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Discussions and recources for all types of self-publishing, from using POD publishing services to doing your own printing and distribution.
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BEING YOUR OWN PUBLISHER
But the important thing is that there are (and always have been) alternatives to writing something then trying to sell the rights to a publishing company. This group is to explore these areas of self-owned publishing biz.
Some writers have niche books, some have special needs (like texts for their seminars), some are just too entrepreneurial to sell of their own inspirations. And some just want to see something in print.
There is a spectrum these days, from big publishers through the new, small POD publishers, to using publishing services like lulu.com or iuniverse, to printing yourself and selling online, to release of downloadable mp3 "podcasts" or pdf manuals.
If you have expertise, experience, or questions in this area, don't be shy about posting them here. It's a rapidly expanding field and nobody knows everything about it, but lots of us are learning enough to do what we want to do and successfully get it across the counter.
Discussion Forum
LULU.COM Some leading questions 20 Replies
Started by Linton Robinson. Last reply by MAXINE P. SOSO Dec 20, 2009.
Who is your book distributor? 19 Replies
Started by Dana Marie. Last reply by Zhana Apr 19, 2017.
How to get started publishing your books 17 Replies
Started by Linton Robinson. Last reply by Zhana Jan 13, 2018.
Comment Wall
Comment
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Comment by Neil Ostroff on September 28, 2012 at 1:24pm
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It’s hard
No, mind my isn’t in the gutter right now, I’m talking about how hard it is to sell books. I’ve been writing since I learned how to hold a pencil, I’ve won contests, had a top NY agent, and have written and/or published a dozen novels. People ask me where my ideas come from and I can’t give them an answer. All I know is that ideas for stories DO come and the urge to capture them on paper is overwhelming. I’ve been known to jot down notes on whatever I can find, tiny pieces of scrap paper, toilet paper, even my own skin. Writing has always come easily and naturally to me and I get insurmountable joy sitting in front of my computer and living in and creating worlds inside my own mind. Some people say there’s nothing better than reading a good book on a rainy or snowy day. There is one thing I can think of that’s better: writing one. So why have I titled this post It’s Hard? Because trying to make a living as a writer is a completely different animal than just being a writer. Marketing and promotion is tedious and grueling, but necessary of course. The best piece of advice I ever got as a young writer was a very successful author telling me that making it in this field was incredibly hard and takes years of commitment and devotion and that most people give up or fail to achieve any level of success. But that’s okay. Because if it were easy than everyone would be rich and famous. And that ain’t the case.
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Comment by Barbara M. Hodges on September 26, 2012 at 8:55pm
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I believe we will continue to see books sell in print format, at least for awhile. There are still a lot of people who prefer them. With the ease of using Create Space to self-publish, we can keep the prices down and make them more attractive.
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Goodbye paperbacks
Nook just unveiled its new tablet today. Watching the interview on CBS this morning with the president of the company he was asked if he thought traditional paperback books will disappear in thirty years. Although, he wouldn’t give a definitive answer (because Barnes and Noble still have over 600 bookstores nationwide) it was apparent that he thought so. Though Barnes and Noble have outlived most retail book outlets, I do believe those days are numbered. Getting into the ebook revolution by designing the new Nook is a wise idea when Amazon is clearly taking over the market. And with the Kindle App, you don’t even need to own a Kindle to buy from the electronic store and read a book. As I’ve watched my book sales on Amazon rise steadily each month, I’ve also watched my Nook and Kobo sales stagnate. It could simply be the popularity of the Kindle and ease of the Kindle store that feeds my sales or it could be that I haven’t put nearly the effort into selling to Nook and Kobo through Smashwords. It’s my own ignorance that keeps this market low on my priorities. I simply don’t know much about the Nook and its store. That’s all about to change. I’m dedicating the month of October to getting myself setup on the Nook sites and their boards. Though I was loyal to Amazon when I was in their Select program, it’s time to branch out and spread my promotional efforts around the globe. Look out Nook, here I come!
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Ebooks are forever
Ebooks are forever. Think about this sentence for a moment. You write a novel, get it formatted, have a nice cover made up, get an ISBN, and then download it onto Kindle, or Smashwords, or any of the hundreds of ebook distributors, and poof, it’s available globally to anyone with an ereader. Not only that, it will be available until the end of time. That means fifty years from now if I want to show my great grandchild one of my books, all they’ll have to do is type in the title and, poof again, there it will be. Talk about immortalizing yourself for all eternity. Isn’t that what art is all about? I’m very lucky to be living in an age where I can imprint myself to the world and be remembered forever through my books. I do feel sad for all the paperback writers throughout the last centuries whose hard work and effort only got them a six-week shelf life for their masterpiece and then their book would disappear forever, going out of print and into the paper shredder. With ebooks I may still be getting royalties when I’m a hundred years old, I can write and publish what I want and let the worldwide public decide if the book is good, without being evaluated for the amount of profit the story might generate. My novels won’t sit stacked on some shelf in the back of a dusty old bookstore (if bookstores still exist in five years). They will always be fresh and ready for download, ready to draw a new reader into my crazy, noir, eccentric, imaginary worlds. It’s an incredibly comforting thought knowing my stories will be around forever, like the myths of ancient Greece or fables and folklore of olden times. In a way, ebooks will immortalize me and define me as a novelist until the end of time. Now, if I could just make a healthy living at it. Haha.
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Comment by Kim Hope Smith on August 25, 2012 at 9:39am
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The Adventures Of Mopey The Mini Horse
While writing my first children's book, I was confronted with a common problem for many first time authors. "Who will I hire to the illustrations"? This may seem like an easy question to answer for some people, but for my book, I didn't want the typical, big headed, huge eyed cartoon character that most people have grown accustom to, when looking at children's book. I see nothing wrong with this for children's stories, but, because these are my horses I am writing about, I wanted them seen as real. I didn't want to simply take pictures of them, because putting sneakers on a horse and having him run in a field, would be an impossible mission.
So, my search began to find the perfect illustrator.
This is when I met Hope Luper, an incredible little girl, who's fascination with horses and her gift of art, created an incredible portrayal of animals, through the eyes of a child.
For the whole story, please read my blog.
Thank You Kindly
Kim
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Organizing the chapters
So begins one of my favorite aspects of writing a novel; organizing the chapters. This is when I take each separate character and their plotline and read it all in one string instead of being spaced out in the book. This allows me to flush out any inconsistencies and make sure the story stays true and along the proper path. I first did this when I wrote DEGENERATES http://www.amazon.com/dp/B007FFN5LY. That book has so many characters and plotlines that it was nearly impossible to keep track of everything. I literally wrote seven separate stories, one for each character, before melding them together to form a coherent novel. This is what I’m doing right now for IMAGINATION. Once I get the characters in order, it’s just a matter of connecting them with a few key intro sentences and, wallah, the book is nearly complete. Why do I say “nearly”? Because I still do two more final reads. The first final, I’ll read half the book in one sitting at a relatively slow pace looking for any mistakes or errors no matter minute or insignificant. The next sitting, I will read the second half, looking for the same things. Then I put the book aside for one week give or take a day and concentrate on marketing and promoting, putting the manuscript totally out of my mind. Then comes the final read day. I’ll plan it on a day when I know I won’t be disturbed and have nothing pressing to do outside of the house. I’ll wake up early, get a steaming cup of coffee, settle into my comfy chair in the sunroom, place my laptop computer on my thighs, and read as much as I can before my eyes bug out or I stop for lunch. I’ll read the book like someone who bought the book; fast and looking to be entertained. I’ll only pause if something really terrible stops me. If I do have to rewrite a paragraph and shift some things around during this phase, I will start the entire process over again, reading from page one. I’ll do this until I can read the entire book in one sitting without stopping to fix anything. Sound like a long process? It is. I’ve written entire drafts of novels faster than it took me to consider the book finished after re-reads. You might say I’m a perfectionist, but I’m really not. For me, finishing a book is like setting a child out into the world. I want the book/child to be the best it can be and shine far above all the other competition. So, as I take another sip of coffee and look over these pages, I won’t know if IMAGINATION will be done in a week or a year. Let’s hope it’s the previous, I’ve got lots more new books to write.
http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com
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Comment by CBM Christian Book Marketing on July 13, 2012 at 9:26pm
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A Story of love, redemption and the power of God's grace.
Author, Samantha Ryan Chandler writes, A Love Story-How God Pursed Me and Found Me-An Impossibly True Story. This gripping and heart-wrenching memoir by the author gives her personal testimony of an unseen divorce that forever changed the landscape of the author's life and the lives of her children.
In the author's words, she tells a story of an evil plan perpetrated by her husband to rob her of everything: their homes, money, and stability-to include her three precious daughters. The author writes with purpose first for her children, so they would know the truth, but also gives the reader many life lessons learned through her dilemma. When all else failed in her life, God was faithful. The author boldly proclaims the unfailing love of God as she learned that God can rescue anyone, for His hand is not too short. Her message is one of hope and faith in God, encouraging others to hold on to see their restoration. For God is a God of new beginnings and faithfulness in His love.
Giving accounts to visitations by angels on three different occasions, the book testifies to the supernatural in a wonderful way. Uplifting and filled with scripture this message of encouragement is to all those whose lives have been stolen from. Her message is simple: God is Faithful and He can restore that which was lost. This book is truly a magnificent testimony to the saving power of the grace of God.
This is a testament to the love of God and an irresistible love story to those that are lost. Thank you Samantha for writing a book that shared your life story, that gives others hope when "hope" has been lost. You are an inspiration.
Highly recommended for anyone that loves an amazingly true story with a happy ending! May all the glory and honor be to God-who came and rescued a young, skinny girl from Nowhere, Louisiana and gave her life and life more abundantly!
For more information about the author and the book be sure to visit Author Samantha Ryan Chandler ... You may also visit Amazon for more information about A Love Story-How God Pursed Me and Found Me-An Impossibly True StoryA Christian Author's Article Blast sharing the love of Christ.
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Comment by Lara Biyuts on July 11, 2012 at 9:53pm
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Word-of-Mouth
Okay, so here we are entering the second week of July and my sales have remained relatively stagnant since the Fourth of July. I’ve explored all the free promotion sites, and forums and threads. I’ve placed sponsorships with Kindle Nation Daily, Kindle Fire Department, Kindle Boards, and various smaller indie websites. I’ve manage to write on average three blog posts a week and have over 170 followers (thanks everyone) and almost 200,000 hits. I’m active on Authors Den, Goodreads, Shelfari, The Book Marketing Network, and various other websites for writers. I participate on Facebook, Twitter, Linked in, Booktown, Bookblogs, and numerous other social media outlets… so what do I do now to boost sales? Pray to the book buying Gods to make me go viral? Pay thousands of dollars for a publicist and go forth unto the living and market directly to humans? Or simply keep doing what I’m doing and hope that eventually my dues will be collected and it all will pay off. I’m at the point in my writing career where the biggest book buying will probably come from word-of-mouth. With eight books out there now and three more on the way within a year, I can only hope that word-of-mouth will propel sales. I’ve gotten nothing but rave reviews for my novels and these are from actual unbiased buying customers that I don’t know. My friends who do buy my books also tell me how much they enjoy them. I get emails and comments from total strangers who love my stuff and style. So, what do I do now? The agony of word-of-mouth promotion is that it can take a long time for it to gain momentum. But then suddenly, poof, you go viral and everyone wants your stuff. Suddenly, you’re rich beyond your wildest dreams and selling tens of thousands of books a day. You buy vacation homes, and boats, and fast cars. You sit in a big house overlooking the ocean and tap out stories, happy beyond your wildest dreams. Yep, that’s what the right word-of-mouth can get you. Now, if I only knew how to get people talking. Any ideas? Check me out on Indie Spotlight today! Of course they got the wrong cover so that’s not good. That’s free advertising for ya. http://www.theindiespotlight.com/
http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com
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Can’t figure it out
Although I’ve figured out what sites help most with sales, and what forums to post on, and what sponsorships work best, and I’ve documented all of this on my blog, there’s still one thing I cannot figure out. What prompts sales? For example, last month I sold many copies of INSECTLAND, DROP OUT, DREAM TRAVELER, and FROSTPROOF in the U.K. Yet, I’ve done almost no marketing for the U.K. since March. In the U.S., I sold many copies of all my books, but the two best sellers for the month were DROP OUT and DEGENERATES. This month, my U.K. sales for SILENT INVASION are huge, with a few sales of INSECTLAND, but that’s it. No other sales. In the U.S., I’m selling lots of my YA books but few of my adult. But last month, I sold mostly my adult books. It makes no sense. These are two different genres with two different age groups and audiences. Why the sudden boost in sales for a particular book? If I truly have a fan base, then the logic would be that my fans are gradually reading all of my books and that is why certain books sell a lot more than others on certain months. I’ve also learned from other forums that Amazon has an algorithm for their books and if your book somehow gets into the algorithm it gets more exposure, thus more sales for that certain book. And still other authors have said that it depends if Amazon starts randomly listing the book as a recommended read. I have also heard that liking a book means nothing except for the visual representation that people have bought it, and I still haven’t figured out if tags work that much when compared to the hundreds of thousands of books that are tagged with “thriller” for example. The Pandora’s Box of promotion and advertising still eludes me, but I’ll find it, I swear I’ll find it. Until then, I’ll keep plugging away at sponsorships, posting on sites, investigating rocket-sale promises, and falling for scams, until I find the yellow brick road to riches and fame. If/when I do, I’ll let you know.
http://www.neilostroff.blogspot.com
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