As a
result, many well-known writers, including J. K. Rowling and Steven King, have
put e-book versions of their work up on the Internet themselves. In addition, some,
like Rowling, have started their own companies, thereby cutting the agents and
publishers out of the loop. Should unknown writers do the same?
Why might a
writer choose to produce their own books? There may be many reasons, such as
1) the book
appeals to a niche market (and bigger houses look for ones that appeal to a wide
market).
2) the
writer feels that there is a built-in audience that he or she can reach and can
therefore make money without selling through a major publisher.
3) the book
is too short to appeal to large houses (it may be only 30-100 pages, for
example).
4) writers are
responsible for marketing their books, anyway, so they might as well keep
control of pricing and receive all the profit.
Traditionally,
whether large or small press, if all goes ideally, a writer submits a query to
an agent or editor and he or she responded favorably and asks to see the
manuscript. A contract is issued and the book begins the editorial process. With
a large company, a year or two later, the book is published. This lengthy
process is far from ideal for many writers, especially those with time-critical
information.
So, if a
writer chooses to self-publish, what challenges will be faced?
Let’s
consider the four main myths and realities that apply to both print books and
e-books:
1.
Myth
or Reality? Self-publishing any book is
worthwhile.
While it is technically true that anyone
can publish anything these days, especially on the Internet, this is a myth
when it comes to something that is salable and will develop a positive
reputation for the author. If you
value what your readers think of you, self-publish only books that are well-written and have quality content—the same level
that a New York house would produce.
Consider
your professional image. It is fatal to your career to put out a book that
lacks compelling content, exhibits poor typesetting, has an amateurishly
designed cover, and is full of grammar, punctuation, and spelling errors. You will
be hard-pressed to turn this negative reputation around, even if your writing
improves over time.
For
physical books, sales of which are on the rise, Bookscan reported that for the
first quarter of 2017, adult nonfiction comprised 42.3% of the market, adult
fiction 25.2% (this includes Young Adult fiction, since 80% of Y/A books are
read by people over 25), juvenile/children’s fiction and nonfiction 7%, and
“other,” such as calendars, audio, and journals 25.5%.
For
e-books, adult fiction is 80% of the market (and most of those books are
romance and bought by females), adult nonfiction is 20%, and juvenile books are
1%, but this latter is bound to increase as time goes on. Some reference and
children’s titles are difficult to make into e-books because of the complex page
formatting and illustrations. This may change as the technology improves.
If your
book is nonfiction, remember the first rule of marketing: Find a need and fill
it.
After
publishing 10 books through traditional publishers, I had an idea for a book
that was needed in the college market—a user-friendly edition of a required style manual
for formatting research papers. The educational houses offered only a token advance
and virtually no royalties. They felt I should be happy with the fact that my
book would be out. I knew there were new students every semester who would need
it ¾that there
would be an evergreen market¾so I
decided to start my own publishing company.
So far The World’s Easiest Guide to Using the APA has sold over
75,000 copies to college bookstores, college and public libraries, and students.
My
other title for college students is The
World’s Easiest Guide to Using the MLA. Ideal nonfiction books are
those that can have a long product lifespan by being updated as new editions. For
example, The World’s Easiest Guide to
Using the APA is now going into its sixth edition and The World’s Easiest Guide to Using the MLA
is going into its second edition. My company has since expanded not only my own list
but has also taken on other authors.
Another
example is best-selling author Amanda Hocking, who started self-publishing her
young-adult romance novels as e-books in April of 2010. By March of 2011, she
had sold over a million copies of nine books and averaged 9,000 sales a day.
She has earned millions to date and is now with St. Martin’s Press.
You CAN be successful self-publishing your book if
you put in the effort. The caveat is to do so only with books that:
•
are high quality.
•
are in demand.
•
have been professionally edited and proofread.
•
have a professional page layout and cover.
•
include an ISBN and Library of Congress Control Number
(LCCN), and Library of Congress Publication Data (so your book can be sold to
libraries)
There is
another element, however, a critical one. Your book must be marketed properly. Marketing
is a topic in itself and requires a lot of research and study. A terrific
resource is 1001 Ways to Market Your Book by John Kremer (Kindle Edition, $7.97).
2. Myth
or Reality? Self-publishing is the same as vanity press.
Self-publishing is definitely not the same thing as
vanity press. Vanity presses charge hundreds or thousands of dollars and will
print anything you send them—as is. You will get a pile of books that you then
don’t know what to do with. The vanity press generally has control of the cover
design and the page layout.
When you self-publish, you retain control. You have
the book typeset and the cover designed. While this process will definitely require
money if you don’t know how to do them yourself, it will be very inexpensive if
you use someone listed on a site like www.fiverr.com. The person may be located
out of the country, but, as a result, he or she will work for a low fee.
Once your book is typeset and the cover has been
designed, you can upload it onto CreateSpace, which is Amazon’s self-publishing
platform. Small presses also use this service. This has tremendous advantages
in that your book will have its own page on Amazon. In addition, the books are
print-on-demand (POD). This means that as someone orders one, Createspace will
print it and ship it out. They will also track your sales and send you a check
each month for any copies sold.
While you won’t have a box loads of books to deal
with or have to turn your house into a fulfillment center, you will still have
to market your work so that people know it’s available.
You can also create e-books through Amazon’s Kindle
programs. These, in addition to audio versions, can be listed on your Amazon
page. Your work should be in at least these three formats (print, e-book, and
audio) in order to reach all audiences.
3. Myth
or Reality? Books can be sold only through bookstores.
Myth! There are significant costs to traditional houses
associated with printing and storing books. Once the publisher has inventory in
the distributor’s warehouse, they sell copies to wholesalers who ship to
bookstores.
Books are easily damaged in this process, and those
are returned. Titles may sit on the bookstore shelves for only 2-3 months,
after which they are shipped back to the publisher and may soon go out of print.
If you have a subject that can constantly sell,
though, why should your book die an early death? Why not self-publish it and if
it’s nonfiction, update it every few years to take advantage of the recurring
market?
Because of returns, wholesalers refuse to deal
directly with authors, and most bookstores won’t, either. In addition,
wholesalers and distributors expect a 45-55% discount, and bookstores expect at
least a 30% discount.
An
alternative to the printing and storing costs is POD, but bookstores usually
won’t take POD books, because there is no place to return them. The same
discount schedule applies. It seems clear that all books eventually will be
printed POD, because the old model of printing and shipping is inefficient and
expensive and also destructive to the books themselves.
Instead,
forget the major bookstore chains.
1001 Ways to Market
Your Books explains exactly that. Not one of Kremer’s suggestions is a bookstore. In
fact, bookstores are the WORST place to sell books for the reasons already
mentioned. “Special Sales” is the term used for types of sales outside the
traditional bookstore channels. Also check out Brian Jud’s book, Beyond the
Bookstore: How to Sell More Books Profitably to Non-Bookstore Markets (ISBN:
978-1-59429-002-2, $10.00). He discusses all aspects of Special Sales. While it
has a 2003 copyright date, the information is still relevant.
Another
downside if you self-publish without setting yourself up as a small press is
that your book may not be reviewed in major publications like Library
Journal, Kirkus Reviews, and Publishers’ Weekly. The author
cannot submit books to most of these publications. There is a specific process
involved with getting reviews. This is another area for major study.
4. Myth
or Reality? If you build it, they will come.
While this
philosophy worked well for novice Iowa farmer Ray Kinsella in attracting Shoeless
Joe Jackson and the outcast members of 1919 Chicago White Sox, it works only
for famous authors with a large fan base. In that case, it’s easy to get the
media to report that a new book is available. This scenario does not apply to
new or unknown writers, so this is definitely a myth. You can have your work on
Amazon and other online bookstores, but who will see it?
The
Internet is the best place to market any product. If you plan to self-publish,
you must build a platform—an online community. Ideally, this is in place BEFORE
your book comes out. Amanda Hocking had a terrific fan base before she
self-published hers. A platform includes the following:
- Website
- Blog
- Social media (such as Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Linked In; pick the one(s) where your audience hangs out)
- Article marketing
- Videos
Post comments on the blogs of people in your target
market and “friend” them on your social media accounts. Keep your profiles
professional and don’t allow anyone to post to your accounts who isn’t a colleague
or potential colleague. That is, don’t post party photos or family photos and
don’t allow others to, either. Put samples of your work on your website for
others to read. When your book comes out, you will have a nice audience to
which to market it.
Traditional publishers, editors, and agents expect
you to have a platform and will look for it. If you can build a track record
with your sales, you can approach these channels from a much stronger position;
however, if your Internet presence is negative or amateurish, though, you are
almost guaranteed a rejection slip. No matter how you publish, you need a
positive online presence.
The
Bottom Line
If
you feel that in spite of the challenges involved with self-publishing that you
want to pursue this avenue, you may find it to be very lucrative if you do it
right. Let’s review the steps:
- Establish a positive online presence.
- Learn everything you can about self-publishing.
- Self-publish only quality work.
- Sell outside the traditional bookstore channels.
Good
luck and have fun!
