Fiction Scribe

It could be that your pile of rejection slips resembles the tower of Pisa, or perhaps you like the sound of keeping the rights to your work. Or possibly, the idea of designing your own cover appeals to you. Whatever your reason for choosing to self-publish, I recommend you don’t stumble into it as uninformed as I was.

What is Self-publishing and Print on Demand? Self-publishing basically means the author undertakes the entire cost of the publication themselves. POD or Print On Demand is a relatively new printing process that most self-publish companies employ. POD books are printed only when the book sells at a retailer such as Amazon and then is shipped to the customer.

First you must decide exactly what your publishing needs are and how much work you’re willing to tackle yourself. If you are able to design and upload PDF files and manipulate digital images in cover templates and so on, then a do-it yourself company like Lulu might be for you. If you would rather attach a Word File of your manuscript to an e-mail and send it to a professional to do the rest, then you need a full service publisher like Xlibris.

Don’t judge a book by its cover? Actually the first thing a reader sees is your book’s cover. A poorly crafted cover could have readers believing your work is also bland and sloppy. If you have extra money to spend, put it into a professionally designed cover. Hire a freelance designer if your self-publisher will use one for your book.

Make sure that a qualified copy-editor goes over your manuscript at least once. Your book could be the greatest piece of literature ever written but if it was not proofread, then grammar and spelling mistakes are all readers will see. Shop around; copyediting is seldom included in self-publishing packages and could cost upwards of a thousand dollars extra for a 300-page manuscript. Freelancers often charge much less.

Three points to consider about the self-publishing industry.

1.) The suggested retail price for POD self-published books is often set way above market standards. You could see your 250-page trade paperback book selling for $18-25.

2.) Self-publishing Print on Demand companies do not make their money selling their author’s books. Their profit stems from selling publishing packages and editing and marketing/publicity campaigns to writers.

3.) Self-published fiction books often sell five copies or less (not including to family or friends). Non-fiction books can do much better. If you have a fabulous weight loss plan that works, a get-rich scheme with proven success, or an amazing inspirational self-help story, then you could be one of the self-published authors who sell several thousand copies and get scooped up by a mainstream publisher. However, this is rare.

When you have weighed all the options and think you have the perfect publisher for your book I urge you to Google search the company and see if you can dig up some dirt. If it smells wrong then move on. There is no shortage of companies offering self-publish services.

When you do make your choice I recommend you purchase a book from your publisher’s bookstore. Pick a book that most resembles the vision you have for your finished masterpiece. A sample copy close to your page count, cover layout and genre is the best choice. This was an amazing help to me, as I returned to my copy often during the publishing process. It gave me a feel for the quality of their product, and an idea about how quickly their store fulfilled orders.

I hope this has helped you to make an informed decision about your publishing future.

Good luck.