Self-Publishing Tales from the Front Lines
ByPublishing is so confusing these days! So many options … and new publishers are springing up all the time, with various kinds of new programs.
There’s a discussion on Book Marketng Ning that I started, asking people for their experiences with self-publishing. Most recently, Joanna Penn shared her experience:
“I am a huge fan of self-publishing because I love speed and control! I wrote my book and wanted it out there so I self-published on Lulu.com so the book is for sale worldwide. It is print-on-demand in the US and I am in Australia so the costs would be prohibitive any other way. I market it and it sells from there or from my website here in Australia www.HowToEnjoyYourJob.com
“The fantastic thing is that I had control and did it all myself for very little cost and people can still reach it in the same forum as traditionally published books. I had it on Amazon a month after finishing the manuscript. Traditional publishers currently cannot move that fast. So my experience is overwhelmingly positive so far, and I intend to self-publish my next book too.”
I’m glad Joanna had such a good experience. I think self-publishing can be very good for authors who want/need control, need their book out quickly, and will take responsibility for promoting and marketing their book. (Which is of course the mindset all successful authors adopt.)
I would add here that Lulu’s had mixed reviews from what others tell me. One issue I have with Lulu (and many POD publishers) is that the price structure is problematic. Joanna’s book is between $21 and $25, depending on the format. True, she has a guarantee, but she’s also competing against best-selling books (say on amazon) that are much less. POD-published authors can’t get the bookstore distribution (for a variety of reasons, one of the main ones being no returns, which bookstores insist upon). But for those who don’t care about those things, Lulu and other POD programs work well.
Again I would refer you to the Virtual Book Tour I did with Mark Levine on The Fine Print of Self-Publishing. We covered a lot of aspects to think about before self-publishing, and Mark’s book is a terrific resource.
Publishing is changing very fast! I’m seeing the traditional publishers floundering, while those with a different business model, such as Morgan James Publishing, are prospering. I suspect traditional publishers will move more toward a self-publishing model eventually. They almost have to. It will be interesting to see what happens with the retail in that case.
3 Comments
December 8th, 2008 at 9:44 pm
When considering whether to self-publish, writers have to keep in mind what their goals are. If you want to publish a memoir as a legacy to friends and family, its price point and general marketability won’t matter. (Actually, price point may not matter as much as you think it will anyway, since books sold online or in stores that don’t specialize in books are less price sensitive than those sold in stores — and you WILL be doing all or most of your selling this way.) If you’re looking for a broader audience, you need to educate yourself before taking the plunge.
I recently posted about what you need to know about self-publishing if you want to do it right. Bottom line, it’s a great option … for writers who are willing to roll up their sleeves and do what needs to be done before and after publication.
December 9th, 2008 at 1:45 am
It is also impertive that people understand the terminology “self-publishing” before they can make a good decision.
Many use the term to refer to companies like Lulu or others who provide publishing services. I generally use the term fee-based/POD publishing for these to distinguish from independent self-publishing (which some argue is the true use of the term) where one sets up his own publishing company.
Susan is right, goals are one big key to knowing whether it’s right for you or not.
Cheryl Pickett
December 9th, 2008 at 8:46 pm
Hi Diane,
Thanks for mentioning my experience on Lulu which I thought was easy to use and good service, and enables me to get the book worldwide distribution through Amazon.com. You are right about the price however – and that does not make me much money. However, I make more money selling ebooks of the same book through Clickbank. The benefit for self-published authors there is amazing – you keep pretty much all the profit – so I keep $19 per book and no delivery or postage pain. I am not sure how traditionally published authors can take advantage of this at the moment as they have given away digital rights. I am now a passionate advocate of all things publishing 2.0 and every day there are new developments in the field, so I am sure the debate is not over!
Thanks, Joanna
http://www.TheCreativePenn.com – Writing, self-publishing, print-on-demand, internet sales and promotion.