A question for those who are self-published

[scalem X]

I meant to add comment to the above quote about charlatans who publish rubbish. I know of several who think their works are masterpieces. And worst, they think the traditional publishers and other writers feared the potential of their geniuses. I won't mention their names. Not gonna give them the attention they don't deserve. I assure you they do exist, and they're notoriously unpleasant twits who dish out threats to any who critiqued their work, especially if they're trying to be helpful. That said, I shall now step off the soapbox.

Lol that description fits so much the profile of a guy who mailed me today. When I replied that he would never be able to publish his story with the horrible grammar, spelling and story line unless he self published it, he got angry with me. Then he wanted to bet that he would get it published.

[Anthony G Williams]

Originally Posted by brsrkrkomdy

I've read some good things about the self-publishing but the bottom line is always bucks. How much are you willing to lose your shirt, skirt, pants, or whatever in order to see your book published? Let's face it, they're not cheap.

Besides, the term "self-publishing" has been bandied about too many times that it becomes a dilution and a distortion of what it really means.

Vanity publishing: you pay your publisher to publisher your work for you. No editorship. No proofreading. No nothing. (However, you might get somebody to proofread your stuff.) It's printed out. But no guarentee that your books will be lined up on bookshelves at bookstores everywhere. (And I'm talking in US not UK.)

Self-publishing: You don't pay to get your book published. Get a printer, ink, paper. Viola! Your book is published. No editorship though. You could get somebody to proofread your stuff. Now that you got your book printed out in more than several copies. Where are you gonna put them at? Your warehouse? Can you afford to rent a small one? And distribution is also key.

I can't comment on the US but my experience in the UK leads me to different definitions of "vanity" and "self-publishing". As described in my web article ON PUBLISHING FICTION

The services offered by an SP company vary, as does the cost structure. At one end of the scale, there are "vanity publishers" who will charge a five-figure sum to produce 500 copies of a glossy hardback which they deposit on your doorstep for you to deal with. I cannot recommend this, unless you have money to burn and simply want to give copies to all your friends, relatives and acquaintances. If you want to sell your book, you need to take a different approach.

AonL [Authors Online] offers a "menu" of services, starting with arranging for the private printing of a book which the author is not interested in offering for sale, all the way up to a full proof-reading, editing, layout, cover design and production service. Needless to say, the fee they charge varies accordingly. The minimum for those who want to sell their books is a package which consists of: posting the work on the AonL website as an e-book to be downloaded for a fee; arranging for the sale, printing and distribution of hard-copy books on a "Print on Demand" (POD) basis (which means just what it says: instead of a bulk print run, the books are printed when ordered); obtaining an ISBN number; sending a copy to the British Library as required by law; and putting the books on the amazon.com and amazon.co.uk websites.

I see the up-front sum I pay to the self-publishing firm as an investment on which I aim to make a return. So far, I have easily achieved this with my first book, but not yet the second one.

Personally, I'd stick with the traditional route than "self-publishing".

I think that almost anyone would. The problem is that a first-time author has something like a one-in-a-thousand chance of getting published (if that). It isn't enough to be able to write well or even to come up with a really good story (although those are essentials, of course). To be accepted for publication over the thousands of other manuscripts under consideration, your book has to precisely meet what the publishers are looking for, and preferably have some sequels lined up.

It's a bit like going for a job interview with a thousand competitors: probably many of the candidates are good enough to do the job, but only one gets selected, and to be that one involves a lot of good fortune as well as ability.

[Karen Dales]

Then there's self-supported publishing such as iUniverse that does much of the things a traditional publisher does, such as provide editors, cover design, the possibility of having your book on a shelf in a bookstore, etc.

Always research your options. There are a lot of 'vanity presses' that will publish your book without even looking at it. Then there are others that actually help the author be a published author.

Karen Dales