fee
• Pay higher royalties than traditional publishers
• Charge up-front publishing fees.
I am proud to say that The Fine Print of Self-Publishing has been
well received in the self-publishing community, especially by the ethical
companies whose reputations have been unfairly soiled because of
the actions of the “Publishers to Avoid” listed in Chapter 9. In the last
edition, I sent out questions to all the publishers listed in this book.
Many cooperated, some threatened to sue me, and some just ignored
my requests altogether. I put all of that into the book. Eight of the
publishers even agreed to remove language from their contracts that I
deemed to be unfair for authors.
This time around, my editor contacted each publishing company
discussed in this book as a prospective author—just like any of you
would. The difference between you and her is that I armed her with the
tough questions to ask, regarding justifications for 50%–200% printing
markups, excessive publisher royalties, and more. You will be amazed
at how some of these publishers treated a prospective author, and how
they lied when we started asking the tough questions. We even submitted
a book of poetry by a Jack Russell Terrier (yes, a dog) to some of the
The Fine Print of Self-Publishing xiii publishers who claimed they were “selective”—almost every “selective” publisher accepted it.
So, as you read this book, know that I’ve asked the questions you
might not know to ask and, for the most part, got the answers—good
or bad.
Note: After the second edition of this book was published, I
realized that some of the issues I feel strongest about (like some
publishers taking excessive royalties when they do nothing for
your book and outrageous printing markups) were never going
to be addressed. In late 2006, my company, Click Industries,
invested in a new type of self-publishing company that agreed to
try doing things the way that I believed they should be done. Mill
City Press (http://www.millcitypress.net) is not reviewed in this
book and will not be mentioned again. The publishers covered in
this book that are ranked “Outstanding” and “Pretty Good” are
solid choices. You may want to compare their services to those of
Mill City Press when evaluating your options. Click Industries’
investment in this new venture has given me insight into the
publishing business that I would not otherwise have had
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I provided it to them camera ready and there were still major issues. I find that like with most things - you have to pay attention to every single detail all the time. Or at least when it counts.