Any aspiring authors out there? Well if you want to go from "aspiring" to "published" then you better start learning about book publishing. And there is no one better to teach you than author, editor and publisher Valerie L. Coleman.
This is the first of three guest posts where Valerie will share tips from her vast knowledge of book publishing. So grab a pen and some paper and learn how to "Master Self-Publishing to Make Money".
Self-Publishing or Print-on-Demand?
Copyright © 2010 by Valerie J. Lewis Coleman
With the advent of technology, writers have numerous options when it comes to publishing. If you’re blessed to get a book deal with a traditional publisher (i.e. Random House, Simon & Schuster, HarperCollins), you’ll get an advance, royalties and a marketing allowance. Given the volatility of the book industry and emergence of e-books, landing a deal with a traditional publisher is a rare feat.
Tons of vanity presses make it easy to publish a book. These companies charge tens of thousands of dollars by preying on the fact that naïve authors will pay and do just about anything to be in print. I know of companies that charge $12,000 for 500 books. That’s $24 a book! As Solomon said in Ecclesiastes, “Vanity, vanity all is vanity!”
Subsidy presses will offset, or subsidize, a portion of the publishing expenses. The author pays for editing and printing, the press pays for marketing; however, they will also participate in the proceeds for each book sold.
An independent or small publisher usually focuses on a specific genre. These publishers may or may not pay advances and often have less than twenty authors on the roster.
Print-on-demand (POD) publishers are better described as high-priced printers than publishers. These companies charge exorbitant fees and act more like the middle man on a book project. One of my clients paid $150 to copyright her title through a POD. Had she done it herself, the cost would have been $35 (that’s a markup of almost 500%).
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| Flicker photo by -Georg- |
Sidebar: Regardless of the publishing option you choose, your books will not automatically fly off the shelves. You will have to market, promote and sell, sell, sell!
Let’s take a look at some differences between self-publishing and PODs:
1. Many PODs do not provide a comprehensive edit although they charge like a professional, developmental-writing editor who’s providing personalized coaching and a manuscript critique. Self-pubs can find competent editors for a fraction of the cost.
2. PODs use templates for book covers. I have a client whose inspirational book has the same cover image as a book about demons, witches and warlocks. She was horrified by the discovery. Self-pubs can contract with graphic designers to create customized one-of-a-kind covers for as little as $300.
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| Flicker photo by Surat Lozowick |
3. If you're in business to make money, it's almost impossible with PODs. Thorough self-pubs can acquire books for less than $2 each; however, the POD cost for a comparable book often exceeds $10. Doesn't sound like much, but when authors try to market to bookstores, libraries and distributors, they soon learn that it's not cost effective. To make money, bookstores charge 40% of the retail price and distributors up to 70%. So, if a book is priced at $15 and the author has to give up 60% (or $9) to a distributor, the gross profit is $6 ($15 retail price - $9 to the distributor). If a POD printed the book, the loss is $4 a book ($6 gross profit - $10 POD print cost). As a self-pub, each book sold results in a net profit of $4 ($6 gross profit - $2 printing cost).
I have a client who went with a POD—against my recommendation—because she wasn’t charged any upfront fees. I admonished her to find out her cost to purchase books, but she was too ecstatic about “the savings” to read the fine print. Well, as I expected, they got her on the back end. The POD charged her $25 to buy her book which should retail for $12.95. The cost made the book a hard sell, so she packaged it with trinkets to enhance the perceived value, sold it for $20 and lost lots of money. Through my imprint QueenVPublishing.net, we offer affordable publishing packages that allow you to earn a profit on the first print run!
4. PODs don’t pay royalties on books purchased by the author and most books sold through PODs are purchased by the author. Go figure! For the few books that are sold by the POD, the author earns a whopping $110 in royalties on average. The earning potential for self-pubs is limited only by the author’s persistence and ability to creatively market and sell books.
5. PODs charge excessive fees for promotional material and marketing. One of my clients purchased business cards through her POD. They charged her $200 for 200 cards (at $1 per card, they’re too expensive to give away) that didn’t even have her contact information. To add insult to injury, the cards directed the consumer to the POD’s site, so she paid to advertise for the POD. Awful! We offer 5,000 custom-designed business cards for $150 (or $0.03 each) so give them to everyone.
The only plus to PODs is the ability to print small quantities. For writers who want to test the market or print copies for family history, POD may be a viable option. If you absolutely must go POD, go straight to the source, Lightning Source. Most of the PODs contract with them to print books and then markup the fee to authors.
If you’d like a FREE list of PODs or want me to check out a publisher for you, use the Contact Us page at PenOfTheWriter.com.
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Valerie J. Lewis Coleman is the best-selling author and award-winning publisher of Blended Families An Anthology, Tainted Mirror An Anthology and The Forbidden Secrets of the Goody Box. As a literary manager, she has assisted thousands of writers in pursuit of becoming published authors.
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