What are the self-publishing options?
There are several publishing options that
fall under "self-publishing".
Traditional self-publishing involves typesetting your manuscript,
designing a cover, and handing it over to a printer.
Modern technology has created a number of
other options, including "print on demand", also often referred to as
"vanity press". This includes
Amazon's Create
Space program, as well as POD publishers like iUniverse,
Lulu and Xulon Press. There are several others, too. (See my
disclaimer at the end.)
You have also surely heard of eBooks, which
used to mean simply creating a typeset file in PDF format (like this guide). Now it can also mean creating a special file
for e-publishing on Kindle, Smashwords or Nook.
Most
how-to-self-publish guides were written by publishing services to persuade you
to use their services or to provide instructions on using their services. This guide is different. This is an unbiased
overview to help you select the best option for you.
You are in the cockpit here, acting pretty
much as a one-person publishing house.
You need to arrange the editing and proofreading, the typesetting, the
cover, the printing and the distribution. The HUGE – and I mean SUPER
GARGANTUAN advantage of traditional self-publishing is that you keep the
profits - all the profits.
For example, you might have $2000 upfront
costs, then maybe $5 per book for printing.
Your printing costs depend on the size of the book, the paper thickness
and the print run (how many copies you print at once), as well as some other
factors. Then you keep the profits. Assuming
a sale price of $20, you break even after selling your 134th
book. After that, you make $15 per book.
Compare that to print on demand, where you
might make $4 to $12 on each book, depending on the program. Your upfront costs might be anywhere from $0
to $5000, depending on the program.
Editing. You might choose to edit yourself or hire a service like ours.
Editing yourself can be tough, as you are probably too close to the work. You want someone willing and able to review
your manuscript with a critical eye and rework some of your passages for
maximum effect.
It is also worth hiring someone other than
yourself to proofread. Proofreading
should definitely be done by a fresh set of eyes. We can do that for you, but you can get just
as good a job for less money by hiring an English student from a local
university. Proofing generally covers
correct grammar, spelling, punctuation, capitalization and consistent word use.
Typesetting. This means laying out your manuscript in a pleasant and
easy-to-read format. Like editing and
proofreading, this is a service well-worth outsourcing. You could do it yourself in Microsoft Word,
which is what I used for this Guide. Ah,
but this guide is just a report. It is
not meant to look like a book.
If you want a book that looks like a book,
much better to use software like Adobe Indesign. Keep
in mind that there is a huge learning curve with any new software. It is also
not just a matter of getting the mechanics right. Font selection and spacing options can make a
big difference in how people feel about the book. In other words, there is an art to
typesetting, which a professional is more likely to get right than you.
Before you can do the typesetting, you have
to know the trim size and the margin requirements, as well as the number of
pages.
Remember that printers print in increments,
depending on how their press functions.
For instance, let's say your manuscript gets typeset in 225 pages, and
the press can handle 220 and 240 pages.
That means you will have to go with 240 pages, including 15 blank
pages. You might find something to fill
some or all of those 15 pages, but you might prefer to have the manuscript
typeset in just 220 pages; after all, you will be paying nine percent more for
240 pages than for 220 pages. So you need to know the increments your printer
will print in.
You will also need to know any other
technical specifications, including exact trim size and margin requirements, as
well as paper thickness. This is more
important for the cover, especially the spine
- make sure you have the exact dimensions for the spine – but best to
have all the specs before hiring the typesetter, too.
Cover. There is a
section ahead just about the cover design and components. What is different for traditionalself-publishing is that you need to arrange for printing the cover, so make
sure you have all the technical specs.
You can design the cover (front, back and spine) without the specs, but
the result will not be as professional, or it might end up costing more.
Distribution. When you self-publish, you are in complete control, and that
includes distribution. This is perhaps the toughest part of self-publishing.
If you want bookstores to have access to
stock your book, you need to get into Ingram's
and Baker & Taylor's title databases. You need also to be able to offer bookstores
a return policy. With POD publishers,
this is out of your hands. But if you
print your books, you are on your own. Getting into Ingram's and Baker &
Taylor's title databases on your own isn’t easy, but if you are counting
on bookstore sales, it might be worth finding out if you can.
One of the main reasons an author might
want a website is to distribute her
books. For fiction and creative
non-fiction, an author’s website or a book-specific website is ideal, and then
you can handle fulfilment yourself.
An
author’s website is about the author. As your repertoire expands, a new section can
be created for each new book. This is
typical for fiction authors.
A
book-specific website is for authors who really
have just a single book to promote, with no intention of writing more. Examples would include a biography, a true
story, or a book supporting a cause or an idea.
Your website might include a list of books,
a blog, an author’s biography, reviews and a sample chapter, as well as a video
trailer. You might even want to include
some historical or scientific notes – and , yes, that goes for fiction, too.
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