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February 2010 Update:
Everything
in the self-publishing industry changed in April 2008 when Amazon.com announced
that, in order for self-published authors to sell POD and regularly-printed books on its site,
independent authors and publishers had to print their books using Amazon's BookSurge
service. But Amazon's
attempt to monopolize the entire POD industry failed when Booklocker issued a
class action antitrust lawsuit against Amazon in July,
2008 and WON that lawsuit in January 2010. Amazon then "retired" the
BookSurge name and POD service and agreed to pay $300,000 in attorney's fees.
Read details here.
Your
Self-Publishing Options with
POD
(Print-on-Demand)
Printers and Publishers
by
Barbara Brabec
The climate for self-publishing has never been better than
it is right now, and the number of companies on the Web that offer
services to authors who want to self-publish is absolutely amazing. But these
POD publishers are a different
breed from the trade book publishers discussed in my article,
Selling
Your Book to a Trade Publisher, and you need to understand
that difference.
I published three of my books in the 1980s and 1990s and sold several
thousand copies of each book by mail, making a tidy profit in the
process. I actually produced one of those books with nothing more than
sheer determination and an IBM Selectric typewriter (how I loved those
interchangeable balls!), but my readers didn't care because the content
was solid and the books were attractively laid out and easy to read. This was in the days when boards had to be pasted
up and sent to the printer for "shooting." Now, everything about the publishing industry has changed,
and today's publishers and printers want books designed and
delivered electronically.
If you have tried to get the attention of
a trade publisher and been rejected, or if you simply prefer the idea of
self-publishing so you can be in complete control of your book from start to finish—and you're prepared to learn how to market and sell the book you
plan to publish—then I urge you to give serious consideration to
self-publishing. Since countless books have
been written on this topic, this article is merely designed to give you an
encouraging overview of your self-publishing opportunities with links to
helpful books and resources on
the Web where you will find a wealth of more detailed information about both
eBook and
print-on-demand (POD) publishing.
Skills
Needed for Success
Although many writers have the computer software to do
the design and layout of their own books, not all of them have the skills
needed to do a professional job. For example, no writer, however capable, should publish
either an eBook or a paperback until it has been professionally edited. It is simply impossible for
any writer to see all of his or her own writing errors. (See my Editing
Checklist for the kind of errors writers commonly make.)
Each book publisher or POD printer has its own specifications and requirements for how
book pages must be designed and submitted for printing, but not all
authors follow them carefully enough or have the technical skills to do
what is required. As a
representative for Wheatmark,
Inc. pointed
out to me, there is always something significantly wrong with most
"camera-ready" books they receive from new authors. "There
are errors in spelling, grammar, and punctuation," she said.
"Or the author-turned-layout-artist has left floating
headers on blank pages. Or the margins are much too tight. Or the images
are too low-resolution for print. If we published one of these books 'as
is,' the book would look amateurish and no one would buy it."
Without question, most authors will need help with cover design, as well as
the interior design of the book itself (selection of typefaces, layout, graphic
illustrations in the text, and so on). Granted, many of the publishers on the
Web who are serving the self-publishing industry offer editing and cover design services, but their cover designs are
often based on standard templates (nothing very creative here), and the
editing may amount to nothing more than simple copy editing when, in fact,
a book manuscript may need content editing as well.
(See my affordable
book manuscript editing services here.)
Printers vs.
Publishers
Something
that may not at first be apparent to publishing beginners is that there is a big difference between a POD printer and a
publisher that can help a print-on-demand author get a book professionally
published and into the online marketplace.
Many companies on the Web now offer complete publishing packages to authors that
need help with editing, typesetting, and cover design, but these
packages can get very pricey.
For authors who want the most control over their book and have the skills
necessary to handle their own editing and design work (and then create PDF files of both
the book and its cover),
working with a POD printer is the best way to go. The first choice of self-publishing pros has long been
Lightning Source,
not only because it offers superior printing and customer support, but because of its
marketing tie-in to
Ingram, the world's largest wholesaler of books. That tie-in puts an author's
book directly into bookstore databases and also makes it possible for libraries
to order the book from Ingram, too. LightningSource doesn't offer hand-holding
services, however. They don't work with "authors," but only "publishers," and as
the author-publisher, you will be expected to study their how-to guidelines and
send them properly formatted PDF documents for the book's text and cover.
If you lack
skills, the right software, and money, give Lulu.com
look. I've heard a lot of good things about Lulu, and the video to which I've
linked above is quite impressive. I have in my library
Chris Irwin's
book published on Lulu, and he said this was a perfect publishing solution
for him. Many kinds of products can be designed and published here with no
upfront costs. Authors have complete control of the publishing process, set
their own retail prices, and receive 80 percent of the revenue from sales. The only problem I have with Lulu is that, when there is a
question or problem,
one has to go into a forum to get an answer.
Other Web Resources
You could spend days on Google, searching for information on topics
related to self-publishing and eBooks. In fact, a search for such keywords as "ebook publishing" or
"POD publishing" will turn up a few million pages. On many of these pages you'll find articles by authors who have enjoyed
success in both areas of self-publication. On some pages that discuss
POD publishing, you'll learn more about the different types of POD publishers and fee-based service providers
as well as the negative aspects of POD publishing (the "POD
stigma"). Although you will find some negative aspects about eBook
publishing as well, remember that both of these publishing methods have
proven viable and affordable for many self-publishers. The key is to educate yourself to all
available options, heed the advice of self-publishing experts on the Web
and in books you may read, and carefully compare all the costs, pros and cons of each publisher
or publishing method that looks promising to you.
In
addition to the technical book production guidelines available on each the
websites of POD printers and publishers,
you'll also find a wealth of free information on the Web from self-publishing gurus such as
Dan Poynter, one of the best known and most successful self-publishers in
the country. His ParaPublishing
website and free bimonthly Publishing Poynter's Newsletter are
absolutely filled with a wealth of information that will prove invaluable
to writers and self-publishers. I might add that it was Dan Poynter's
Self-Publishing Manual that got
me started as a publisher back in the seventies, and I have continued to rely on
his
professional guidance through the years.
Also visit John Kremer's Bookmarket.com
site, which features his books, reports, and consulting services,
along with a wealth of information and resource lists in his
"Personal
Filing Cabinet" department. He also offers a free
TIPS ezine.
Researching
Individual Companies
If you elect to work with a POD publisher, as opposed to just a printer, you'll
need to do a lot of research. Once you find a few companies that you think look
right for you, do a spreadsheet that lists their basic "package" charge (if there is one), plus
what they are charging for all the "extras" (such as editing, cover design, etc.), whether they pay royalties,
offer marketing support,
or merely print and ship books and "split" the profits with the author-publisher.
To get started, check this
"Incomplete
Guide to Print on Demand Publishers." Just make sure that the company you decide to work with does not demand
exclusive rights to publish and distribute your book. Finally, make sure you
understand all the fine print in its publishing contract before you agree to its
terms. (And before you hire one of these editors to edit your book, compare
their minimal editing services and cost to
my comprehensive
editing services.)
Unfortunately, the self-publishing explosion has given birth to dozens of POD
publishers, some of whom have racked up a lot of complaints from dissatisfied
authors. Some have renamed themselves as a result, and continue to operate the
same old way while others have simply gone out of business, leaving authors in
the lurch. (Read
this article by Angela Hoy for insight on what happens to authors when a POD
publisher goes out of business.) A search on Google for "POD publisher
complaints" will also turn up some very interesting pages.
Your list of
prospective POD publishers should include BookLocker, of course. This is not a
POD printer, but a company whose stated goal is to "get a quality book into the
market, with the lowest initial investment for an author, and usually within a
month." You might begin by reading
BookLocker's
Guide to POD and eBook Publishing, and then check out its print-on-demand "deal
evaluator" to see how BookLocker's cost for a book compares to what other POD
printers may be offering.
This is an important figure if you plan to buy copies for sale by mail or in
workshops or other speaking engagements. If you think it likely that you can
sell many books this way, you might want to publish electronically just to get
on Amazon and Barnes & Noble, or in bookstore and library databases, and then work with a regular offset book printer who can do
a short run of 500 to 1,000 books.
Also take a
look at Amazon's POD services on
CreateSpace.com. There are no
upfront costs here, but the author pays a reasonable fee when sales are
made. Charles Sun, an author who has published
a children's book here, said he liked the fact that he was not obligated to
distribute his book via any specific channel, but thought that many authors
would find it difficult to publish here because CreateSpace does not provide any
free tools, and authors need some commercial software tools to create the needed
PDF files and cover art. (He designed his cover with MS Publisher, and used Adobe
Acrobat to convert files to PDF.)
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A
Cautionary Note about Vanity Presses
(Also
Known as Subsidy Publishers)
Vanity publishers feed on people's egos and wallets, often charging
outrageous fees to get a book into print. Tom and Marilyn Ross explain
in their Complete
Guide to Self-Publishing (see left) how easy it is to be taken in by one of these publishers. "The advertising
copywriters hired by subsidy publishers are the best in the
business," they say, adding that they could "charm the lard
off a hog." Further, the Rosses point out that, in most cases, after
paying thousands of dollars to print your book, you won't even own it.
Instead, you'll get a "royalty" on any book that happens to be
sold, and if you want copies for yourself, you'll have to buy them. The
really bad news is that no one wants to buy books published by a vanity
press, so if you want to sell many books and make a good profit, look for another way to get into print.
If you really want to get the scoop on Vanity/Subsidy
publishers, just Google the words "vanity press" to turn up 5
million Web pages on the topic.
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Related Article: Selling
Your Book to a Trade Publisher
[Back to T/C
for Writing/Publishing
Articles]
Copyright © 2000-2010
by Barbara Brabec
All Rights Reserved
Barbara Brabec's World
BarbaraBrabec.com
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Insider Information for the Self-Publishing Writer
