The Joy of Self-Publishing

I found this interesting post in the web today. Please read below. I edited some parts to generalize it.

“The Cure For Jet Lag” was published more than a quarter-century ago. Yet it could well represent the future of book publishing in New Zealand or any other continent.

A Springs trio teamed up this year to issue an updated version of the book using the print on demand—or POD—process. Indeed, with a growing number of writers making use of the POD method, Publishers Row may be moving from Manhattan to the East End, which for many years has already seen its share of writers, editors, and agents.

“This area is a hothouse of creative types, from writers to artists who can benefit from print on demand books,” stated Lynne Scanlon, the co-author of “The Cure For Jet Lag.”

“These folks will gravitate to POD not only because it is the most expedient way to produce a book, but because literary agents and editors could care less about un-established writers these days.”

But don’t the authors of books published in non-traditional ways in New Zealand risk acquiring a sort of stigma as not really being professional writers, thus giving agents a reason to steer clear? “Good luck finding an agent if you don’t already have one,” Ms. Scanlon said. “That’s the Catch-22 of publishing.”

Her career in publishing has included being a marketing executive with Barnes & Noble and a book publishing consultant in addition to an author. In 1983, she collaborated with Charles Ehret, who had been conducting research underwritten by the U.S. government to reduce the problems associated with long-distance air travel. The original goal was to make the U.S. Army’s rapid deployment forces more effective.

Dr. Ehret himself served in the Army’s 87th Infantry Division and won a Bronze Star and Purple Heart in the Battle of the Bulge. With Ms. Scanlon doing the writing for lay readers of the results of Dr. Ehret’s research, “Overcoming Jet Lag” (the original title) was published.

It was a success when issued by the Berkley Publishing Group, selling more than 200,000 copies worldwide and remaining in print for more than 20 years. Sales eventually faded, but problems with jet lag did not. Last year, Ms. Scanlon wanted to release an updated edition of the book but did not want to wait the 18 months or more it would take a traditional publisher to have new books on shelves. There was also a financial incentive: After publishers and agents and book wholesalers get their slices of the pie from a $20 book, the author’s slice may be as thin as $3.

Ms. Scanlon worked out an arrangement with Dr. Ehret’s estate and founded Back2Press Books, which specializes in republishing titles that have sold in excess of 100,000 copies. Naturally, “The Cure for Jet Lag” would be the company’s first effort. There would be no long editing and production process nor any danger of printing thousands of copies that might not sell. The new edition would be printed on demand and be readily available on the internet (www.thecureforjetlag.com) as well as at the major chain bookstores and selected shops.

What is POD, other than the dreaded form of the infestation in “Invasion of the Body Snatchers”? The plain language answer is that it is a digital printing technology that allows a complete book to be printed and bound in minutes. This makes it easy and cost-effective to produce books in small lots rather than in large print runs. What has long bedeviled traditional book publishers is the practice of “guestimating” how much a title will sell: if the prediction is wrong, a publisher has to warehouse or even destroy tens of thousands of already-printed books. Read the rest of this entry »

By Lee B. Roberts (The Journal Times.com)

Marvin Lindberg writes first in longhand in spiral notebooks, and then on his laptop computer. (Photo by Mark Hertzberg, mhertzberg@journaltimes.com)

Everyone’s got a book inside them, or so it has been said. And, with the increased access to self-publishing that the Internet has provided in recent years, more and more people are bringing those books to the surface.

Marvin Lindberg, for example, took up writing in 2003 after selling his assisted living business, Loving Care Homes, which he had run in Racine County for many years. He has since written several fiction books which he had published through print-on-demand companies online.

Two of Lindberg’s books, “Final Justice” (Trafford Publishing) and “Saving Vegas” (Xlibris), are thriller/adventure stories based on themes from current events. His most recent effort, “Four Square,” (Xlibris) is aimed at the tween market with its story of two 12-year-olds dealing with divorce, with a little adventure thrown in.

No matter what the subject matter, producing books is something Lindberg says gives him a great sense of accomplishment.

“I really enjoy the writing process – especially creating characters and giving them personality.”

Figuring out the self-publishing process seemed difficult at first, he said, but once he went through it, it seemed like “a piece of cake.”

Virginia Burlingame decided to give self-publishing a try for her first attempt at a novel, “A Window Bed,” which follows a mother/daughter relationship as it evolves in the last year of the mother’s life. A local gerontologist, Burlingame had gone through traditional publishing companies with her previous professional books, but decided self-publishing was the best route for her first fiction venture.

Armed with advice she’d gotten through both a self-publishing class and from fellow authors in a couple writing groups she belongs to, she chose to publish her novel through lulu.com, a print-on-demand publishing house.

“It was one of the best deals I found,” she said.

The process, which Burlingame is still going through, can be a complicated one involving everything from formatting to marketing, she said. But, there is help available along the way.

“I hired someone to do the formatting for me,” she said.

“The biggest problem with self-publishing is that you have to market the book yourself,” Lindberg said. “I haven’t had huge sales, but that hasn’t stopped me from writing.”

Doing, not being

It is true that sales and marketing are important aspects of self publishing – ones that often give writers pause when considering self publishing – says Peter Bowerman, author of “The Well-Fed Self-Publisher” and “The Well-Fed Writer.” But, in today’s oversaturated book publishing market, even authors who go through traditional publishing companies are required to do most of their own marketing, said Bowerman.

Such skills can be learned by anyone, he said, and despite popular thinking, an outgoing personality is not required to be successful in sales and marketing books.

“It is more a matter of things you have to do, than some way you have to be,” said Bowerman, who devotes an entire chapter to sales and marketing (“Learning to love S&M”) in “The Well-Fed Self-Publisher.”

“I want to help people get over what is really an irrational fear of the whole sales and marketing process.”

The whole point of Bowerman’s book is to show writers how they can make a living through self-published writing. And while his expertise is aimed at non-fiction writers like himself, some of his advice can apply to publishing fiction, he said.

His blueprint for self-publishing goes way beyond the print-on-demand option, with a goal of producing a book that the average consumer would not be able to tell apart from a volume published by one of the big publishing houses. His self-publishing methods, he says, not only allow authors to have more control over their finished work than they would through traditional methods, but to keep a larger percent of any profits. For more about Bowerman and his self-publishing success story, go to: http://www.wellfedsp.com

Just us

Not everyone, though, goes the self-publishing route to make money. Donna Peterson is in the process of self-publishing a cookbook of recipes from her late Aunt Dorothy, who she described as “an excellent cook.” Her purpose in doing so is to preserve and share the beloved recipes, as well as humorous anecdotes about growing up in wartime America, with her friends and family.

Peterson’s self-publishing journey is a more low-tech version, as she is having her book produced by a local printing company, Schabel’s in Caledonia, rather than online. Even so, Peterson said she has enlisted a lot of help along the way, having friends and family assist with editing, formatting and general advice.

“I’ve been reaching out in every direction,” she said. “I’ve also had a lot of input from Barb Trentadue at Schabel’s. She’s a wonderful resource. We have a good working relationship.”

Putting the 10 chapters of recipes (the originals of which were all handwritten), her 12 short stories and assorted photos together into a finished product wasn’t easy, Peterson said. But all the effort seemed worthwhile when she recently saw the mock-up of her cookbook.

“It surpassed my expectations,” she said. “I really feel good about it.”

Peterson’s advice for anyone looking to publish a similar piece of their family history: “Don’t be afraid to ask for help. “It’s out there, all you have to do is ask.”

Source: Quillandquire.com

Publishers Weekly is reporting that U.S. book production both rose and fell in 2008, according to statistics just released from Bowker’s Books in Print database. While the number of new and revised titles released by traditional production methods fell 3% in 2008 to 275,232, the number of on-demand and short run titles jumped a whopping 132% to 285,394. With the two numbers combined, total output increased by 38% to 560,626 books. This marks the first time that print-on-demand titles have topped traditional books in production numbers. From PW:

Kelly Gallagher, v-p of publisher services for Bowker, said the decline in traditional books reflects not only the difficult economy but the decision by publishers to become smarter and more strategic in the titles they published last year. A breakout by segment shows the impact of the economy on publishing. The number of travel titles was down 15% last year as Americans stayed closer to home, while fiction titles fell 11%, to 47,541. The religion segment also had a significant decline with new titles off 14%. The biggest gain among traditional segments came in education where output rose 33%, to 9,510, while new business titles rose 14%, to 8,838.

Since 2002, production of print-on-demand books has leaped 774%, compared to a 126% growth for traditional titles. Gallagher cited the vast improvements in print-on-demand printing technology as a major reason for the change.

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Images sources: Caccioppoli.com