Should You Self-Publish? The Conversation Continues

Thanks again to those who've commented on my post from earlier this week-What is Self-Publishing?" We've got a great conversation going here.

The discussion is a perfect example of why I wrote my book Publishing Possibilities. I believe and build my business around the point that every author and every project is different. This means the way to determine the "right or best" publishing option has to be an individual decision. The only totally wrong choice is something that is a pure scam, that will do harm to someone's business etc.

For example, there are people who will insist until they are blue in the face that authors should never choose fee-based/pay to publish , yet Jaxpop is happy. Might he be happier with another option? Maybe, maybe not, but the point is right now his choice suits his purpose. I don't think anyone should tell him that's wrong.

There are others who say traditional is the only "real way" yet Michael is happy with his decision to go independent self-published. Is he any more right or wrong than Jaxpop or someone who goes traditional? Again, there is right and wrong for him, for his project. If it wouldn't work for someone else, that doesn't need to be in the equation, or if it is, it's a smaller part than his own goals, needs etc.

Now, I'm not saying don't seek the advice of people who have more experience or more knowledge than you do. That's an important part of the process if you are just learning. However, decision by consensus (again except in the area of scams, really poor businesses) is not what you should aim for. Something like 5 out of 7 people liked such and such option, so I'm going with that one, does not do justice to your unique circumstances.

Seek solid advice, and definitely put it in as one part of your decision process, but always remember there's a lot more to the equation.

Good Writing & God Bless,
Cheryl Pickett

What is Self-Publishing?

This is definitely one of the most common questions I see, especially from writers who are just getting into the publishing part. Sometimes the question comes directly to me, other times I see it on a forum, or it comes up in conversation.

The thing is, a lot of people don't know this term is one of the most confusing in publishing today. There are two different definitions, there's no standard agreement on which definition to use even from expert to expert is some cases and the inexperienced author is often left bewildered. One of the reasons I wrote my book is to help clarify this term as I believe it is also the source for a lot of bad experiences and disappointment.

If you are considering this route, or maybe just investigating your options, here is a short answer to get you started:

1. The original meaning refers to an author who sets up his own publishing company in order to publish his own books. This means he sets up a legal entity and hires out, or does all of the necessary tasks himself that a traditional publisher would normally do. Sometimes this is now called "independent self-publishing" but some people also just say "self-publishing".

2. The most common meaning today refers to being published by a fee-based/POD/pay-to-publish company. Examples of this are iUniverse, Booklocker, and Outskirts Press among dozens of others. If you plug the term into a search engine, you'll likely find such services in the majority of the top answers.

Many people argue that using these companies is not "self" publishing because the author is not the publisher of record in most of these cases etc. Others say it is because the author is not waiting for the approval of someone else to be published, has more control over the product, so the term "self" is appropriate. I'm sure that debate will continue for a long time to come.

What is self-publishing? It seems like such a small question, but I hope you can see how important the answer truly is to you as an author. If you plan to "self-publish, which one of these routes are you going to follow/are you on now? Are you sure?


Good Writing & God Bless,
Cheryl Pickett

Lulu.com Is It Right for Your Book? Part 4

Today we'll pick up where we left off and talk more about Costs & Book Production.
In part 3, I touched on the fact that there is a difference in price depending on the paper you choose; I want to emphasize how important it is that you look at all aspects within your business that are affected by this number. This is a must unless you are only planning to give your books to friends and family, then these numbers are obviously not as big a deal. For the rest of you who intend to make money with your book, let's go through some concrete examples of what I'm talking about.

Start Here
Let's say you have a 200 page, paperback book which is common in both fiction and non-fiction. Choose "6x9, black & white interior and perfect bound (which means glued edges not staples). Let's also figure your cover price is an average $16.00

Crunching the Numbers
If you use the default paper choice "standard" your cost for one book is $8.50, bump it to 10 copies and you save a buck per copy. If you want to fulfill your orders yourself here's how it might look. Sell on your website or in person for $16- $7.50 (production cost) - (credit card processing fees/shipping) = around $7.00 left over.

Now let's say you are going to have Lulu fulfill orders as they come in from Amazon, B & N.com or other retailers. Same $16.00 - $8.00 (typical wholesale discount of 50%) - $5.50 (slightly lowered production cost) -$1.00 Lulu's cut = about $1.50 left over.

Options
Want to make more money? You'd have to set the retail price higher, and possibly price yourself out of the range your customer expects to pay. The other option is to choose "Publisher Grade" paper. This saves you $3.00 per book in the first calculation above. This also puts your per book price in the range of that of other print options. I'm not sure about savings in the retail example though because Lulu's current retail pricing examples only include standard paper from what I can find.

Why Is All of This Important?
Hopefully, you are now starting to see that whether to use Lulu or not is not as simple a decision as it might appear at the outset. I've touched on just a few of the aspects that can make a significant difference in many aspects of your business as an author. The key to making sure you make a solid choice is taking the time to understand how things work and then how those things apply to what you're trying to accomplish.

Still have questions? Feel free to leave a comment or contact me for one-on-one help.

Good Writing & God Bless,
Cheryl Pickett

P.S. Still working on getting in touch with someone from Lulu. If I'm successful and get some clarifications, I will certainly share them with you.

Lulu.com Is it Right for Your Book? Part 3

So far in this series we've touched on Lulu's apparent user friendliness, as well as deciphering the publishing services they offer. Today, I'm going to cover a few key points with regard to Cost & Book Production.

One of the big selling points for Lulu people often mention is that it is free/no cost to use. This is true, they do not charge a set up fee to produce your book through them. It's basically like walking into Kinkos or Office Max. They don't charge you to set up your files in their system, they just charge you to print your copies.

However, the game changes here if you cannot create and upload your own files properly. In that case, you'll need some help. Your choices are to buy a package that includes cover design for example, or hire someone to do it for you from their list of vendors or on your own. My guess is that more people than not fall into the group needing help. If that's the case, the free aspect is no longer as relevant and I'd strongly recommend you compare costs with other fee-based publishers or other print options.

The other point where cost becomes a serious consideration is cost per book. In fact, this is a BIG consideration. One of the first things you should do if you are thinking about utilizing Lulu is go to the cost calculator. Now, there are a couple more things you need to know.

First, Lulu does not offer 5.5 x 8.5 size paperback books. I don't know why as this is a very common paperback size most printers offer. If that's what you want, your options are either go up to 6x9 or don't use Lulu.

Next, there are two choices for paper-standard and publisher grade (which is apparently a relatively recent choice). If you calculate your production costs both ways, you'll see the cost varies significantly.

Unfortunately, to figure out the physical difference it will make it not as easy. If you hunt around on the web site you can find details, but things still aren't as clear as they could be. In fact, some of the papers shown to be publisher grade for one size, are standard for another. I would definitely like clarification there. Also, if you wanted a sample of a book printed on one stock or the other, I didn't see an easy way to get one. This is another concern as knowing the physical properties of your book is not something to overlook. You also cannot assume the default choice will be up to your expectations.

As I mentioned in my first post, there does not seem to be a way to contact Lulu for help if you don't have an account. However, I think I've got a work-around so I will update you if I can get some of these questions answered.

There are also a couple more points to be aware of with regard to Cost and Book Production. I'll cover those next time.

Good Writing & God Bless,

Cheryl Pickett

Lulu.com Is It Right for Your Book? Part 2

Yesterday, in Part 1, I touched on the user-friendliness of Lulu for a new customer. I noted that there is a lot of information and that can be good, especially when it comes to actually uploading files/producing your book.

However, as I delved further today, one of the things I noticed is that if you are a first time author and you haven't done much research into how publishing works, you could easily get confused or miss important details.

In my opinion, the big picture info you should have to make a good choice is not presented well. Also, unless you know what many of the industry terms mean, you might not know/be able to figure out where to look for the answers you seek. Even with the background/understanding I have of the process from writing my current book, I really had to hunt for for many of the answers I was looking for.

Which brings us to our topic for today- the publishing services Lulu offers.

Before we dive into that though, I want to make sure everyone is clear as to the three main kinds of publishing: 1. Someone else handles all the business stuff for you 2. You pay someone else to do it for you 3. You handle it all through vendor/service providers. Normally, most of the companies that offer to help you publish fit into category 1 or 2.

First key point for today-Lulu's services fall into both the 2nd and 3rd category.

The next key point you need to be aware of is that they distinguish their services within the context of distribution, even though most of the time, publishing options are not defined this way. This is definitely one area where they cause a lot of unnecessary confusion in my opinion.

To summarize their publishing options briefly:

1. Published by Lulu
This is mostly category #2 above (even though it sorta sounds like #1). You have the option to let Lulu assign an ISBN from their group of numbers which then makes them "publisher of record". They also list your book appropriately for some distribution through some online channels.

Currently, this service is free, which is one of the factors that attracts many authors to them because most of the other companies in category 2 charge for this within their packages that also include set-up, design etc.

2. Published by You
As I mentioned above, category #3 means you also become a publisher. You set up your own biz and find vendors to help you do all the tasks that need to be done to produce a book. The Published by You option helps you with some of this.

In this case, they help you get an ISBN but you own it and are listed as publisher. Beyond that, they also help you with your barcode and list you with one of the major wholesalers which allows you to have some distribution with online retailers. Note: This is for the U.S. I did not research other how it works for other countries though the info appears to be available.

As you might be starting to notice, there's a lot more to understanding Lulu than the four or five steps they show on the main page. I'm going to continue to break it down for you, but if you'd like info faster, or more personalized help, you might want to consider a one on one coaching session. You can check out my services page at www.publishinganswers.com for more details.


Good Writing & God Bless,

Cheryl Pickett

Lulu.com Is it Right for Your Book? Part 1

As I visit some of the writer forums, I frequently see comments, questions, and sometimes concerns about Lulu. com. Also, according to a recent article about the fee-based/POD publishing industry, it was noted that Lulu is one of the biggest/most popular right now.

This being the case, I thought I'd do a little analysis/pros & cons list here on the blog for those of you who might be considering it. I'll also break it down into a few parts because there's a lot of info to cover.

Note: I have not published this way myself. I am approaching this as someone who is researching whether to use it. I will utilize the info provided on the site and draw on statements and opinions of others for guidance like any prospective customer should do.

Let's start with Ease of Use
Lulu seems to have a decent reputation in this respect. On the list of "pro" is that there is a lot of information. It's pretty easy to figure out what they offer (which may spark new ideas for your project). The site also appears to provide lots of instructions for actually producing your book.

However, a couple of items I consider "cons" are that you do need to be at least a little bit "techie" to get your files set up right because it isn't just a click or two and you're done. Some people don't want to do any of that. The alternative of course, is to hire someone who is familiar with the process.

Additionally, I don't care for the fact that in order to make contact for additional help (if your question is not answered in the FAQ etc), you must set up an account. Though there is extensive info, I do have a question that I cannot find an answer for. However, I don't want an account. I want information so I can decide if I want an account or not.

Though Lulu does seem to try to be as thorough as possible, no one can possibly predict every question. I think being able to get answers you need to make the initial decision as to whether or not to go with them in the first place, should be much easier. I also realize the number of inquiries they might get could be staggering, but I still think there is a better way.

Please feel free to share your experiences on this topic so that everyone can benefit.

Until next time,

Good Writing & God Bless,

Cheryl Pickett

Publishing Possibilities for Fiction Books

If you write fiction, do you have options when it comes to publishing? The answer depends on who you ask.

Some authors and others will absolutely stand on their head to make the point that fiction writers are wasting their time if they independently self-publish. They cite the difficulty of sales once published, and the idea that traditional publishers will think less of you, not give you "real" publishing credit if you go it on your own first.

My answer: The world of publishing is changing rapidly, summarily rejecting any option based on what things were like even five years ago makes little sense today.

Earlier this year, I made note of a large traditional publisher that clearly states they'll take a look at a book that has already gained some traction. Recently, an article appeared in Publishers Weekly that highlights several novel and children's authors who were contracted by a traditional house after they independently published. http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6622217.html

Will things work out like this for author? No, there's no such thing as one size fits all in publishing. Could it happen to you and your book? Maybe. But I can guarantee it won't happen if you never try.