Thinking Of Publishing Your Own Book?

Thinking of publishing your own book?

by Gordon  Burgett

As we enter 2010, here are five exciting choices:

(1) The old-fashioned way. Let the big-house publishers do it for you-if you can even get them to look at your query or project submission. I like Mike Larsen’s How to Write a Book Proposal. Most “think big” if they’re writing a blockbuster, a kid’s book, or a novel. Beware, though, that these books usually take 18 months to see light after the final draft is corrected, the publisher is most likely to change your title and your layout, you get paid at most two or three times a year (skipping the first payment or two if you get an advance), and you’ll eventually pocket about 8-10% of the retail price-or net price, which is about half the retail. They usually do production best and marketing worst.

(2) The usual self-publishing route, where you do the preparation, production, and promotion (or piecemeal it out). Dan Poynter’s most recent Self-Publishing Manual is a real help, as is John Kremer’s  1001 Ways to Market Your Book. Mostly, you compete on the open market, selling to bookstores, libraries, and through distributors. Shoot for 25% profit, after you pay all of the starter expenses. The old way was to print 1200 copies or more by rotary press, but now it makes sense to initially print very short P.O.D. (print-on-demand) runs, then quickly expand if your book catches fire.

(3) The lower-risk, much higher profit niche self-publishing, where you can hit a profit of 40% or more. The production part is the same as (2) but you test first and set up most of your promotion (still think direct mail) before you actually finish and print the book. My Niche Publishing walks you through the targeting, testing, customizing, and expanding. You invest about $300 to see what your niche will buy, then you write it.

(4) You might sidestep the print-on-paper version altogether and create e-books solely, as digital downloads. These work best if you have a strong web presence (or solid affiliation tie-ins) that draws buying attention, mostly through your newsletter (or others’) and your blog. No warehousing, middlepeople, shipping, or taxes. You can charge higher prices too. See Bob Bly’s Writing E-Books for Profit. (Don’t confuse this with e-book versions of your printed text, like those sold at Kindle or through Smashwords. Those best fall into the next category.)

(5) The newest way is to use the seven ancillary publishing firms eager to produce and market your book-free! You write it, create ready-to-go text and cover files (probably in.doc, then.pdf), and submit it to them one at a time. They will make the book buyable in e-book form (in hours) or as a bound book (in 7-10 days). What kind of book? A novel, how-to, memoir, cookbook, children’s, poetry, and more. They also market the books widely. But the process is so new that it’s hard to calculate the income. See http://www.ancillarypublishing.com for more information and links.

About the Author

Gordon Burgett has been a publisher since 1981 and has had 38 books and 1,700+ articles of his own in print. He speaks about niche publishing and ancillary publishing nationwide (with 2000+ paid presentations) and offers a free, monthly newsletter about the topic. See more at www.gordonburgett.com.  

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