Upfront cost: $0 if the book is digital only; around $100 set-up fee if you contract with a print-on-demand printer like Lightning Source for physical copies, plus production/unit cost when you order physical books

You keep: All money earned off the sale of each book if you sell direct off your own website, or in-person at events

Requirements: Know how to prepare book files (cover and interior)—preferably with industry-standard programs like InDesign and Illustrator, but Word works in a pinch. Ability to create PDFs. Ability to create and re-size images.

Risks: Incorrect file formatting, poor book design (unless you contract it out), no shipping/fulfillment support for physical product, non-standard elements/layout

Who this option works best for: Writers comfortable with computers and technology; writers with an entrepreneurial spirit

Upfront cost: Same as Do It Yourself

You keep: A pre-determined percentage of the book's retail price. When a customer makes a purchase, your retail/distribution partner takes its cut before passing on the rest to you. Popular partners: Lulu, Amazon DTP, Scribd, Smashwords

Requirements: Same as above; retail/distribution partners often ask for very specific file formatting, so be prepared to adapt/edit files as needed. For print-on-demand retail partners like Lulu, there is often a set-up fee.

Risks: Sometimes it takes a long time to get paid by these retail/distribution partners. For e-books, it can be difficult to format just perfectly so that it displays correctly no matter what reading device is being used.

Who this option works best for: People who don't want to mess with e-retailing/fulfillment on their own site, and/or see a benefit to their book being distributed across the biggest online retail stores.

• Cover design (front/back—and spine if not digital)
• Interior design and layout
• Image preparation (resolution and reproduction quality)
• Back cover copy & other marketing copy
• Copyediting, proofreading, indexing
• ISBN / barcodes (see note below)
• Library of Congress & copyright registration
• eCommerce setup (if selling off your own site)
• Fulfillment/shipping of orders (whether digital or print)

Note: This route makes the most sense when you are absolutely sure you need & want physical copies of your book. Otherwise, there's not much point.

Upfront cost: Widely varies, since each service offers many packages and tiers, but anywhere from several hundred dollars to thousands. You can also buy just the services you need a la carte.

You keep: A royalty on sales. This royalty will be better than a traditional publishing deal, but much less than what you'd earn with a straight-up retail partner or turnkey service like Lulu.

Requirements: You hand over the Word document, they take care of the rest.

Risks: The more service you want, the more you pay. At its simplest level, you're paying a service to do what a traditional publisher would do, but if you want the editing and development a traditional publisher would provide, you have to pay extra for it (or have it done yourself before you approach them). They also cannot sell physical copies of your book into bricks-and-mortar bookstores, no matter how much you are willing to pay. (But your book will be available to order from any bookstore as long as it's listed in Ingram.)

As with all services you pay for, know the value of what you're paying for, and make sure you're not paying for stuff you don't need—or that you could easily manage or contract out yourself.

Who this option works best for: Low-tech writers, as well as writers who don't mind paying someone else to manage/execute the project—while giving up a chunk of future earnings should the book sell well. (Giving up future earnings can be avoided if you hire an independent publishing consultant rather than a publishing service like Author Solutions.)

• Copyright. If you independently sell/distribute digital or physical copies of your book, here's where to register for copyright. You don't need to do this until after the book is published.
• ISBN. You can buy them here.
  
• Freelance designers. You can try looking at Haystack.
  

• Self-Publishing Review.
• Publetariat & Indie Author. These sites are both by April Hamilton, who shows you the financial breakdown of using some of the turnkey services mentioned above, and also offers technical advice on the design and preparation of files.

• The magazine's March/April 2009 issue—with complete coverage of the self-publishing question, along with advice from readers. You can buy a digital copy of the entire issue here.

• The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing, 4th ed, by Marilyn & Tom Ross

Wednesday, November 25, 2009 1:21:21 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [13] Trackback

Dear Author: Malle Vallik, Harlequin's Digital Director, Answers Questions on Harlequin Horizons

Jackie Kessler: Harlequin Horizons Versus RWA

Janet Reid (Agent): C'mon Harlequin, Don't Try to Blow Smoke

Rachelle Gardner (Agent): Self-Publishing Rant

Scalzi: Writers Organizations to Harlequin: If You're Not Going to Act Like a Real Publisher, We're Not Going to Treat You Like One

It is disappointing that the RWA has not recognized that publishing models have and will continue to change. As a leading publisher of women's fiction in a rapidly changing environment, Harlequin's intention is to provide authors access to all publishing opportunities, traditional or otherwise.

Harlequin's move is not shallow.

At a conference on “Giving It Away” in Toronto at which I spoke two weeks ago, Carolyn Pittis of HarperCollins was explicit that the publisher buying content and making money by selling it was “one model”, and she pointed out that there is a “fee for services” model as well. The inference I drew was “that’s not what we’re doing today, but every option is on the table for tomorrow.” Why not? Don’t we have to believe that one of the exit strategies for the investors in Author Solutions, the biggest rollup of self-publishing service companies, might be to sell to one of the Big Six who, despairing of the future of their publishing model, tries to buy their way into a new one? …

A friend of mine in the financial business wrote a book 20 years ago and wanted to get an agent to sell it. He knew the advance would be low, but he also knew the book would add credibility to his business. He wanted it sold. An agent told him that the agency only handled books on which they thought the advance would be $25,000 or more, yielding a commission of $3,750 at the normal 15%. This friend told the agent, take the first $3,750. The agent took the book, sold it for $6,000, and everybody was happy. This kind of arrangement, as well as others where the agent actually charges a fee for helping an author manage self-publishing options, are going to have to become more common in the future. Let’s not be too judgmental about the pioneering agents who change the paradigm.

(my emphasis)

1. If you contract with a publishing service like Author Solutions, aside from charging you an upfront fee (and we could argue all day whether the fees are exorbitant), they're also going to take a huge chunk of your royalties.

2. Despite what the marketing messages say, with a publishing service, you give up some control and uniqueness of product, depending on the service you're working with—or you have to pay extra fees to have the control/uniqueness you want.

3. You might sign a service contract you don't understand, or it could lock you into things that you regret later. (I tell writers to never sign contracts they don't fully understand, to make sure they are keeping all rights, and to have a straightforward way to terminate the contract.)

Monday, November 23, 2009 4:32:34 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [55] Trackback

Definitely agree, but I have to wonder if the lack of enthusiastic comments direct from publishers is primarily due to lack of time (and energy, sadly). If an editor (or whomever) is juggling dozens of projects in a given year, accomplishing just the basics can be enormously demanding. (Lean staffs!) The “friendly” online marketing or buzz building has often been left to the authors, rightly or wrongly.

Back-Loaded Book Deals: No (and Low) Advance Contracts, Profit-Sharing and Other Innovative Business Models (with Robert Miller of HarperStudio, Rogert Cooper of Perseus Vanguard, and agent Susan Ginsburg of Writer's House)

New Business Models: Changing the Commercial Rules of Publishing (with Richard Nash, Eoin Purcell, Chris Morrow, and Diane Naughton)

Tuesday, November 03, 2009 7:24:22 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [5] Trackback

• Read my previous post: 5 Elements of Query Letters
  
• If my online class isn't for you, try our excellent guide by Wendy Burt-Thomas,  The Writer's Digest Guide to Query Letters (with specific tips by genre).
• Check Chuck's agent blog for his Successful Queries series.
  

Monday, November 02, 2009 6:16:59 PM (Eastern Standard Time, UTC-05:00)    Comments [2] Trackback