Thursday, January 8, 2009
Self Publishing
Today's post will be short. Lots going on today on the home front. We decided to self publish using an on-demand printing service. Does anyone have experience with either on-demand printers or has anyone done self publishing? What are the pros and cons?
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Cons are mainly that agents and large publishers frown on self-publishing. Plus is you have full control of the finished product and with a good marketing plan can sell some copies. Lulu.com offers the least expensive self-publishing package but you must format your book correctly for printing. It also doesn't hurt to try an agent first before self-publishing. There is also the growing e-book market to consider. Whatever you do I wish you success.
ReplyDeleteelliott
I'm so glad you posted your link on the web site. I've been following all the once-a-day blogs Dani has listed on her site. I had the feeling several were missing 'cause there seemed to have been quite a bit of people who'd signed up that I recalled, but weren't listed.
ReplyDeleteI don't know anything about self-publishing other than it's a lot of work. Best of luck to you in your endeavor.
http://katiehines.blogspot.com
The quality of self-publishing seems to be catching up. A friend of mine used http://beaverspondpress.com and his book looks great. He recommends them highly. You do have to watch out for lousy self-publishing companies, though.
ReplyDeleteYou really have to know what you're doing to self-publish. If you're talented enough and lucky enough, a big name publisher will notice your great book and pick it up. Good luck to you.
ReplyDeleteMorgan Mandel
http://morganmandel.blogspot.com
http://www.morganmandel.com
True Self-publishing is an awesome amount of work and a big challenge. Now if you mean going with a reputable POD, that can work well. Just do your homeowrk on the pub houses. Preditors & Editors site is excellent source of info on all kinds of pub houses.
ReplyDeleteAfter having a big name publisher give me the run around for a year, I decided to give the establishment the finger and started my own ebook publishing company. I've got a distribution deal with Mobipocket and have quite a few sales and really good reviews. I'm so glad I went this way. I have learned so much, but it's a lot of work and it never ends. I have to put the hard work in because nobody else will.
ReplyDeleteGood luck!
Thank you all for your excellent comments and tips. I'll check out the preditors & editors and also mobipocket and beaverspondpress. You guys are all awesome!
ReplyDeleteI wrote a related post on this issue, Sharon, on my blog: http://tinyurl.com/8vtfuv
ReplyDeleteMaybe it will help? As for printers, I've used Lulu.com and really like them. They're great for small print runs and very reasonably priced. I'd avoid places like IUniverse and such.
Kris Waldherr
author of Doomed Queens: Royal Women Who Met Bad Ends, From Cleopatra to Princess Di
http://www.kriswaldherr.com/blog
Hi: I self published after starting my own small press, OnWings Press. My book is similar to yours in that it's my personal experience. Non-fiction seems to be more in line with self publishing, however, there are always exceptions. I bought my own ISBN's, I'm listed on amazon and quite a few online stores. The endeavor is time intensive, the marketing especially. I would start first of all by reading Dan Poynter's latest pubications on self publishing. Then Fern Reiss. For me it was a labor of love, putting my widow's story out there. I knew in order to compete in the market I needed to do a good job on the book, inside and out, so I used professionals for formatting, printing and cover design. I found it reasonable using www.booksjustbooks.com for cover, formatting and also their printing resource and distribution service through their Thor Program. I have had a lot of compliments on the design and the book received good reviews and finaled in a major contest.
ReplyDeleteFrom what I have read your book sounds like a labor of love also, andI wish you the best. Elaine Williams