self-publishing | Saying nothing in particular

I didn’t get a chance to read this book until this morning and then, I did not read the whole thing. It’s almost 500 pages long. However, just skipping through the chapters I could tell it is an exceedingly comprehensive book on publishing. I wish I’d read it twenty years ago because as they say in Chapter 2, A World Wide Wonderland, “. . .these days it’s imperative to start assembling an audience long before you’ve written a word.” To someone who’s been writing as long as she can remember that’s like saying “assemble an audience before you’re born.” Sheesh. My first book Flipka was in final edits before I even knew about twitter accounts.

Too late chicka. No audience, no book deal. Mom and Dad don’t count.

The chapter on blogging contains some interesting factoids I did not know, for example, you’re supposed to post pictures of yourself at various stages of life. Readers love family pictures. Really, what do you think?

I was always a little odd.

If you’re going the traditional route, there’s gobs of information on dealing with agents, how to get a larger advance from a publisher, and how to conduct yourself on television interviews. Ah, not my big worry right now.

Ah, Miss Twissel, did you get the memo about being youthful, attractive and scintillating for your TV debut? You look a bit like Methuselah.

The chapter I spent most of my time reading was Publish Thyself which, as the title suggests, focuses on self-publishing. Here are some things I learnt:

It’s not uncommon for writers to spend up to $50,000 to self-publish if they avail themselves of all the so-called “writer services” available. (so word to the wise)
Upgrade to off-white paper instead of white. It looks more professional and is easier on the eyes.
If you’re listing yourself as the publisher, get a PO box and use it for contact information on the copyright page. (amazing to think people would actually list their home address as contact info but apparently it’s been done.)

Regarding item 1, writer’s services include editing, proofing, layout, cover design formatting, ISBNs, website design, bio help (professionally done head shots), marketing, distribution, etc., etc. The book contains many stories of writers who’ve gone the whole hog versus those who’ve flown by the seat of their pants. In the end success generally came down to perseverance on the part of the author, no matter how much money was spent.

Regarding item 3, to list yourself as a publisher all you need to do (in the US) is register your name as a business with the county clerk. For about $50 JT Twissel became a business with me, Jan, as the President. Now if I could only afford an admin.

I want to thank Krista over at Krista at the Heart of It All, for the recommendation of Silverwood Books. I did check them out (even saw your book listed!) and they seem exceedingly professional. Their packages seem competitively priced and a good deal but I’ve already gotten fairly far along in the process thanks to my previous publisher. I will probably go with CreateSpace. Now thanks to Cinda I have a good idea what to look out for and which services to spurge on. Maybe I’ll actually get started tomorrow. Ya think?

Several people (well, at least two) have asked me to keep them abreast of my self-publishing adventure so here goes.

All weekend long I told myself Monday was the day I would finally do something about republishing. I planned to log into my account on CreateSpace and download one of their templates so that I could format my manuscript for print. If you’ve ever used a template you know they can be tricky. The easiest way is a Select All > Copy and Paste from your doc into the template. But it certainly isn’t without risks. I was looking at least a couple of days of insuring that the formatting held.

Then I had an email from my buddy Cinda MacKinnon who successfully self-published her award-winning debut novel (A Place in the World) a few years back. She invited me to her house for tea and advice and said she had a couple of great books on the subject of self-publishing. Always a believer that you can never have enough knowledge about a subject, I quickly accepted and I’m glad I did.

I won’t go into the subject of our chit-chat as it involved grandchildren and elderly parents, a common theme for those of us in the “sandwich generation.” Eventually we did get around to self-publishing. This is a book she highly recommended:

Boy was she right. The author rates a bevy of publishers in the “self-pub” market by the following criteria:

Shenanigans lurking in legal contracts that could bite you in the butt (this alone would be worth the price of the book)
Royalty schemes designed to make publishers more money and you less
The quality of books published (as expected, you get what you pay for)

Example of a royalty scheme to be avoided.

According to the author, CreateSpace is in the “Pretty Good” category.

Oh no!!! Panic struck. Was I about to make the mistake of a life time? (okay I already made that mistake)

No one wants to settle for Pretty Good when Outstanding might be possible, right? Only as expected the Outstanding were full service companies, prepared to take your book from editing to print, even throwing in some marketing assistance. My books have already been edited at least three times. All I needed was print and publish, right? (here that pernicious worm creeps to ear and whispers:”maybe not.”)

The other book Cinda recommended, The Essential Guide to Getting Your Book Published, covers “How to Write It, Sell It and Market It . . . Successfully.” I’ll read it tonight and report any interesting insights tomorrow.

So much for day one. I have to remind myself of this fact: I’m not Methuselah, even though I might feel like him. Eventually I better get to it – I can see they’re loading up the Ark already.