I hadn't planned to get into self-publishing this early, but this article in the
New York Times
(subscription may be required, sorry), brought it to the fore. For
those who can't get to the article, it's titled,"Self-Publishers
Flourish as Writers Pay the Tab," and examines the current phenomenon
of self-publishing. One figure that struck me was provided by Author
Solutions (AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Xlibris): Their average title sells
150 copies. Ouch.
Before you get the wrong idea, let me
emphatically state that I'm not against self-publishing. If your book
fits in a niche that isn't profitable for a commercial publisher, then
self-publishing may be for you. If you just want to give a few copies
of a book to friends and family, you can do it at very little cost. The
trick is in making money.
True self-publishing is a business
venture. You have to know your market. You are responsible for
everything from writing to editing to layout and typesetting to working
with the printer. You pay for it all. The name of the publisher is -
you! (Or whatever you want to call your venture.) This is all heady and
exciting stuff, but you have to understand everything involved before
you get into it. How do you get your book into bookstores? Do you even
want to sell it through bookstores? How do you get the book reviewed?
How do you market your book? What's the best way to ship your book? How
do you manage the bookkeeping for the book?
Woah! That's a lot
of stuff! Well, yes. You can certainly farm out some of the work (hire
an artist, a designer, a publicist, contract with a book distributor),
but it's all ultimately on your shoulders.
The myth is that
all self-published books are crap. This is not true, but the onslaught
of inexpensive self-publishing services certainly brings
Sturgeon's Law to the forefront. It's your job to make your book rise above the muck.
Read
through the comments on that article. Sadly, about half of them are
from people pushing their self-published books or services to
self-published authors, or people blasting mainstream publishing or
self-publishing. Discount them, and you'll see two distinct types of
stories emerge. One is the people who did it right and found modest
success. The other take involves people who paid a self-publishing
company and had their hopes dashed. The success stories seem to
outweigh the disappointments, though that's obviously not a scientific
sampling.
What does that tell you? It tells me that there are
darned good reasons to self-publish, but those who make a go of it work
their tails off. There's nothing wrong with working your tail off.
However, if you'd rather spend your days pumping out new material, you
might be frustrated at the amount of time and effort (not to mention
money) you have to spend to make a profit.
Ah, you say,
there's this company that will take my book and print it on demand. All
I have to do is take a cut of the profits. Please think long and hard
before you do that, because not all self-publishing companies are
created equal. Ask some questions. How much does it cost, and what do I
get in return for that money? Who owns the ISBN? Is the quality of the
books acceptable? Do they fill orders in a timely manner and at a fair
price? What profit (or royalty) can I make from each sale, and if they
pay royalties, how are they calculated? Can I set my own price? What
rights do I need to assign and for how long? Can I get my rights back
easily if I'm not happy or if a commercial publisher wants the book?
What services do they offer, and what do they cost? Some people put
more thought into buying a toaster than selecting a self-publising
company, and often end up getting burned.
The entity that owns
the ISBN is the publisher. You can pick up an ISBN for cheap (sometimes
free) through Lulu, but they will be listed on the copyright page as
the publisher. If you're truly self-publishing it'll be worth the extra
money to have your own ISBN. You can still use their services to
produce and print your book, but you get your name on the copyright
page. And if you're going to self-publish, doesn't that look better?
Will
your self-published book be a best seller? What are your expectations?
If you're expecting a blockbuster, you'll probably be disappointed. If
you've done your market research and do a good job with your business,
you could be pleasantly surprised at your success. I know people who
are doing quite well in specific niches. And yes, some self-published
authors do get picked up by commercial houses. Those success stories
are few and far between. Remember the statistics I quoted in the
opening paragraph. They're disheartening, but if you go into the
process the right way, you can beat those figures.
Update: And just so you know self-publishing isn't a new thing, check out today's
Holt Uncensored.