My journey in self publishing
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My journey in self publishing
by knorrasky on Wed Jul 02, 2008 2:47 pm
Hi everyone.
Well as most of you know my book is well underway to being on the shelves of book stores around the world. Many have asked questions as to why I went with self publishing and I have decided to take some time and explain my reasons and also some of the process.
After submitting my manuscript to three publishing companies I started to get offers. Two of the big houses bit hard and at first that sounded very good, but not for long. Here I must tell you about a myth within this industry.
MYTH: The big publishing companies do all the marketing for you and all you do is sit back and watch the money roll in.
FACT: You should plan on doing an extensive amount of promotion yourself, either by self publishing or with the big houses.
Now when I learned this FACT, I started to think, the big house is offering less then 5% royalties and self publishing is giving me 20% + Sorry I can’t say more on this but the plus is good and not offered by the big houses! So, if I have to do most of the work why wouldn’t I go for most of the money?
MYTH: If I self publish my book it may not make it on the shelf but if I go with a big house it will be on the shelf.
FACT: Your book may not make it on the shelf no matter who you go with. But if YOU do manage to get it on the shelf and you are making a good income from it and the big house decides it is not enough money for them, they will pull it, and remember they own it now and there is nothing you can do about it. If you self-publish, your book will be available to sell as long as you want, you own the writes to the book! Also most books sold through the big houses have a five year life and then they are pulled.
Ok, now you know some of why I went the way I did and it was not because I was desperate.
So, on to the process.
Choose wisely.
I looked at some 30 companies before I made my choice. Here is what I learned. Many companies promise a lot and deliver nothing at all.
The company you choose should have the following as a minimum.
1. Top quality product. No one wants crap!
2. Fair pricing
3. World wide distribution through Amazon, Barker & Taylor, Ingram, Barns & Noble, Froogle, Books in Print and more.
4. A marketing coach that helps you with every step of the marketing process and better yet at no extra cost.
5. Professional Cover design and interior layout at fair prices. How’s $299.00 for a custom cover? I did my own but if you want the publisher to do one my publisher has the best price or so I believe.
6. Author sets the price, trade discount and royalty.
7. You keep your copyright.
8. Publisher should offer cover scribing.
9. Publisher should offer World Book Tour.
10. Publisher should offer a custom press kit.
11. Publisher should offer a Custom press release that they will send to 100,000 people in the Fantasy/SiFi industry.
12. Publisher should handle any offer where your book would be translated into a foreign language.
Ok now this is only a part of what you need to look at. Also look at the books the company claims to be publishing. Are they being sold. You can find out by contacting the author. Is the company winning awards? Are they choosy about who they accept? The company I went with turned down the story by a friend of mine and he went to another company, paid them and now he has a nice paper weight on his desk, only 35 sold in 4 years. If you go with a vanity company that is what you get. If you want to sell books go with a company with a track record for selling books! Also most vanity companies expect you to buy tons of your own books and sell them. The company I went with does not want this at all, they will sell the books for me, all but the few I sell to friends off my own site.
Now there are a few things you need to know.
1. Trade Discount.
What is a trade discount? It is the amount of discount that you are going to give to the Wholesale buyers. This discount runs from 20% to 55%. This % is very important as it will set the price of you book for the most part. A 20% discount will keep your 100 page book at about $8.95 retail. (all prices USD) With a royalty of $2.15 for you. A 20% trade discount will also get you very little distribution and it will NEVER see a book store shelf.
55% is the top trade discount and will get your book sold almost everywhere, but the cost of the book will be higher. For the same 100 page book the retail price will be $12.95 and the royalty will be $1.92
I struggled with this to a great extent and then I realized something, if you go to amazon.con and look at their book pricing you will see a lot of discounts, they can do this because of a high trade discount. So I am going with 55% trade discount on the 410 page 6 X 9 soft cover addition of my book which will have a high retail price, $24.95 and for the 410 page 6 X 9 hard cover edition, I am only giving a 25% trade discount because I will mostly sell it through my own site and that price will be $29.95 Now since I am giving a 55% trade discount I can expect to see my soft cover book on sale for up to 30% off the retail price. On my own site I will offer special pricing and signed copies of my books so the retail price is of no concern to my personal customers.
2. Royalty is what you make and you set that also. Now, what if your book goes on sale somewhere, does that effect your royalty? NO, you still make the same no matter what your book sells for, because you get your royalty from your publisher and they make sure you get your money.
3. You must go with a publisher that offers a buy back option. What is that? It tells a retailer that if they buy your book and it doesn’t sell that it will be bought back. If you don’t have this option no retailer is going to buy your book…!!!
Ok now for the bottom line, what will this cost you out of pocket? Well that varies greatly. Basic printing will run about $1000.00 but you should get an embedded bar code and your ISBN and copyright included in this and world wide distribution if you set the proper trade discount.
Custom cover as I said about $299.00
Buy back option about $499.99 per year.
And there are many other options that can run into the $1000s
Bottom line, companies offer packages from $1000 to $12,000
Now I may not be able to spell as good as some but I’m no fool, so I got the Roles Royce package for less then $4000.00 through my publisher.
Well there you have it in a nut shell.
To me self publishing is not just the best way to go, it’s the only way for me.
Any other question just leave them below and I will answer as soon as I can.
RA. Knowlton
Well as most of you know my book is well underway to being on the shelves of book stores around the world. Many have asked questions as to why I went with self publishing and I have decided to take some time and explain my reasons and also some of the process.
After submitting my manuscript to three publishing companies I started to get offers. Two of the big houses bit hard and at first that sounded very good, but not for long. Here I must tell you about a myth within this industry.
MYTH: The big publishing companies do all the marketing for you and all you do is sit back and watch the money roll in.
FACT: You should plan on doing an extensive amount of promotion yourself, either by self publishing or with the big houses.
Now when I learned this FACT, I started to think, the big house is offering less then 5% royalties and self publishing is giving me 20% + Sorry I can’t say more on this but the plus is good and not offered by the big houses! So, if I have to do most of the work why wouldn’t I go for most of the money?
MYTH: If I self publish my book it may not make it on the shelf but if I go with a big house it will be on the shelf.
FACT: Your book may not make it on the shelf no matter who you go with. But if YOU do manage to get it on the shelf and you are making a good income from it and the big house decides it is not enough money for them, they will pull it, and remember they own it now and there is nothing you can do about it. If you self-publish, your book will be available to sell as long as you want, you own the writes to the book! Also most books sold through the big houses have a five year life and then they are pulled.
Ok, now you know some of why I went the way I did and it was not because I was desperate.
So, on to the process.
Choose wisely.
I looked at some 30 companies before I made my choice. Here is what I learned. Many companies promise a lot and deliver nothing at all.
The company you choose should have the following as a minimum.
1. Top quality product. No one wants crap!
2. Fair pricing
3. World wide distribution through Amazon, Barker & Taylor, Ingram, Barns & Noble, Froogle, Books in Print and more.
4. A marketing coach that helps you with every step of the marketing process and better yet at no extra cost.
5. Professional Cover design and interior layout at fair prices. How’s $299.00 for a custom cover? I did my own but if you want the publisher to do one my publisher has the best price or so I believe.
6. Author sets the price, trade discount and royalty.
7. You keep your copyright.
8. Publisher should offer cover scribing.
9. Publisher should offer World Book Tour.
10. Publisher should offer a custom press kit.
11. Publisher should offer a Custom press release that they will send to 100,000 people in the Fantasy/SiFi industry.
12. Publisher should handle any offer where your book would be translated into a foreign language.
Ok now this is only a part of what you need to look at. Also look at the books the company claims to be publishing. Are they being sold. You can find out by contacting the author. Is the company winning awards? Are they choosy about who they accept? The company I went with turned down the story by a friend of mine and he went to another company, paid them and now he has a nice paper weight on his desk, only 35 sold in 4 years. If you go with a vanity company that is what you get. If you want to sell books go with a company with a track record for selling books! Also most vanity companies expect you to buy tons of your own books and sell them. The company I went with does not want this at all, they will sell the books for me, all but the few I sell to friends off my own site.
Now there are a few things you need to know.
1. Trade Discount.
What is a trade discount? It is the amount of discount that you are going to give to the Wholesale buyers. This discount runs from 20% to 55%. This % is very important as it will set the price of you book for the most part. A 20% discount will keep your 100 page book at about $8.95 retail. (all prices USD) With a royalty of $2.15 for you. A 20% trade discount will also get you very little distribution and it will NEVER see a book store shelf.
55% is the top trade discount and will get your book sold almost everywhere, but the cost of the book will be higher. For the same 100 page book the retail price will be $12.95 and the royalty will be $1.92
I struggled with this to a great extent and then I realized something, if you go to amazon.con and look at their book pricing you will see a lot of discounts, they can do this because of a high trade discount. So I am going with 55% trade discount on the 410 page 6 X 9 soft cover addition of my book which will have a high retail price, $24.95 and for the 410 page 6 X 9 hard cover edition, I am only giving a 25% trade discount because I will mostly sell it through my own site and that price will be $29.95 Now since I am giving a 55% trade discount I can expect to see my soft cover book on sale for up to 30% off the retail price. On my own site I will offer special pricing and signed copies of my books so the retail price is of no concern to my personal customers.
2. Royalty is what you make and you set that also. Now, what if your book goes on sale somewhere, does that effect your royalty? NO, you still make the same no matter what your book sells for, because you get your royalty from your publisher and they make sure you get your money.
3. You must go with a publisher that offers a buy back option. What is that? It tells a retailer that if they buy your book and it doesn’t sell that it will be bought back. If you don’t have this option no retailer is going to buy your book…!!!
Ok now for the bottom line, what will this cost you out of pocket? Well that varies greatly. Basic printing will run about $1000.00 but you should get an embedded bar code and your ISBN and copyright included in this and world wide distribution if you set the proper trade discount.
Custom cover as I said about $299.00
Buy back option about $499.99 per year.
And there are many other options that can run into the $1000s
Bottom line, companies offer packages from $1000 to $12,000
Now I may not be able to spell as good as some but I’m no fool, so I got the Roles Royce package for less then $4000.00 through my publisher.
Well there you have it in a nut shell.
To me self publishing is not just the best way to go, it’s the only way for me.
Any other question just leave them below and I will answer as soon as I can.
RA. Knowlton
Re: My journey in self publishing
by gezza on Wed Jul 02, 2008 4:24 pm
Knorrasky.
Very helpful information! I appreciate the openness that you have discussed this, because, after all, you did all the research.
I have to be honest with you... I will be looking very seriously at "riding your coat tail", metaphorically speaking.
cheers
Very helpful information! I appreciate the openness that you have discussed this, because, after all, you did all the research.
I have to be honest with you... I will be looking very seriously at "riding your coat tail", metaphorically speaking.
cheers
Re: My journey in self publishing
by Rachel Westwood on Wed Jul 02, 2008 4:36 pm
That is a fantastic article Knorrasky. ^-^ Would you mind if I put it up on the front page for a while?
And might I ask, which company did you go through? I'd be interested to find out a bit more about them.
And might I ask, which company did you go through? I'd be interested to find out a bit more about them.
Re: My journey in self publishing
by knorrasky on Wed Jul 02, 2008 4:43 pm
Rachel
You can post it anywere you like.
I went with Outskirts press in Denver Colorado
If you google them you will find award after award!
You can post it anywere you like.
I went with Outskirts press in Denver Colorado
If you google them you will find award after award!
Re: My journey in self publishing
by Stella on Wed Jul 02, 2008 5:36 pm
Wow, lots of numbers.
You obviously did your research and got the best deal - very helpful article
You obviously did your research and got the best deal - very helpful article
Re: My journey in self publishing
by Wargood on Thu Jul 03, 2008 12:11 pm
Thank you very much for the info! Some authors seem to have the 'I did the work, I got mine, get your own' attitude, but that may just be the way they feel after fielding th 100th 'what's the magic bullet?' question. In any case, you've given us a ready reference guide to self-pubbing, that clearly shows there's no magic bullet, only hard work and research.
Re: My journey in self publishing
by Malice on Sun Jul 06, 2008 9:28 am
Great info KS! I've been giving a lot of thought lately to the path you are taking to get your work on the shelf and your cooments are very informative and useful.
I would like to add, however, to your fact about big publishing houses not doing the marketing for you. While this may be true, that's what an agent is for. Their job is to sell your work and publicize it.
This was a major deciding factor in my determintiation to seek an agent, rather than self publish or go directly to a publishing house. I'm a writer, not a marketing guru or salesperson. My job is to write, the agent's job is to market, and the printer prints.
Maybe I live in fantasy-land, but then again it makes writing fantasy easier.
I would like to add, however, to your fact about big publishing houses not doing the marketing for you. While this may be true, that's what an agent is for. Their job is to sell your work and publicize it.
This was a major deciding factor in my determintiation to seek an agent, rather than self publish or go directly to a publishing house. I'm a writer, not a marketing guru or salesperson. My job is to write, the agent's job is to market, and the printer prints.
Maybe I live in fantasy-land, but then again it makes writing fantasy easier.
Re: My journey in self publishing
by knorrasky on Mon Jul 07, 2008 12:09 pm
Yes Malice that is true to an extent but even an agent will only do so much for you. Case in point, they will set up an interview but you have to use your own money to get there and do it. Also if they do advertising for you it is with your money. If I give an agent 10% of my 5% I am now at 4.5% and I am out all my travel expenses. If however I go the self publishing way and get on the low end say 20% Royalties and set up my own interviews which are all prepared for me through the 'marketing coach' then I still have 20% or more in my pocket. So that is why for me self publishing is the best way. There is much to look at and in a few weeks I will be able to tell you more on this
Re: My journey in self publishing
by Malice on Mon Jul 07, 2008 12:25 pm
Looking forward to hearing how it turns out. Your insight so far is worth its weight in gold as far as i'm concerned. I think its important that an aspiring writer understands as best possible all of the opttions available, and I think you have done quite well in shedding some light on the self publishing side of things.
Best of luck!
Best of luck!
Re: My journey in self publishing
by knorrasky on Thu Jul 31, 2008 10:48 am
Well today was a great day!
It was the day that I got to choose the interior layout and font.
I went with somthing like victorian LET but not exactly, for the chapters and headers. And a more simple font for the body text, yet with that old world feel. I also had to choose the book cover style and color the my book cover art will be added to. And I had to choose hard cove or paperback, I went with both. I also had to set the retail price, royalty and trade discount. This and some otherr things took about five hours.
Next week I sould be moving towards a final proof. Still on track for the release in Germany!
Well I will be out of town again for a few days so I will talk to everyone when i get bacK!
Bye!
RA
It was the day that I got to choose the interior layout and font.
I went with somthing like victorian LET but not exactly, for the chapters and headers. And a more simple font for the body text, yet with that old world feel. I also had to choose the book cover style and color the my book cover art will be added to. And I had to choose hard cove or paperback, I went with both. I also had to set the retail price, royalty and trade discount. This and some otherr things took about five hours.
Next week I sould be moving towards a final proof. Still on track for the release in Germany!
Well I will be out of town again for a few days so I will talk to everyone when i get bacK!
Bye!
RA
Re: My journey in self publishing
by knorrasky on Sat Aug 16, 2008 6:14 am
I saw my book today as it will be printed. The cover and interior are done. Monday I will send it to the press. It looks better than I ever thought it could!!
Re: My journey in self publishing
by gezza on Sat Aug 16, 2008 9:00 am
Must be exciting Knorrasky! Wow, a couple of watersheds over the last few days - your book that much closer to realisation, and Stella getting her course entry!
Re: My journey in self publishing
by Wargood on Sat Aug 16, 2008 11:04 am
The Guild is on its way to becoming a force to be reckoned with in the spec fic world. Proud to be welcome in such company.
Is Tuesday too soon to start camping at the bookstore?
Is Tuesday too soon to start camping at the bookstore?
Re: My journey in self publishing
by knorrasky on Sat Aug 16, 2008 12:08 pm
I will have a link just for everyone here on my site as soon as the book is out, friends never pay full price!
Thanks for the suport in so many ways.
Yes Gezza is is truly exciting!
Thanks for the suport in so many ways.
Yes Gezza is is truly exciting!
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