What
is Self-Publishing?
The purest form of self-publishing means that you deal directly with
the editor, book designer, printer and then
handle the marketing and distribution of your
book. In exchange for taking
on all of the responsibility and costs, you
will get to press sooner and
get complete control of your
book.
Self-publishers
do not have to perform every task themselves.
They do, however, have to see that every task
gets done. What they can't do themselves,
they have to simply outsource the work. Therefore,
SELF-PUBLISHING CAN TAKE ON MANY FORMS,
depending on the individual's abilities and
time constraints.
The
difference between writing
a book and publishing a book is quite dramatic.
Writing is an ART,
whereas publishing is a
business.
Let's
Talk Cash
Authors vs. Self-Publishers
Authors:
Receive 6%
- 10% in
royalties.
Self-Publishers:
Receive 30%
- 40% from
bookstore distributors or 100% selling
directly to their readers. In addition, there
are many tax advantages for self-publishers
compared to authors.
Be
Careful Before You Sign
If
you are going to hire a vanity/subsidy publisher
(this includes POD publishers) to help you "self-publish" your
book... please read the contract VERY carefully!
Some of these publishers, not all, have been
known to sneak undesirable clauses in them.
Our
Recommendation: Would you like to be able to decipher and understand
any print-on-demand or ebook publisher’s
contract? Check out a reference that we personally use and highly recommend... it also compares
and analyzes 73 of the top print-on-demand
and ebook publishers.
Stop by www.book-publishers-compared.com
Something
else to note; the ISBN belongs to the
vanity/subsidy publisher, not the author.
For the author to take their title somewhere
else, including self-publishing it, they would
have to purchase a new ISBN.
The
Self-Publishers Game Plan
First
put together an effective business plan BEFORE you
actually publish your book. Most
first-time self-publishers focus all of their
energy on the publishing process, and put
off designing a business plan until they have
a printed copy of their book staring them
in the face. Don't do this!
As a self-publisher, you are running
a small business. Preparing a business
plan (which includes your publishing
timeline) is vital to your success.
The financial aspect must be addressed.
Please
don't let our "business plan" speech
scare you. It's a skill that can be
learned and mastered just like anything else. Click here for our FREE Self-Publishing Action Plan
Think
Ahead
Once
your book hits bookstore shelves, you've
got approximately eight months to produce sales. If
your book doesn’t prove itself after
the eight months, it will almost certainly
get pulled. So the time to do your marketing
is way BEFORE your book even thinks about hitting
the shelves.
Thousands
of booksellers and librarians found their buying
decisions on reviews. But the major review journals
(i.e. Library Journal and Publishers Weekly)
will only review your book if you send them
a bound
manuscript three to four
months in advance of your targeted publication
date. Don't overlook this great opportunity
for book sales.
