Self-publishing a book - not sure what to do?

[Laluev]

For the past year or so I have been writing and working on a book which is a biography of my late grandfather. A vanity publisher has stated that they would be interested in publishing it using the online self-publishing outlet, Lulu.com, and I have paid said publisher over £200 for the cost of proofreading, editing and ultimately publishing it. However, I have since discovered that whilst Lulu would distribute the book on Amazon, doing this would effectively double the price due to retail distribution costs. Amazon also run a self-publishing outlet called Createspace, however they do not distribute to Lulu due to both outlets being direct competitors. Similarly, my publisher has stated that she will not use Createspace. Obviously, as Amazon are the market leader in books, I would be concerned about selling myself short through Lulu if it where to receive less traffic. That being said, Lulu give higher royalties to publishers, so I would be able to price the book cheaper on there than I would on Createspace.

Therefore, I have reached a bit of a dilemma. I can either:

* Publish the book solely on Lulu.com with the potential for less publicity but higher royalties.

* Publish the book on Lulu.com with retail distribution enabled, allowing the book to be sold through retailers such as Amazon. This would result in the costs being doubled, and also a potential issue with royalties (books sold through Amazon via Lulu would only generate forty pence per sale, due to retail costs).

* Publish the book solely through Createspace. This would mean that I could still sell on Amazon, but not through Lulu. My publisher would not support me if I took the decision, and also would mean that I would receive less royalties due to the way Amazon work.

* Publish the book on both Createspace and Lulu through two separate accounts. This would mean that the book would effectively have two ISBNs which might cause confusion down the line. I would however likely to be able to sell the book at a price I would like through both Amazon and Lulu, and gain sufficient royalties from both organisations.

Any advice on this matter would be greatly appreciated, especially considering the time and work that has gone into the book.

 

[regdog]

I'm sorry you went with a vanity publisher. No writer should pay someone to publish their books. The publisher is there to make the writer money. Vanity publishers don't care if the book sells, they've already mad their money. What we need to do now is figure out what will be best for you. If you have not signed a contract but paid for editing, you will have more options.

I would not advise selling the book through 2 separate accounts,with 2 ISBNs If you have a contract with the Vanity publisher to distribute the book this could get you in legal trouble.

Let us know if you have a signed a contract with the vanity publisher so we know exactly where you stand.

 

[Laluev]

I'm sorry you went with a vanity publisher. No writer should pay someone to publish their books. The publisher is there to make the writer money. Vanity publishers don't care if the book sells, they've already mad their money. What we need to do now is figure out what will be best for you. If you have not signed a contract but paid for editing, you will have more options.

I would not advise selling the book through 2 separate accounts,with 2 ISBNs If you have a contract with the Vanity publisher to distribute the book this could get you in legal trouble.

Let us know if you have a signed a contract with the vanity publisher so we know exactly where you stand.

Hi Regdog,

Too late, I'm afraid. I have already handed the money over. I have not, however, signed any contract, which means that should I wish to distribute the book myself through Createspace, I have the freedom to do so.

Hope this helps.

 

[regdog]

It's good you haven't signed with them. You really have no need to. You can publish your book yourself through Lulu and Createspace. You just have to get an ISBN and follow the requirements and formatting. Some vanities require you to buy so many copies of your own book to sell yourself. Which just guarantees them more money.

You can promote your book on social media like Facebook, Twitter, etc.

If the vanity did the cover you may not be able to use it unless you publish through them.

There is an infuriating aspect of publishing any book through Amazon though. They allow people to open up A-Stores. Which are basically webpages that advertise your book and they can sell your book as a distributor and they will get the lion's share of the money. Authors get pennies per book. Amazon justifies this piracy by saying the author gets publicity. This happens whether a person published on their own through a publisher.

It is up to you which path you take but I can't see paying someone to do the same thing you can do for free, and giving them a cut of each book sale as well.