Self publishing - a few thoughts!

[Steve S]

I self published my first novel (through Lulu.com) last year and I thought I would just share a few thoughts and ideas, especially in relation to marketing. Though I would not claim to be an enormous success (I doubt JK Rowling is quaking in her boots!!) I hope I have some hints and suggestions to pass on to others taking the same route.

The experience of using Lulu.com has largely been a positive one and it is a particularly good service for those, like me, who do not have money to spend up front. The distribution service has worked well and has allowed the book to become available in all major online retailers (Amazon, Waterstones et al). The actual quality of the books printed via Lulu is very high and compares well to those produced via major publishers. Although the print-on-demand costs can push up the unit cost of each book, I feel that on balance (especially with a helpful and vibrant on line community of members) their service is one I would recommend.

Other than actually writing the book (!) perhaps the biggest challenge facing the self published author is marketing it. Realistically, national media will rarely be interested in self published works so I began with a more local approach. Simply by sending inquiry emails I managed to secure interviews with papers such as the Ipswich Evening Star and the East Anglian Daily Times. When approaching the media I gave them an 'angle' for the story, namely that I had written much of the book during break times at work and this seemed to help generate interest. Don't rule out even more local publications either; a number of local 'advertiser' newspapers and magazines also ran articles after again, simple emails that I sent out. Such publications are very keen to hear local success stories (local author writes book) and are extremely supportive.

Following on from the newspaper coverage I was lucky enough to be offered an interview on BBC local radio - an opportunity that came from the producer of the show seeing an article in the local press. Although a daunting challenge, it was a great experience and one that raised the profile of the book.

Sending copies to national magazines and websites (especially those covering the fantasy/SF genre) for review can be expensive and time consuming and although I have had some good reviews, the major of my review copies have not resulted in actual reviews. How much you commit to this will depend on your budget of course but expect to spend a decent amount on postage etc with little promise of concrete returns.

I have also made use of the internet to offer the book as a free ebook download. Although this does not directly provide revenue it provides an invaluable method for reaching readers (and hundreds have downloaded it thus far) so if you can bear to offer your work for free then I think it can pay real dividends.

I hope this information is of some use to those writers out there taking or considering taking the self publishing route. In conclusion, I have found it a difficult but richly rewarding experience thus far. And if you are interested, my book can be found (and the ebook downloaded for no pence!) by clicking here.

[John Jarrold]

Well thought out and all opportunities taken. Good man! Writing a commercial book is the beginning of the process, not the end...

[gary compton]

Hello Steve

I don't normally read fantasy books, I prefer Detective stories or science fiction but I read your post and was intrigued so i downloaded your ebook.

Well what can I say...WOW,or even double WOW!

It sucked me in as I read the first few pages. I like your style of writing - Well done mate. I would be interested to hear if John has read it.

Good Luck to your future

regards Gary

[Mouse]

Thanks Steve, that was helpful! I've just published with Lulu too, but I've not got round to getting the distribution package yet.

[Steve S]

Many thanks for all the kind words above, very much appreciated!

I hope my musings are of some help to authors out there - I would certainly be interested to hear about other author's experiences.

Thanks once again.

[Anthony G Williams]

Congratulations Steve! You're certainly making it work for you.

I have also self-published a couple of novels with (so far) rather different experiences with them. I have to confess to being somewhat handicapped in that I am reluctant to self-advertise, except on my website and through sending out review copies.

My experiences and thoughts on this are in two articles on my website: ON PUBLISHING FICTION and On Marketing and Success

[Sassysara]

Hi and congratulations

I am looking for a self-publisher at the moment and I am torn between Lulu and Authorhouse. While Lulu seems to have lower start up costs Authorhouse seems to offer more of a marketing package and distrubution package. I wonder if anyone has had any experiance of using them? And for a marketing amataur, can anyone suggest the best way to get my book out there! Not planning to make a fortune but would be nice to sell at least a 100.

[Xwing Mom]

Sassysara,

I'm in the process of working through Lulu on my second novel, so I can't give any advise positive or negative on them yet.
However, I did self-publish my first novel through PublishAmerica and was really pleased with the results.
Their strong points are: you get two free copies up front; they've got a great editing and cover design team at NO COST; you never have to pay any money (unless you just absolutely want to -- such as purchasing some to have on hand to sell at sci-fi/fantasy conventions); and they, too, put your book in major book chains like Amazon and Barnes and Noble and Hastings.
My best results have been through the Hastings chain, which are very open to first time authors doing book signings. Once the books are in the stores (for the signings), Hastings usually keeps them on the shelf for a year.
I'm not much on touting my own books, so my marketing experience is really limited. But I DID sell 100 copies in my first year (and I didn't buy any of them!)
Good luck with your book!

[John Jarrold]

I have to say that everyone else I have heard from hates PublishAmerica - there are threads warning authors off them on every writers forum (including this one) and many, many major US authors have said the same thing in print. With that all in mind, I would honestly advise everyone to avoid them like the plague. Sorry.

Here is the PublishAmerica thread: How good is PublishAmerica?

[gary compton]

I have a question for John, what is a good book in terms of sales for a publisher - say Fantasy and SF. Is it 10,000 or 100,000 books or somewhere in between?

[Anthony G Williams]

I use Authors OnLine- Self Publishing Company, Print On Demand, E-Books, UK a UK firm which has a menu pricing system, depending on how much support you need. I have found them to be efficient, friendly and reliable.

[SJAB]

There is a whole section devoted to Self Publishing on the Absolute Write forum.

Might be worth your while ploughing through.

POD Self-Publishing and E-Publishing - Absolute Write Water Cooler

[John Jarrold]

Originally Posted by garycompton

I have a question for John, what is a good book in terms of sales for a publisher - say Fantasy and SF. Is it 10,000 or 100,000 books or somewhere in between?

It depends entirely on the publishers' expectations, Gary. You look at each book separately, in terms of sales expectations, and make your offer on that basis. So some books are bought expecting a 10,000-copy sale as a paperback original and the advance payment is low - you hope it will sell on after that, but you're cautious. Others are seen immediately as major books, and the first printruns might be projected as 10,000 hardbacks or large-format paperback, then 50,000 paperbacks (I'm talking about UK publoshing here). So the advance will be larger. Publishers make these decisions based on knowledge of the market and reaction to the book in question.

Repeat after me: there is no absolute template!

[gary compton]

Thanks John

I wouldnt have thought there would be much profit in a book for the publisher at 10,000 books.

Assuming there is about £5-£7 per book gross profit: £50,000- £70,000 wont go very far allowing for marketing, distribution and taxation costs. And then their is the authors advance also to come out of the profit also.

I thought there expectations would have been higher for their projected sales for a new book.

[Anthony G Williams]

A quote from my web article "On Publishing Fiction" (link in previous post):

"To put this into context, a couple of comments I read in the UK press in 2007 were that the worst-selling two-thirds of the c.85,000 books on sale at any one time sell an average of just 18 copies; and that the best-selling novel of the six shortlisted for the 2007 Booker prize had sold only just over 1,500 copies by August of that year. Furthermore, the size of the market is declining. Jo Fletcher, the editorial director of Gollancz, commented in a 2007 interview in Vector magazine (published by the British Science Fiction Association) that the typical initial print run for a UK paperback was now 4,000 copies, compared with 10,000 in 1986."