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Self-publishing, POD and e-publishing
Started by DerekWhite at 11-10-2004 4:01 PM. Topic has 27 replies.
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 11-10-2004, 4:01 PM
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DerekWhite
Joined on 11-10-2004
Posts 7
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Self publishing good or bad?
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Im thinking about publishing with Authorhouse. is it a good or bad idea?
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11-10-2004, 5:48 PM
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Mya Bell
Joined on 05-26-2004
Pacific Northwest
Posts 166
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RE: Self publishing good or bad?
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I'm not going to give a lengthy reply to this, Derek because this has been discussed at length here and on other writing boards (use the SEARCH function to find the threads), but in a nutshell:
- If your book is nonfiction and you have marketing money and you're on the road a lot and have VERY good entrepreneurial skills, self publishing is sometimes a viable option.
- If your book is fiction, self publishing is usually bad. If your book is fiction and you don't have marketing money and you're not an A-type go-go entreneur, self-publishing almost invariably results in about 100 (or fewer) sales to friends and relatives and a loss to your pocket book.
--- Mya Bell
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11-11-2004, 9:59 AM
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Andrew Spriggs
Joined on 06-28-2004
The Rich Housing (yes!)
Posts 48
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RE: Self publishing good or bad?
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Authorhouse is NOT selfpublishing. It is vanity. Look at it this way--with Authorhouse, you will pay them to do the layout, format, whatever, then you PAY to do your OWN marketing (because they do NONE), and then you receive 15% of the ROYALTIES. What's up with that? It's VANITY, that's what.
Scenario 2. Selfpublishing deals with printers--not publishers. You contact a printer; you've researched and made a layout and format that you think can sell, you pay the costs of printing, then pay all the costs of marketing. In self-publishing, the words mean exactly what it sounds like--you ARE the publisher.
The better thing about self-publishing than vanity is that, in vanity, you might make 15% of meager profits, but with self-publishing, anything that you make off of it, 100% of all profits are yours.
So, self-publishing is a good idea in some instances, as Mya Bell said, and also, as Mya said, this has been discussed at GREAT lengths on these boards, and on every writing board I've been to. VANITY PUBLISHING, WHICH INCLUDES AUTHORHOUSE, IS NOT A GOOD DECISION.
THank you for your time.
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12-04-2004, 12:37 AM
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NonfictionIdeas.com
Joined on 11-09-2004
Posts 11
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RE: Self publishing good or bad?
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Before you do, check out http://www.instantpublisher.com if you want to start on a small budget. If you want to start on even a smaller budget, check out www.gigabooks.net and consider hand bookbinding. I wouldn't sink a lot of money into a book unless I was totally confident I could sell them. Otherwise you'll end up with a garage full of unsold books.
James
NonfictionIdeas.com
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12-31-2004, 6:01 PM
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Wexfordpress
Joined on 12-31-2004
Posts 2
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RE: Self publishing good or bad?
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QUOTE: Originally posted by DerekWhite
Im thinking about publishing with Authorhouse. is it a good or bad idea?
AuthorHouse is a subsidy publisher. With a subsidy house it is easy to get published but hard to sell any books. The reason?
Subsidy houses (sometimes miscalled POD publishers) will quite literally publish almost anything. Hence the people that count, the big reviews etc. won't even look at a subsidy published book. And your cost per book is so high that you cannot give distributors the 60% discount they expect so bookstore sales are out.
I make one partial exception to this general condemnation.
Booklocker.com screens for quality and salability. They are upfront about what you can and cannot expect publishing with them. And they allow you to buy your own ISBN block from Bowker and use your own imprint, which takes the subsidy "curse" off their books. But even with booklocker you have to consider where your market lies, run the numbers and have a realistic marketing plan in place.
John Culleton
Able Indexers and Typesetters
Self publishing and marketing book list:
http:wexfordpress.com/tex//shortlist.html
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01-04-2005, 6:22 PM
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kdfrawg
Joined on 05-28-2004
Lawrence, KS
Posts 1,008
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RE: Self publishing good or bad?
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Rose, am I to understand that your experience with PublishAmerica and She Is Like the Wind was a good one, as opposed to the experiences of others with 1stBooks or AuthorHouse? If so, it's the first good thing I've ever heard about PublishAmerica!
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01-13-2005, 11:57 AM
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hecate
Joined on 01-13-2005
Posts 1
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RE: Self publishing good or bad?
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Hi there. I am new to this site, so I hope I am doing this right. If you can avoid it, don't self publish your book. I did with booklocker and never even made back my investment, despite winning some book awards and seeing my book on the internet. Quite frankly, it just wasn't worth it. Perhaps non fiction is different with a POD, but remember one thing: if you are not a gorilla marketer don't waste your time or money. I was a gorilla marketer and still fared badly financial. I have heard IUniverse is one of the better POD publishers. I wouldn't do it again or reccomend it. Good luck and the best, h.
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01-14-2005, 4:06 AM
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veinglory
Joined on 12-06-2004
Posts 164
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RE: Self publishing good or bad?
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I would encourage anyone to go the traditional publisher route if at all possible and appropriate -- and if you use a printer/binder, research the market carefully first.
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01-14-2005, 12:53 PM
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Brian Palmer
Joined on 11-13-2004
Posts 49
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RE: RE: Self publishing good or bad?
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QUOTE: Originally posted by kdfrawg
Rose, am I to understand that your experience with PublishAmerica and She Is Like the Wind was a good one, as opposed to the experiences of others with 1stBooks or AuthorHouse? If so, it's the first good thing I've ever heard about PublishAmerica!
Hey now, PA isn't all bad. [:)] My experience with them hasn't been that bad. Not perfect, but not to terrible either.
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02-13-2005, 12:17 PM
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FernReiss
Joined on 02-09-2005
Posts 4
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RE: Self publishing good or bad?
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I'd just like to make a distinction here between self-publishing (which can be lucrative, depending on the project) and POD publishing (which is very similar to vanity publishing/subsidy publishing, and which can be the right decision for certain projects--but only if you're doing a small, niche book such as a family genealogy.)
Self-publishing is when you get your own editor, your own cover designer, your own printer, and get your own ISBN numbers. POD publishing (through companies such as AuthorHouse, XLibris, iUniverse, etc.) is when you pay them (a lot) to do all those items.
But the biggest and critical point of distinction is that if you self-publish you CAN get your book reviewed by the trade journals such as Publishers Weekly and Library Journal, and your book CAN, if you market it effectively, be carried in bookstores and purchased by libraries. POD published books are NOT reviewed by the trade and are NOT purchased by bookstores.
There's been a whole lot of money and a lot of obfuscation by the POD publishers to try to blur this distinction, but that's it in a nutshell. So if you're a good marketer, consider self-publishing. If you're doing a small niche book, like a family genealogy or church cookbook, and you don't want to be in bookstores, consider POD publishing.
/Fern
Literary agents, self-publishing, and book promotion galore
http://www.PublishingGame.com
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02-16-2005, 7:11 PM
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Rosarium
Joined on 10-19-2003
Texas
Posts 142
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RE: Self publishing good or bad?
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Has anyone had any experience with CafePress.com?
Rosarium
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02-23-2005, 7:46 AM
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FernReiss
Joined on 02-09-2005
Posts 4
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RE: Self publishing good or bad?
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I've got an article on my website on the differences between self-publishing and POD publishing--you're welcome to check it out if you're confused about the terminology or looking for more information: http://www.PublishingGame.com/art_pod.htm
/Fern
Find a literary agent, self-publish, and promote your book successfully
http://www.PublishingGame.com
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03-04-2005, 3:59 PM
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Apollonius
Joined on 01-27-2005
Posts 1
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RE: Self publishing good or bad?
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I'm thinking about using Trafford on-demand publishing service for publication of a non-fiction book. Does anyone have an opinion about this company? And if so, what is your opinion?
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03-04-2005, 5:47 PM
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Factuality
Joined on 08-18-2004
USA
Posts 326
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RE: RE: Self publishing good or bad?
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QUOTE: Originally posted by Apollonius
I'm thinking about using Trafford on-demand publishing service for publication of a non-fiction book. Does anyone have an opinion about this company? And if so, what is your opinion?
The only experience I have with Trafford is having received their unsolicited brochures and a personally-addressed letter in the mail. The letter went (words to this effect): "We see that you have copyrighted your work and would like you to consider us for publishing." I was suspicious for two reasons. First, I don't know how they found out about my copyright application and I felt intruded upon. (Does anyone know how they could have gotten this information? I told no one!) Second, I wonder why they're out there looking for people to publish when so many people are out there looking for publishers. They came across to me as ambulance chasers going after broken writers. I threw the information away.
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03-19-2005, 7:56 AM
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supacop74
Joined on 03-19-2005
Posts 2
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RE: Self publishing good or bad?
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I have found a good POD company it is called LULU. I am not a writer but I do buy books from them they have one Author I realy like I have bought both of her books . To see her work and check out this POD go to www.lulu.com/rebeccaguptill
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03-30-2005, 5:59 AM
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Footsteps
 
Joined on 03-17-2005
Long Island
Posts 662
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RE: Self publishing good or bad?
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I went with a company called PleasantWord. It is the POD arm of a subsidy company called WinePress. I am very gratified with the experience.
Why did I go this route? My book is a collection of poems, and it is next to impossible to get a traditional publisher to consider poetry. What's more, it is a collection of poems for Easter, so it is a very narrow niche.
WinePress/PleasantWord does quality work. They do screen for quality and salability. They do provide promotion.
One caveat: they are a Christian publisher and so have certain editorial policies.
<http://www.winepresspub.com>
Footsteps to the Resurrection: Meditations in Verse on the Events of Passion Week available from PleasantWordBooks.com
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03-30-2005, 3:07 PM
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Prism
Joined on 03-10-2005
Illinois
Posts 111
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RE: Self publishing good or bad?
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The only thing I can say about self-publishing is that unless you win an award for your material most agents will look down on it. The main reason is anyone can self-publish, it doesn't have to good, the printer just wants a cut with no thought to the authors skill; while having even one piece paid for by any source proves that you have the capability to not only make money but that you are skilled enough to get someone to give you that money.
I know that is one long sentence but the only real validation to an agent or editor that you have skill lays in the checks you have received, contests won, etc.
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04-01-2005, 7:09 PM
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maricruz
Joined on 08-31-2003
USA
Posts 23
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RE: Self publishing good or bad?
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Try iUniverse. One of the nuns in my monastery had a very good experience with them, and she looked over a few places before she settled on that company.
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The Writer » FREE forums: General (open to all; must register to post) » Self-publishing, POD and e-publishing
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