Re-publishing a novel

[Raymond31]

Hello I'm new to this forum, I couldn't find the introduction section so I say my hello in this first post.

I wrote a sci-fi novel last year and had it published by Lulu.com It's a self publishing company that does print-on-demand so there was no money to pay upfront apart from obtaining an ISBN number. It's been on sale since March and I have sold none whatsoever dispite promoting it on my own website. I've had it test-read by people and they have given me lots of constructive feedback the main point being that it was a joy to read.

Lulu.com does allow me to remove it from sale at any time so changing publisher would be no problem. My question is would a publisher be less likely to publish it when technically it would be a second edition?

[dustinzgirl]

I doubt the publisher would even notice. You really can't call it a second edition unless you sold a whole bunch of them.

[John Jarrold]

Did you send it out to major publishers before going to Lulu? If so, most of them won't want to consider it again...each editor gets huge numbers of novels submitted every week, and have to move on.

[Raymond31]

Thank you for your replies.

I never tried any major publishers before. I used Lulu.com because it was easier. I wasn't too bothered about how many it sold but I expected more than zero.

I'll have to try a more conventional approach to publishing it.

[John Jarrold]

Very best of luck!

[lin robinson]

Perhaps you should try some less conventional approaches to promoting it.
No point in discontinuing it until you get a nibble elsewhere, so you may as well try to really sell the thing.

You chances of a publisher getting sweaty palms over a book with zero sales is slim, I would say, in any case.

Next project let me suggest that you get your feedback from people before publishing.

Why did all those people who found it a joy to read not buy copies? One promotion technique you might consider is strongarm co-ercion.

[Raymond31]

Why did all those people who found it a joy to read not buy copies?

I wrote a 21 page draft and gave it to all my friends then after I wrote the full novel I gave everyone a copy to test read before I 'finalised' it. So they didn't need to buy one because they all had a copy for free.

[scalem X]

I wrote a 21 page draft and gave it to all my friends then after I wrote the full novel I gave everyone a copy to test read before I 'finalised' it. So they didn't need to buy one because they all had a copy for free.

Sounds like your friends weren't really all that supportive. It makes me wonder how commited those friends were to your cause.

yeah Unless you have a clear strategy on how to sell your novels, self publishing is not the way. Almost all success stories of self publishers, are people who regulary attend events and try to sell their novels there, so they end up selling say for example 10 novels a week each on a different event. The internet is just a medium, if you want to advertise, you'll have to do more than put up one add somewhere and hope for a couple of copies.

The question remains:
Is the novel good enough? Submit it to some agents/publishers and find out.
I don't really think they'll mind, if the reader count is below 30...

[lin robinson]

they didn't need to buy one because they all had a copy for free.

This is NOT what I meant by unconventional marketing techniques. :-)

Just kidding. I'm not kidding about this: if you can't sell this thing nobody else is going to want to.

Start figuring out who would want to buy it and why, go to where they are and tell them.

Get a PayPal account. Put copies on eBay (Buy Now! and LONG auction time) Do a webpage to spiel the book. Link to it.

Go to a swap meet. Set up an apple crate lemonade stand in your front yard and sell it to passers-by. At "wholesale" prices.

Get a mention of it in your church bulletin, school paper, employee newsletter, local free weekly rag. Hire a smokewriter plane. Kidnap somebody famous then shoot yourself.

But don't expect anybody else to have any enthusiasm for a book you've given up on.

[Raymond31]

But don't expect anybody else to have any enthusiasm for a book you've given up on.

This thread seems to have gone in the wrong direction. It was about whether a conventional publisher would be put off by the fact that it has already been self published. It wasn't about me giving up on it. If I can't get it published the conventional way I will still continue with self publishing.

[lin robinson]

Sorry to misinterpret your question. Good luck with the book.

[scalem X]

This thread seems to have gone in the wrong direction. It was about whether a conventional publisher would be put off by the fact that it has already been self published. It wasn't about me giving up on it. If I can't get it published the conventional way I will still continue with self publishing.

Yeah, but since the first few people already explained, one would think that the advice could go further no? I mean after all, what is the fun in a forum where one must always stay within the boundaries? It is not like the answer to your question wasn't there, it's just that we like to elaborate.
Else you could have the first three replies: 'No', 'No, unless' and 'No'
And then the thread would die, what a pity.

[dustinzgirl]

Originally Posted by John Jarrold

Did you send it out to major publishers before going to Lulu? If so, most of them won't want to consider it again...each editor gets huge numbers of novels submitted every week, and have to move on.

So, just to verify,

If you have sent the book to major publishers befor publishing on LULU, they would likely NOT publish it if they denied it previously.

Secondly, if you have published it on LULU and sold less than, say, a few thousand copies and have NOT sent it to any major publishers than you can still send it to major publishers.

Now, should you remove it from LULU prior to sending it to major publishers? I would go with YES, emphatically. Publishers like exclusivity. They don't like to share, and I don't blame them.

Now, what if you have already purchased the ISBN when publishing on LULU?

[scalem X]

Now, what if you have already purchased the ISBN when publishing on LULU?

I guess, you'd have to change the title and maybe take a pseudonym. In that case you can dodge all accusations.

[I, Brian]

From what I've read, it's a common point that if you are going to get your novel commented on, to never use family and friends, but instead people who can offer an opinionated based on experience and understanding of the industry you're targeting.

Raymond31, are you looking to write further novels? If so, you may find that once you feel the manuscript is completed and ready for submission, that you take time out to hire a professional editor such as John Jarrold to work through a couple of sample chapters. That way, any obvous issues a publisher may have problems with can be raised, and dealt with, so that you can then ensure you submit a highly polished manuscript.