| Do you want your book to open doors, or do | | | | stories: a few books were resold to major |
| you just want to hold your own words, bound | | | | publishers, made into movies ("Legally Blonde," for |
| and printed? How you publish affects your | | | | instance), achieved bestseller status, etc. You'll |
| income, reputation, and your leverage. | | | | hear about those triumphs-but not about the |
| Let's look at three options: | | | | other 30,000 or so per year who didn't even |
| 1. Publish With a Traditional Publisher | | | | recoup their setup costs. |
| You'll gain prestige, credibility, and a nice | | | | - Many of these companies offer "marketing |
| advance-and they pick up all the publishing costs. | | | | packages." Having been hired to rewrite some of |
| But the odds are slim. Traditional publishers reject | | | | their press releases, I think you'd be better off |
| hundreds of submissions for each they accept. | | | | seeking outside marketing assistance. |
| They take years to publish. And they pay authors | | | | - This industry has its share of scam artists. Get |
| pennies on the dollar. Still, if you have a | | | | product samples and full pricing information-and |
| magnificent book AND a magnificent author | | | | check references! Also check scam-complaint |
| platform/marketing plan, it's often the best choice. | | | | websites. |
| 2. Use a Subsidy Publisher | | | | 3. Self-Publish |
| It's easy, fast, and cheap-but often a mistake. | | | | True self-publishing can be very inexpensive, and |
| You pay upfront, use the publisher's ISBN, and | | | | very quick-if you just want sell books at your |
| print books as you need them. Typically, the | | | | events and to your own networks. But to |
| cover and interior design will be very generic, and | | | | compete in the retail marketplace, you need to |
| the publisher won't edit. | | | | either acquire or outsource a vast array of skills |
| Subsidy publishing only makes sense in certain | | | | and tasks. You have to: |
| situations. Because the industry ignores these | | | | - Buy your ISBN block |
| books, and because most subsidy prices and | | | | - Get the book |
| policies are completely out of step with industry | | | | written...edited...designed...proofread...indexed (for |
| norms, most of these tens of thousands of | | | | nonfiction)...and printed |
| books die a quiet death; very few sell even 100 | | | | - Develop and carry out your marketing plan |
| copies. The New York Times reports that out of | | | | - Determine your print run, technology (digital or |
| 17,000 titles subsidy published by iUniverse, only | | | | offset), and how you'll distribute and sell |
| 86 sold 500 or more in their first year. | | | | - Get your Library of Congress and Books In Print |
| But subsidy publishing may be a good choice if | | | | registrations, barcode, and more |
| you completely control your own distribution and | | | | Overwhelmed? Wait until you start grappling with |
| skip bookstores entirely (for example, selling at | | | | foreign and subsidiary rights, bookstore return |
| your own presentations, through affiliates, and | | | | policies, and so on. |
| through your own website) and you can price the | | | | If you want to self-publish, find an experienced |
| book high enough to cover the outrageous | | | | guide to steer you through the process. The |
| per-unit printing charges (typically more than | | | | expert helps you select quality, affordable |
| double the cost of using your own | | | | vendors, navigate the various minefields, develop |
| print-quantity-needed printer). It's also the best | | | | a custom marketing plan, and emerge with a |
| solution in many cases for a book with a very | | | | book that does you proud, and that could |
| small audience, such as a personal/family history, | | | | succeed in the market. In my own consulting, I've |
| a book created by school children for a class, an | | | | worked with people who just wanted an hour or |
| arcane textbook on a very obscure subject. | | | | two of advice-and created finished books from |
| Notes on this option: | | | | raw manuscripts (saving back approximately half |
| - You'll often hear subsidy publishing referred to as | | | | my fees in lower vendor costs). |
| "self-publishing" or "print-on-demand publishing." But | | | | Once you've sold 10,000 or more, you could sell |
| subsidy is not self-publishing. The ISBN supplier is | | | | your book to a traditional publisher. Major-market |
| the publisher-and true self-publishing gets more | | | | books that were originally self published include |
| respect than subsidy. And any publisher can do | | | | Eragon, Mutant Message Down Under, The |
| POD printing. | | | | Christmas Box, and many others. |
| - There have been a very few subsidy success | | | | |