Self publishing means you not only write the book, you're responsible for every part of the production and sales process. True self publishing means you own the International Standard Book Number (ISBN). That's important because you set the sales price and discount for the bookstores.
An offset printer is the most cost effective method of printing 500 copies or more, but you're responsible for all the formatting, interior design and artwork. If you expect the book be profitable, offset printing gives it the best chance. An offset printed book can be less than 20% of the cost of a print-on-demand.
Print on Demand is simply a technology that allows as little as one copy to be printed at a time at a reasonable cost. A 250 page trade paperback with four color covers will cost about $5.00 each.
It's a huge undertaking but some titles can be a success when they're self published.
Vanity/Subsidy Publishing You can use a publish-on-demand or vanity/subsidy company such as Iuniverse, authorshouse or xlibris. The fees are reasonable and you can print as few copies at a time as you need. One company, lulu.com doesn't charge any fees upfront, although you need to have your book, including the cover artwork and formatting all ready to go. Again you can have one copy printed or one hundred. These vanity/subsidy houses will take care of getting your title on amazon and in the Ingram database that the bookstores use to order books.
If your goal is to see your book being sold in bookstores then it makes sense to forgo the self publishing route and consider selling your book to a commercial publisher.
Mainstream Commercial Publishers There is a bit more cache when a book is published by a mainstream commercial publisher rather than self published. Publishers vary in the types of books they're interested in. Some only want nonfiction narrative, some cookbooks, others business books. There are a number of resources, both websites and books, which describe what types of books each publisher is looking for, their contact information, and often the name of the editor to contact.
Commercial publishers will pay you an advance, which is simply a fee for allowing them to publish your work, and take care of all the editing, formatting, cover design, and marketing. The advances can run from a few thousand dollars to several hundred thousand dollars. Once your book is accepted, you do not have to pay the advance back, unless of course it's stipulated in the contract, but that is very rare.
Commercial houses have the distribution and sales force in place to get your book into bookstores. Most bookstores, both independent and chains, do not stock self-published books.
Hopefully this information will help you make the decision on how to publish a book.
Owning and operating a business can be tremendously satisfying. You have the ability to work for yourself and make your own rules. One of the downsides to owning a business is the financial stress associated for being directly responsible for your own income. A 9-5 employee can to a certain degree count on that weekly paycheck, a business owner does not have that luxury. A business owner's success depends on their ability to make sales. For many, sales are the least desirable aspect of being a business owner. It means knocking on doors and making cold calls, the majority of which end up in rejection. Publishing a book can literally end the need to go out and get sales. Here's how. Writing a book will end cold calling. Imagine talking to a potential customer and being able to say, "Let me give you a copy of my book." This is a huge selling point. They may never actually read your book, however simply because you have one tells your prospective client you are an expert in your industry and you are so confident in your knowledge and abilities you have written a book on the subject.
Seriously, would you rather do business with a company you know nothing about or a company who has written a book on the subject? Most of us would rather go with a company who has written a book, we are more comfortable with them. We are instantly more confident in their skills. Your customers will be too. In fact, I have know business owners who simply had to say "let me send you a copy of my book," and the potential customer made a purchase on the spot. They did not even have to see the book, just the mention of publication was enough to give them confidence.
Writing a book will bring customers to your door. Having a book available and on the market will bring customers to your door. For example, imagine you are exploring the possibility of running a marathon. You buy a book or two on the subject. During your training you decide you need more help getting proper form so you go back to the author of your book, visit their website and book a weekend training camp with them. Now if you had not read the book, how likely is it you would have booked their particular training camp? Not likely. The same is true for your customers. Regardless of your business, when people read your book they will look to your for more information. It does not matter if you run a product oriented business like selling running shoes or a service related business like fitness training, the concept works the same. You won't have to pound on doors to make sales because customers will be pounding on your door.
Writing a book will open up opportunities for you and your business. Continuing with the same example from above, the fitness trainer writes a book and runs marathon training camps. The book catches the attention of a television producer, a news program, or maybe even the manufacturer of a running product like shoes. They contact you and offer you an opportunity. Maybe you are asked to be an expert on the local news, maybe you're offered a radio or television program or maybe your name is attached to a new product. All of it means more money for you and an expansion of your business and your company name.
There's no doubt about it, a book can eliminate the stress associated with HAVING to make sales. When you write a book, sales will automatically happen and you can focus on the more interesting tasks of being an entrepreneur - namely growing your business!
Both Dee Power & Bob Burnham are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.
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