| 5) Cosmetic corporate connections | | | | free services can attest. |
| Publisher B has a new corporate overlord in | | | | Hint: You get out of something what you put into |
| Amazon, but offers no carriage with Ingram, | | | | it; choose your publisher accordingly. |
| which means no order availability through many | | | | 2.5) "Free" publishing that isn't actually free |
| bookstores nor major website listings with | | | | I have to slip in this bonus shenanigan. Publisher T |
| competitors Barnes & Noble.com, | | | | claims they will publish your book for free, yet |
| Powells.com, Bamm.com, etc. | | | | require a $3,985 investment from the author. |
| Hint: Find a publisher that offers wholesale | | | | Last time I checked, that wasn't free. Their |
| distribution through Ingram (which includes listings | | | | justification? They reimburse the payment to you |
| on Amazon, too). Publishing is already competitive | | | | once your book sells its 5000th copy. |
| enough; your distribution channels shouldn't be. | | | | Hint: Ask them the percentage of times they |
| 4) Disavowing any knowledge | | | | actually reimburse their authors. Ask for the titles |
| Publisher P calls itself a traditional publisher, even | | | | of the books and author's names. Then get the |
| though it uses the same on-demand technology | | | | contact informaton for every one of those |
| as other PODs. They require an exclusive 7 year | | | | authors and confirm it. |
| contract (twice as long as most traditional | | | | 2) Traditional publisher affiliations |
| agreements) and absorb all your rights before | | | | Traditional publishers make the lions share of |
| you discover the truth. | | | | profits because they take a gamble on every |
| Publisher L doesn't call itself a publisher at all, but | | | | author. Publisher U has executives from the |
| rather a conduit toward publication. It even | | | | traditional publishing industry; which means they |
| features a picture of a machine "publishing" your | | | | know how to take an author's money up-front |
| book for you. Do you want a hot-water heater | | | | AND in the long run on the back-end. |
| handling your pride and joy? | | | | Hint: If you pay to be published, make sure you |
| Hint: Sign a non-exclusive contract that you can | | | | make a higher royalty than a traditional publisher |
| cancel in 30 days written notice and pick a | | | | pays. And make sure you don't confuse "20% |
| publisher that uses real live human beings to | | | | net profit" with a "20% retail royalty". |
| format your book. | | | | 1) Charging to be profitable |
| 3) "Free" on-demand publication | | | | In this competitive publishing environment, |
| Free things require no commitment, which is a | | | | publishing is hard enough without having your |
| harsh finale for a book you labored to write. We | | | | publisher charging you for things that should be |
| have heard of authors who "published for free" | | | | free. Publisher X recently introduced an option for |
| and then the author forgot who published their | | | | $249 that lets you set your own retail price. And |
| book! As Vince Lombardi says, "The quality of a | | | | when you see this bar graph comparison, you will |
| person's life is in direct proportion to their | | | | understand why: |
| commitment to excellence, regardless of their | | | | Hint: Having pricing flexibility is certainly better than |
| chosen field of endeavor." Getting what you pay | | | | not having it, but you shouldn't have to pay for it. |
| for was never more appropriate, as authors of | | | | |