Easy Way to Get REALLY Published

I saw some blogs about people wanting to get published. I spent a lot of time working for a self publisher in Michigan. Self publishing is an ever growing option. Like with everything, there is a good side and a bad side to self publishing. First, the good news is that anybody can do it. It offers everybody a shot at making money and getting your publication out there. Self publishers provide manuscript review, graphic design and more. Some will even help you get your books listed on Amazon and Ingram. What most people don't realize is that Barnes & Noble and Borders worn't carry your books unless you have a sellers account. You can only get this information if you are a publisher. It is costly and must be updated every year. Amazon and Ingram are the same way.

The second major issue is storage. Most people I have worked with through my company found that 1,000 books take up a lot of room in their garage. They were suprised to discover that MOST Self Publishers offer storage for a small fee or % of profits.

The Down Side...Maybe
ADVERTISING - Books that are signed to a label like Penguin have a minimum of $500,000 spent on them to advertise. If you are lucky to find a self publisher that agrees to help advertise your books you must take into account the cost of “freebies". If you chose to print a run of 1,000 books, at least 30 of them will be given out to help promote the book. It’s just like when a new food product is introduced to local supermarkets. The company introducing the product will offer free samples in hopes that you like the product and purchase it. Although 30 out of 1,000 may seem minimal, it must factor into your cost.

Why not “print on demand"? The good thing about POD is that you can print a very small run. Some POD publishers will allow you to print 5 books at a time. What people don’t realize is that if a big seller, such as Ingram or Amazon accepts your title, they will demand a minimum of 20 copies to be stored in their warehouses for 6 to 8 months. If the title doesn’t sell they will return the books to you. Besides the uncertainty of Pod the bad thing is that you have a very high cost per item. For a soft cover, 50 page book you may pay about $13+ a copy. This will be great if you are making a book for your family, but if you are looking to sell it you must lower your cost per unit so you can make a profit. You may be thinking, “If I price my book at $20, I am making a profit‿…not necessarially. There’s a lot of additional costs that you may not have considered. First the cost of shipping. Books can be shipped as “Media Mail". This will run you a price per ounce. It generally costs about $1.47 for two of the books I have described if shipped in an envelope. Larger orders require boxes and packing foam which also is costly. Assume at least another $4.50 per order. Now, if you add together the cost of the book, packaging materials and postage, you are looking at about an $18 cost per unit. What is the solution? LOWER YOUR UNIT COST.
To lower your unit cost you will want to print in bulk through a publisher. A self publisher can get your cost down to $7 - $10 for a HARDCOVER, 30 page book. In fact, self publishers will pay for shipping and packaging. They recouperate their expenses by taking a percentage of your sales. This may sound bad but it isn’t. Offering them a portion of the sales is great for two reasons. First it means that they only get paid if you sell, and second it is a motivator.. They will want to push your publication because it is more $ in their pocket!

Waht does it cost to self publish? Well, the price can range. Most self publishers take into the account the cost of the graphic artist (for your cover design), the manuscript reviewer, the promoter and printing. They will request that you print a minimum of $1,000 books. I have seen authors spend as little as $2,000 to as much as $50,000. It just depends on how much "extras" you want - hardcover, illustrations, sewn-in-binding, raised lettering, etc.
Almost every author I have worked with gets out a small loan. Almost every publisher will alow you to make installments.
Be cautioned, you will not recooperate your money in the first year. Even best sellers may take several years before they break even.

What if you don't want to spend that kind of money but have a great book that you know will sell-

1. You will not be able to purchase an ISBN. This is what libraries and all book stores use to catalogue your book. Without it you're basically SOL. This is very expensive. You can't just buy one. Most are sold in sheets of 100 or more.
2. You must have a bar code. Not costly, only about $10. But you have to know where to get it and how to get it. There are very specific guidelines to purchasing one.
3. You need to plan ahead - where are you going to sell to, who will be your audience? I have seen hundreds of books go to print that are designed for such a small audience that they will be nearly impossible to sell. A book about your daughter or "how to make paper" may seem like a great idea to you, but may not appeal to others. If you plan to make a profit you need to be sure that people like what you are selling. Believe me, a self publisher will tell you anything you want to hear. So will a POD publisher. They stay in business by printing books. Although they may offer suggestions to make your book the best it can be.

So, if you are still 100% convinced that your book is superb and you can make it on your own, here's my suggestions. If you follow these steps you will have the best chance possible.

A. Get your entire manuscript onto the computer. Print it up and have as many people as you can read it. Try and find honest critics. Your mother will probably love everything you do...she's your mother. Hey, maybe you could even post your out line and a paragraph or two on here. Get REAL feedback. If 9 out of 10 people tell you it sucks, maybe it does.

A (2). ASK FOR SUGGESTIONS! Have every reader tell you what they liked and what they found confusing. You will be shocked at how you may have thought something was clear as day and somebody else says they are baffeled by it. Remember they are your audience. You must satisfy their reasoning. If one reader can't understand it, 100 more won't be able to either.

A (3). Write and rewrite until it is smooth and clicks with people. A tip, always use 12 pt fonts. Ariel or Times New Roman only. Fancy fonts are too hard to read.

***Providing you are ready to move forward, meaning you have got positive feedback & your happy with the manuscript:

B. Print up a good copy. Keep this in a file. If your computer fails you will want to have a back up hard copy.

C. RESEARCH!!! - Determine who will sell this publication. The internet will be your best friend. If you worte book about the Civil War, search for independant war book sellers. There are hundreds. Send them emails asking what their policies are. Call book stores and find out what you will need to get on their shelves.

D. MORE RESEARCH - Check into Print on Demand Publishers. You must find out exactly what they will provide you with. Odds are, they probably won't get you a barcode or an ISBN.

E. Once you have found a POD, purchase your barcode. I think there's a site called barcodes.com that you can get this from. The ISBN's are tricky. You may have to go through a company called "Books in Print" formerally "Bowker".

F. Before going to print you must find someone to help you design a book cover. I have designed them for 8 years, so if you need help, email me. Or you can hire someone. Please, unless you are VERY skilled in Photoshop don't attempt this! Here's a statistic: The average browser in a bookstore will spend about 3 seconds looking at a cover. If it is not appealing they will ALWAYS pass it up. Graphic Artists have spent years going to school to learn techniques that catch the eye. You need smeone who knows how to create particular kinds of files and work with resolutions that are compatible with your chosen printer.

G. Any illustration? Even if you are not writing a childrens book you may want to throw an image on each chapter page. It's catchy if done right. Maybe you want a map drawn or a sketch to make a point.

F. Once all the decisions have been finalized have a few quick read throughs and go to print.

G. Be sure to print a minimum of 50 copies.

H. Once the books have come back from the printer you will want to have a "Press Release" made. This should probably be done by the same person you had design your cover. A Press Release (PR) is a single sheet of paper designed to show a picture of your book as well as info about it - the ISBN number, where it can be bought, who the author is, title, what it's about, etc. Any cover artist should be fully aware of how to create one of these. This is one of your best sources of advertisement. You can give them out anytime to anybody, anywhere. I have put them on tables at the bar, restaurants, posted them at book stores, hung them up in malls. Remember - SIGNS NEVER SLEEP!!! Even though you are not there you are still getting traffic due to your posting. Print a few hundred of these! Always FULL COLOR on glossy paper!

I. Get a RELIABLE website! You can do this for free or hire someone. Many sites like Angelfire or 50megs offer free sited that you can easily create with little or no experience.

J. Make contact with the individuals who agreed to sell your publication. See what they need to officially get going. I like to offer anybody selling my books a generous %30 of each sale. Most people offer 15 - 20% so it puts you way ahead of the competition.

K. Send PR's to every independednt bookstore you can find. Always adress the envelope ATTN: OWNER/MANAGER, then the remainder of the address. Include your terms.

L. Set up a pay pal account. Link this to your web site.

M. Go to book conventions, craft shows, city flea markets and sell your publication. Booths can be realitively inexpensive. Even place an ad in the local paper.

N. "DO IT FOR A CAUSE!" I have found that if you sell your books with the agreement that a pecentage will go to a good cause like the Cancer Society or The United Way, you will greatly boost your sales. Be sure to actually donate! If you are caught scamming the system you will lose in the end. Try and make the foundation match with your title.

O. Always look for new, innovate places to sell your title - gas stations, airports, tanning salons, etc. Depending on what your book is about, there are hundreds of places you can find if you put thought into it. I set up a deal with a privately owned sky diving company to sell a book about extreme sports. The owner was delighted. He was offered 40% of each sale. The books flew off the shelves. Yes, the authors profit was smaller than it would have been if we would have given him a 20% take, but we sold so many books it was well worth it.

If you have any questions about getting published please let me know. I will answer them for you!