While subsidy publishing is not something I recommend for anyone who is publishing on a large scale, it is the solution for certain kinds of projects. I believe it is the best option for any book that is a personal project that is not intended for large distribution. It can also be used to test out a book and the market for it.
An example of a personal project would be a family history. You can control the costs by purchasing a one of the plans available. Then you divide that by the number of people who will receive a book to get the amount that each person will pay toward publishing. The book will belong to family members who want a copy and they should be willing to pay a higher price. The unit cost would normally be too high for commercial value, but not for personal value.
Another example would be a personal poetry chapbook. You purchase a package that you know the exact cost of and you would have some chapbooks for friends and family. A chapbook would not be viable as a commercial project at a high unit cost, but again personal value would be placed on it.
Using a subsidy press to test out a book gives you the same control over cost that the personal project does. It gives you an opportunity to find out if there is a market for your book. If so, you can then have your book printed yourself. If you intend to do that you will need to send out Request For Quotation (RFQ) forms to at least 3 book printers. Ensure you ask for exactly the same information so you can make an accurate comparison. All you need to do is send the PDF file of your book to the printer you choose and in a timely fashion you will have boxes and boxes of books to sell. You can learn more about printing by downloading the Free Report at http://www.selfpublishing.ca/ or from purchasing Self Publishing in Canada:A complete guide to designing, printing and selling your book. Both publications include a sample of an RFQ form.
Sunday, January 31, 2010
Sunday, January 24, 2010
How good are these subsidy publishers?
I am sitting here looking at two books published by Trafford Publishing, a formerly large subsidy company that now belongs to Author Solutions. My readers and those I teach know that I go into a lot of detail about book design because your book is your best marketing tool. And it has to be perfectly designed, or as near as perfect as you can get it. There are industry standards about book design. It isn't something I just made up.
The first thing I notice is that neither of these books have laminated covers. Scuffing is starting along the edges and spine of both books. Libraries won't purchase books unless they are laminated, which is sad because one book in particular is a great read. Book covers need to be protected, particularly any dark colour because is scuffs too easily.
The interiors of both books are insipid and uninspiring. Gutters are too small, typeface looks like Times New Roman (which is a computer font), running heads are dull, and pagination is inconsistent. But they look "okay" and you could sell them at booths and book events. Just don't fool yourself that the booksellers and librarians don't know what a properly designed book should look like. They tend to pass up "okay." Both books are non-fiction but neither one has an index, which is a big selling feature for booksellers and librarians.
The big subsidy companies have templates that they use. Their design, while "cookie cutter" is decent enough. But they are not the only ones out there offering to publish your book. There are smaller outfits, usually connected to a printing company, that offer the same services. Well... sort of. I have seen some very badly designed books done by these little companies - unsaleable books. I don't think they mean to produce such poorly put together books. Most of them just don't know better. I have met with upset authors who have a product no one wants to purchase. It's sad that someone has poured their labour and money into a book no one wants to buy.
All this being said, subsidies do work for some projects. I will go into that in the next post. Meanwhile, if you want to know how to design a book properly, go to http://www.selfpublishing.ca/ and order Self Publishing in Canada: A complete guide to designing, printing and selling your book.
The first thing I notice is that neither of these books have laminated covers. Scuffing is starting along the edges and spine of both books. Libraries won't purchase books unless they are laminated, which is sad because one book in particular is a great read. Book covers need to be protected, particularly any dark colour because is scuffs too easily.
The interiors of both books are insipid and uninspiring. Gutters are too small, typeface looks like Times New Roman (which is a computer font), running heads are dull, and pagination is inconsistent. But they look "okay" and you could sell them at booths and book events. Just don't fool yourself that the booksellers and librarians don't know what a properly designed book should look like. They tend to pass up "okay." Both books are non-fiction but neither one has an index, which is a big selling feature for booksellers and librarians.
The big subsidy companies have templates that they use. Their design, while "cookie cutter" is decent enough. But they are not the only ones out there offering to publish your book. There are smaller outfits, usually connected to a printing company, that offer the same services. Well... sort of. I have seen some very badly designed books done by these little companies - unsaleable books. I don't think they mean to produce such poorly put together books. Most of them just don't know better. I have met with upset authors who have a product no one wants to purchase. It's sad that someone has poured their labour and money into a book no one wants to buy.
All this being said, subsidies do work for some projects. I will go into that in the next post. Meanwhile, if you want to know how to design a book properly, go to http://www.selfpublishing.ca/ and order Self Publishing in Canada: A complete guide to designing, printing and selling your book.
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
What exactly is subsidy publishing?
You can detect a subsidy publisher by the very fact that you are expected to pay to have your book "published." You pay to have the PDF of your manuscript printed on a digital printer, bound, and placed for sale on the subsidy's online bookstore. If you want editing or design services, that will cost you extra. You can put out as much as $1200-1500 for as few as 20 books. That works out to a unit price of at least $60 per book. How on earth can you sell your book and make some money? Simply put, you can't.
Subsidies make their money on the front end. For them, there is little or no money to be made by authors reordering books to sell. They are constantly on the lookout for fresh "meat" so to speak. If they are not constantly bringing in new clients and new books, they would not be a profitable business. That is the harsh reality of subsidy publishing. Over two years ago I sent for one of those How To Get Published e-books put out by one subsity and they have been phoning and emailing me since. I have given up pointing out that I do it myself and am not interested. I am in their data base for life.
The current trend has been for one large subsidy, Author Solutions, to buy up their competition. They now own well known subsidies AuthorHouse, Trafford, Xlibris, WordClay and iUniverse. These branches of Author Solutions still operate under their original name and novices will have the impression they are separate businesses, which they aren't. Author Solutions needs a larger piece of the pie in order to find authors so they can be profitable. The unfortunate part is that the authors themselves are not profitable.
Next post I will talk about the quality - or lack of - that you will find with most subsidies.
http://www.selfpublishing.ca/
Subsidies make their money on the front end. For them, there is little or no money to be made by authors reordering books to sell. They are constantly on the lookout for fresh "meat" so to speak. If they are not constantly bringing in new clients and new books, they would not be a profitable business. That is the harsh reality of subsidy publishing. Over two years ago I sent for one of those How To Get Published e-books put out by one subsity and they have been phoning and emailing me since. I have given up pointing out that I do it myself and am not interested. I am in their data base for life.
The current trend has been for one large subsidy, Author Solutions, to buy up their competition. They now own well known subsidies AuthorHouse, Trafford, Xlibris, WordClay and iUniverse. These branches of Author Solutions still operate under their original name and novices will have the impression they are separate businesses, which they aren't. Author Solutions needs a larger piece of the pie in order to find authors so they can be profitable. The unfortunate part is that the authors themselves are not profitable.
Next post I will talk about the quality - or lack of - that you will find with most subsidies.
http://www.selfpublishing.ca/
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Let's talk about subsidy publishers...
If I never hear the term vanity publisher again, I will be a happy writer. It's an archaic term left over from the early late 19th and 20th centuries before we had home computers. They way it worked was if you had enough money, you could pay someone to "publish" your book without benefit of editing, decent design, or even a good product. One was considered vain to have "just anything" published rather than having it done by a reputable established publisher. A writer who paid to have their book published wasn't viewed as a "real" writer. They were desperate, they were shunned, their book was of inferior quality and their vanity knew no bounds.
Turn the world ahead to the online, internet connected, blogging, twittering, keyboarding late 20th century and you will notice that the everyday use of computers has produced generations of people who write. Because we have programs like Word, WordPerfect, MacWrite and others, we can write, edit and publish to our heart's content. That's not saying that it is good writing or editing, but that is not stopping us. To post a blog such as this or a tweet or have your own website is commonplace today and does not make us vain. We simply have something to say and better communication venues in which to share our comments.
My point is that companies like Lulu, iUniverse, Xlibris, Wordclay and Trafford are not vanity presses. They are in fact Subsidy Publishers whom you pay to publish your book. You are subsidizing the publication of your book. It's legal, socially accepted and can be affordable. It does not make you vain.
I'll be exploring subsidy publishing over the next few posts. If you have any questions, post a comment here or at http://www.selfpublishing.ca/.
Turn the world ahead to the online, internet connected, blogging, twittering, keyboarding late 20th century and you will notice that the everyday use of computers has produced generations of people who write. Because we have programs like Word, WordPerfect, MacWrite and others, we can write, edit and publish to our heart's content. That's not saying that it is good writing or editing, but that is not stopping us. To post a blog such as this or a tweet or have your own website is commonplace today and does not make us vain. We simply have something to say and better communication venues in which to share our comments.
My point is that companies like Lulu, iUniverse, Xlibris, Wordclay and Trafford are not vanity presses. They are in fact Subsidy Publishers whom you pay to publish your book. You are subsidizing the publication of your book. It's legal, socially accepted and can be affordable. It does not make you vain.
I'll be exploring subsidy publishing over the next few posts. If you have any questions, post a comment here or at http://www.selfpublishing.ca/.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Should I use a pen name?
A pen name, or nom de plume, is the pseudonym an author uses to conceal his or her true identity. Often famous authors will use a pen name when writing in another genre than that which they are known for. Sometimes famous people use a pen name because they do not want the book to be associated with what they do, or they do not want to use their fame to sell the book (which begs the question, "Why not?"). Should the average self-publisher use a pseudonym? Probably not.
When you are an unknown author, you will only mask your identity by using a pen name. How do you expect to sell books if you do not give your real name? You want to garner fame...and that won't be possible if no one knows who you really are. In my experience self-published authors tend to use odd pen names anyway. One fellow used his high school nickname and it really wasn't very flattering. My advice is that unless you are already well known for something else and don't want your real name known, do not use a pseudonym. It is not helpful when you market your book.
When you are an unknown author, you will only mask your identity by using a pen name. How do you expect to sell books if you do not give your real name? You want to garner fame...and that won't be possible if no one knows who you really are. In my experience self-published authors tend to use odd pen names anyway. One fellow used his high school nickname and it really wasn't very flattering. My advice is that unless you are already well known for something else and don't want your real name known, do not use a pseudonym. It is not helpful when you market your book.
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