Self Publishing v/s Traditional Publishing

[WriterJohnB]

No one has mentioned Amazon's CreateSpace. It's a way to get your book in PRINT without spending any money upfront. Even the ISBN is free. You only pay for copies you purchase (there is no minimum) and they're quite low-priced for the author, so he/she can make a decent buck on sales he makes himself. At the same time, you can publish to Amazon Kindle, using the same cover design.

Yes, OF COURSE THERE'S A CATCH. It takes work on the part of the author. You have to do your own editing, proofreading, and formatting to PDF, (But I'll bet you know someone who works in an office with Adobe Acrobat availableL) which requires software being purchased, but you can use it again for your next book. They have 40 free cover designs you can choose from, changing the font and style and even uploading your own cover art. You finally have to put out your own money for the proof copy. For my 432 page novel, it cost me less than $10, including shipping. Once you've approved the proof (or rejected and gone back to make changes and done a second proof), it goes on-line at Amazon. They even have tables to help you figure where to set your price and offer different selling methods.

I've had 3 genre novels published by Small Presses, and always said I wouldn't consider self-publishing. But this is a local historical novel that should find a comfortable niche in the education market. I also think it could go beyond that, but that's to be seen. It's also published in Kindle and Smashwords.

I sent this novel to 40+ agents and got no interest, so I went the createspace route. And it was so easy that I also published a mid-grade-reader version of the same story. Now it's up to me to try to arouse some interest in the book. And, believe me, that ain't easy.

Take care,

JohnB

 

[garryg]

...You have to do your own editing, proofreading, and formatting to PDF... It's also published in Kindle and Smashwords.

Hello John,It may be that I've read this wrong, but are you saying you can get a PDF file uploaded to Smashwords by going down this route?

The one thing that consistantly puts me off Smashwords is their IMO overly-stringent formatting rulls!

 

[susanhermanross]

Thanks for the info. John. I have been using Lightning Source.

 

[newtimep]

I must admit I'm on both sides.

I've recently started self-publishing short stories, with some friends, thanks to Amazon's Kindle Direct Publishing, but my longer stories (my novels) are still here with me. Some are being read by literary agents, and some others by small to medium publishers (I don't really think the big ones would even turn the first page).

Self-publishing can be a good way to get some readers' or publishers' attention, but I don't want to spoil my best stories just becaused I decided to rush them into publication by paying for it.

I've spoken with many writers about lulu.com or createspace.com and have heard both sides of teh story: some are utterly sad because they are not selling anything or getting anyone's attention and other have sold quite a few copies and have already got the attention of a traditional publisher. But I'm certain that most self-published writers won't get more than 50 copies sold, mostly to friends, family, and maybe some online friends.

If you really trust your books, I think you should head the traditional way. Money should go from the pusblisher to the writer, and not the other way.

But if you are aware of what self-publishing means, and are ready to work harder to promote, sell, and get other people's attention, just do it. And, of course, if you don't need the money you're going to pay.

 

[garryg]

Again I’m confused by what we are calling self-publishing here?

I'm certain that most self-published writers won't get more than 50 copies sold, mostly to friends, family, and maybe some online friends.

I have just under 2,000 free downloads for short-stories I put up on e-publishing sites, and all of them have links to the pay-for download I have recently released. This is all only a bit of an experiment just now, but nobody who known me has purchased anything I’ve ever wrote. Friends and family expect to be given stuff, if they are interested, and not to have to pay for it!

The first sale came in two days after the book listed, admittedly there aren’t that many so far, but the point of this is to see if those free stories can translate into even 1% sales.

If you really trust your books, I think you should head the traditional way. Money should go from the pusblisher to the writer, and not the other way.

Many good, well written, books are not accepted by publishers because they do not fit their model, or are not deemed to be commercial enough. This isn’t something that has happened to me personally or to anyone I know, so that attitude isn’t ‘sour grapes’, it’s just a symptom of the industry in general.
I have had letters from magazine editors who said they personally liked my short-stories but didn’t have a slot for them because it didn't fit with their current marketing model.
And you don’t have to pay out to get your work ‘published’ through the e-route, so I assumed you were referring more to vanity-press with the you-pay-them comment here?

 

[kowalskil]

Again I’m confused by what we are calling self-publishing here?


I have just under 2,000 free downloads for short-stories I put up on e-publishing sites, and all of them have links to the pay-for download I have recently released. This is all only a bit of an experiment just now, but nobody who known me has purchased anything I’ve ever wrote. Friends and family expect to be given stuff, if they are interested, and not to have to pay for it!

The first sale came in two days after the book listed, admittedly there aren’t that many so far, but the point of this is to see if those free stories can translate into even 1% sales.

Many good, well written, books are not accepted by publishers because they do not fit their model, or are not deemed to be commercial enough. This isn’t something that has happened to me personally or to anyone I know, so that attitude isn’t ‘sour grapes’, it’s just a symptom of the industry in general.
I have had letters from magazine editors who said they personally liked my short-stories but didn’t have a slot for them because it didn't fit with their current marketing model.
And you don’t have to pay out to get your work ‘published’ through the e-route, so I assumed you were referring more to vanity-press with the you-pay-them comment here?

And people do not read as much as they did in the past, before television, CD's, computer browsers, electronic games, etc.

Ludwik Kowalski (see Wikipedia)
Or see this interview: Audio1
.
.

 

[beer good]

And people do not read as much as they did in the past, before television, CD's, computer browsers, electronic games, etc..

I keep seeing this presented as fact, despite the huge rise in book sales (not to mention literacy) worldwide over the last 40 years or so. Does anyone have any actual statistics on how much less people supposedly read?

 

[eclair]

^Those statistics can be found in journals, but since no one is reading anything anymore, they are lost to us forevermore. :sadface:

 

[elled]

self pub

I am following some of the most current developments in publishing and "self" as well as new in house. From what I gather, a number of literary agencies are toying with or actively considering publishing. This is a cross purpose to some extent for agents but reflects the big changes in publishing. Amazon is also bringing out various lines in their own in house publishing. Does this make it easier to get published? Of course, to some extent. Does it help build and sustain a career? That remains debatable. I know from recent queries to agents that right now, one of the things they want to know is how many books you are actually selling, what publisher brought them out, etc.
Personally, I still prefer working with a publisher because it provides the editing that is so important. Working on an upcoming release now reinforces how important that is for me. I have seen far too many self pubs that really needed rigorous editing and its lack ruined what could have been a reasonably good book.

Elle
Sit down and enjoy a little mystery, touch of humor, and dash of romance from author Elle Druskin