Self-publishing

[BDBoop]

"Eisler shocked the industry earlier this year when he walked away
from a half million dollar advance from St. Martins Press in favor of
self-publishing. Eisler was already a best-selling thriller author."

Independence Day 2011: Heroes Of Self-Publishing, Amanda Hocking, John Locke And Other Indie Author Success Stories (PHOTOS)

[ame=http://www.amazon.com/Sold-Million-eBooks-Months-ebook/dp/B0056BMK6K/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2&qid=1322761000&sr=1-12]Amazon.com: How I Sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months! eBook: John Locke: Kindle Store[/ame]

I am buying this. I shall read it.

 

[WinterBorn]

"Eisler shocked the industry earlier this year when he walked away
from a half million dollar advance from St. Martins Press in favor of
self-publishing. Eisler was already a best-selling thriller author."

Independence Day 2011: Heroes Of Self-Publishing, Amanda Hocking, John Locke And Other Indie Author Success Stories (PHOTOS)

Amazon.com: How I Sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months! eBook: John Locke: Kindle Store

I am buying this. I shall read it.

I'm working on formatting my work now so I can self-publish through Smashwords.

 

[Big Fitz]

I've written tabletop RPG suppliments in the past. I hope this latest project reaches beta testing this summer. I'd really hope to publish this one.

 

[Saigon]

"Eisler shocked the industry earlier this year when he walked away
from a half million dollar advance from St. Martins Press in favor of
self-publishing. Eisler was already a best-selling thriller author."

.

That is weird...makes no sense to me at all. And St Martin's is a fine publisher as well.

 

[Big Fitz]

"Eisler shocked the industry earlier this year when he walked away
from a half million dollar advance from St. Martins Press in favor of
self-publishing. Eisler was already a best-selling thriller author."

.

That is weird...makes no sense to me at all. And St Martin's is a fine publisher as well.

I guess there is more money in self-publishing. I know it can be done if you put the effort into it.

 

[BDBoop]

My nephew is doing well. Course, he only has one book out, but is actively working on two others. And he used to be full-on "traditional press is the only way to go."

 

[BDBoop]

"Eisler shocked the industry earlier this year when he walked away
from a half million dollar advance from St. Martins Press in favor of
self-publishing. Eisler was already a best-selling thriller author."

Independence Day 2011: Heroes Of Self-Publishing, Amanda Hocking, John Locke And Other Indie Author Success Stories (PHOTOS)

Amazon.com: How I Sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months! eBook: John Locke: Kindle Store

I am buying this. I shall read it.

I'm working on formatting my work now so I can self-publish through Smashwords.

Self-publish through Amazon. You will do ever-so-much better. HUGE audience.

 

[Saigon]

Fitz -

It can be done, but self-publishing is largely a scam. The companies make money not by selling books, but by cashing your check. They have no motive to sell books.

Some books take off and everyone is happy, but it's a rarity. It's only those that can rarely market the book through a particular channel (i.e. speaking at conferences) that usually work.

(I used to run a book publishing company, btw)

 

[gxnelson]

I've written tabletop RPG suppliments in the past. I hope this latest project reaches beta testing this summer. I'd really hope to publish this one.

off topic, but I love your pic.

 

[BDBoop]

Amazon. Kindle.

/end thread

 

[Big Fitz]

Fitz -

It can be done, but self-publishing is largely a scam. The companies make money not by selling books, but by cashing your check. They have no motive to sell books.

Some books take off and everyone is happy, but it's a rarity. It's only those that can rarely market the book through a particular channel (i.e. speaking at conferences) that usually work.

(I used to run a book publishing company, btw)

Not referring to Vanity Press. In that you're absolutely right. I'm referring to using other "Just in time" printing services, Electronic Publishing, PDFs or things like that. In the RPG industry, this is revolutionizing games. Big companies are dying off and self publishing small press are flourishing. Some are doing quite well too depending on game popularity. Pathfinder for instance is doing very well because people don't like where D&D is going with WOTC screwing it into "World of Warcrack on Paper".

 

[Big Fitz]

I've written tabletop RPG suppliments in the past. I hope this latest project reaches beta testing this summer. I'd really hope to publish this one.

off topic, but I love your pic.

Thanks;

I side with River Song on the fez, but I love the quote with the pic.

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hZZm0TA5FwU]Doctor Who - What In The Name Of Sanity Have You Got On Your Head? - YouTube[/ame]

(Not to mention I'm an Alex Kingston fan from ER)

 

[Saigon]

Fitz -

Yes, some of those might be a much better deal.

But there is still the issue of marketing - how do you get people to notice your book?

I know people think there book will stand out on Amazon or wherever...but realistically they just won't. It has to be very original, very well concepted and well edited - and for that you need a professional editor, which isn't cheap. Editors do more than fix typos - a lot of it is about concepting, formatting and creating a readable product.

 

[BDBoop]

Amanda Hocking, the writer who made millions by self-publishing online | Books | The Guardian

We find ways.

 

[Saigon]

Amanda Hocking, the writer who made millions by self-publishing online | Books | The Guardian

We find ways.

It can done, without question - but it is a fair bet that perhaps 95% of people who self-publish a book lose money. Many will feel very hurt by the experience - and you can find these comments ad nauseum on internet forums.

People who choose to do it need to recognise that, work with a good editor, and be very aware of what they are doing and why.

 

[Big Fitz]

Fitz -

Yes, some of those might be a much better deal.

But there is still the issue of marketing - how do you get people to notice your book?

I know people think there book will stand out on Amazon or wherever...but realistically they just won't. It has to be very original, very well concepted and well edited - and for that you need a professional editor, which isn't cheap. Editors do more than fix typos - a lot of it is about concepting, formatting and creating a readable product.

Facebook, Blogs, Social Media, Co-Branding & Marketing, Internet Ads, SEO salespitch pages, user reviews, online articles.... To name a few. If you're using a site that will do the printing for you, set the price for what you want to make per product, and go for it. It's more expensive than buying a large batch from a printer and shipping it yourself, but you don't have to worry about inventory and shipping and all the other headaches.

Oh I have done research on this before. Just lacked the product and the business.... drive.... to pull it off.

 

[Big Fitz]

Amanda Hocking, the writer who made millions by self-publishing online | Books | The Guardian

We find ways.

It can done, without question - but it is a fair bet that perhaps 95% of people who self-publish a book lose money. Many will feel very hurt by the experience - and you can find these comments ad nauseum on internet forums.

People who choose to do it need to recognise that, work with a good editor, and be very aware of what they are doing and why.

To quote a comic book professional I heard speak once:

"Art gets the first buy, content keeps them coming back."

This means that you won't do well unless you have a good product to sell. Then you also must remember Sturgeon's Law.

"90% of Science Fiction is crap," (Wait for the outrage to subside) "then again, 90% of EVERYTHING is crap."

I may not have run a publishing company, I respect that. But I have done my homework.

 

[WinterBorn]

"Eisler shocked the industry earlier this year when he walked away
from a half million dollar advance from St. Martins Press in favor of
self-publishing. Eisler was already a best-selling thriller author."

Independence Day 2011: Heroes Of Self-Publishing, Amanda Hocking, John Locke And Other Indie Author Success Stories (PHOTOS)

Amazon.com: How I Sold 1 Million eBooks in 5 Months! eBook: John Locke: Kindle Store

I am buying this. I shall read it.

I'm working on formatting my work now so I can self-publish through Smashwords.

Self-publish through Amazon. You will do ever-so-much better. HUGE audience.

Smashwords lists their books on Apple iBookstore, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo, the Diesel eBook Store, and others. You can also still list your ebook on Amazon.

 

[WinterBorn]

Fitz -

It can be done, but self-publishing is largely a scam. The companies make money not by selling books, but by cashing your check. They have no motive to sell books.

Some books take off and everyone is happy, but it's a rarity. It's only those that can rarely market the book through a particular channel (i.e. speaking at conferences) that usually work.

(I used to run a book publishing company, btw)

If you are talking about self publishing companies that charge you to publish, yes they are probably scams.

But many of the venues for self publishing are in the ebook range. For example, I am listing a novella on Smashwords. They don't charge me a dime. They make their money by getting a percentage of the sales.

 

[BDBoop]

I'm working on formatting my work now so I can self-publish through Smashwords.

Self-publish through Amazon. You will do ever-so-much better. HUGE audience.

Smashwords lists their books on Apple iBookstore, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo, the Diesel eBook Store, and others. You can also still list your ebook on Amazon.

I know. My nephew has done it all.