CHAPTER 1
The Basics of Self-Publishing
Self-publishing can have several different definitions depending on who you ask. People who work in traditional publishing say that if an author paid any money to publish his or her book, the book is self-published. But the traditional publishing world uses that definition only when it suits its needs.
Traditional publishers often make new, unknown authors pay most, if not all, marketing expenses associated with the author’s book. So, to those in the hallowed corridors of “Grey Poupon” publishers, a book is self-published if the author pays for editing, formatting, or cover design— but the book is not considered to be self-published if those expenses are covered by the publisher, even if the author is made to pay some or all of the marketing expenses.
We all look at life through our own prisms. In its purest form, self-publishing (also called independent publishing) is when an author handles the expenses of book production, printing, distribution, and marketing. Under this definition, the author either has the skill set to carry out these processes or hires out the various tasks to someone else. The author is essentially acting as a general contractor.
An author who uses a self-publishing service company is obviously self-publishing, too, since the author is paying up front for services and/or publishing packages and is getting published because he or she is paying to do so. Even when the ISBN is in the name of a publisher, the book is still considered self-published in such cases because the author has paid a fee for publishing services.
Self-Publishing vs. Vanity Publishing
The I-have-an-MFA-and-you-don’t crowd inside the walls of Grey Poupon publishing houses still insists that an author who pays a penny in publishing costs is engaged in self-publishing or “vanity” publishing. However, as we’ve just learned, those same people have determined that traditionally published authors paying for marketing costs not covered by their publisher are not considered to be self-or vanity publishing. While traditional publishers may use these terms interchangeably, depending on who you ask, you’ll hear different and overlapping explanations for what these words mean. Let me break it down for you.
If you are planning to publish a book just to tell people that you’ve published a book, you’re vanity publishing. If you don’t plan on spending any significant time or money to properly edit and design your book, whatever time and money you’ve spent on publishing is wasted, and you’re vanity publishing. If you are talked into purchasing ten thousand copies of your book even though you have no real marketing plan or dollars to spend, then—in addition to being a sucker—you’re vanity publishing. If you go into debt to publish a book because you “just know it will sell,” you’re crazy and vanity publishing. If you don’t plan to spend any time or money to market your book but instead are waiting for sales to magically come pouring in once the book is released, you’re delusional and vanity publishing. And, if despite good advice from editors, cover designers, and interior formatters, you decide a picture of you holding a football in one hand and a globe in the other while wearing giant angel wings should be used on the front cover of your book, there is a 100 percent chance you are engaged in vanity publishing (and, yes, I worked with the author who wanted this cover).
Basically, the “vanity” part applies if (1) you believe that your book is so amazing that you can put out whatever you want and readers will flock to buy it, even though you’ve done nothing to put out a solid, competitive product and even less to promote it, or (2) you allow yourself to be convinced to buy publishing or marketing services based on false praise of your book by the seller of said services. There are self-publishing purists who argue that an author who employs a self-publishing company to provide self-publishing services is “vanity” publishing, while the purist who did all of the work on his book without help (editing and designing his own book, etc.) is not. Paying for competent publishing services will make your book look and read significantly better. Not paying for these services to avoid some anonymous bully on a self-publishing board calling your book a vanity project is just plain stupid.
What makes self-publishing different from vanity publishing is that, in self-publishing, the author is publishing a book in a strategic, thoughtful, well-informed way. The author has the book professionally edited by a real book editor (friends who teach high-school English don’t count), has the cover and interior professionally designed, has a realistic approach to the process, plans to spend hundreds of hours spreading the word about the book’s release, has a marketing plan and some kind of marketing budget (regardless of size), and intends to work hard to generate sales.
Those who sit around all day admiring themselves for having published a book are the vanity publishing crowd. Those who spend quality time marketing their book, and understand that sales opportunities down the road may be hatched by marketing ideas today, are what the spirit of self-publishing is all about.
Self-Publishing vs. Traditional Publishing
Until recently, a traditional book publisher paid all of the expenses incurred in the publishing process: editing, cover design, formatting, printing, distribution, marketing, and so on. Under this traditional publishing model, authors didn’t pay a dime toward any publishing or marketing costs. However, publishing is just like anything else—there is no such thing as a free lunch.
Assume for the purpose of this section that the author being discussed is a typical first-time author getting a shot with a traditional publisher. This author gives away the rights to the book for some period of time (five to seven years) and receives a puny royalty (typically 5 to 15 percent of the retail price). In some cases, authors may receive advances against royalties. A typical advance might be $2,000–$5,000 from a small traditional publisher, while the large traditional houses often give significantly bigger advances even to first-time authors. To be clear, I’m not saying every traditional publishing deal is like this. I’m saying the huge paydays you read about (e.g., an unknown author is discovered and gets a huge advance after an intense bidding war) are the exceptions, not the rule.
Traditional publishing houses don’t make it easy to get your work in front of them. The first step in getting a traditional publisher to even think about your book is to write a query letter that gets an agent or publisher to notice you. Most of the large traditional publishers won’t even accept query letters from authors. They require submission by an agent. In almost every case, the agent must write a query letter that explains who you are, what your book is about, who the target audience is, and how you intend to market the book so that this audience will know that your book exists.
As you probably know by now, sending query letters to agents and publishers often amounts to tossing these letters into a black hole in the middle of a remote galaxy. Sometimes an agent or publisher will contact you and ask for more material, which is a good sign. Sometimes they send you a form rejection letter. Often they never write you back at all. Even if they ask for more material, it doesn’t mean that you’re getting a contract. It only means that they are going to think about reading more of your submitted material whenever they feel like it—hence the black hole. Remember, as the traditional publishing industry continues to contract, agents have fewer places they can go to pitch a new book. Meanwhile, many traditional publishers are actively shedding midlist authors and not taking on newbies.
Of course, every year, a few authors break into this virtually locked— down universe. Let’s assume for the sake of argument that you are one of them. Presumably, authors who are offered a contract from a traditional publisher choose that route because the publisher brings years of design and marketing experience, PR contacts, and other important relationships to the table—but how many of those relationships do you think will be leveraged for the release of a book by a little-known author? Probably not many. More typically, the traditional publisher eventually breaks the bad news to the author that their budget doesn’t allow for a marketing campaign or book tour. However, the publisher offers names of people to call who provide those services to the author for a fee—enter the double-edged sword. The author got the contract she worked so hard to get, only to learn that the chance of making significant book sales rests solely on her own shoulders (and wallet). If the author doesn’t spend the marketing money required to help launch the book, the book will likely fade away in the publisher’s warehouse. If the author pays to market her book, she’s now spending money to make her publisher the lion’s share of profit for each book sold.
Marketing is typically the most expensive part of the publishing process, so while not having to pay for upfront production expenses is attractive, that alone may not be a sufficient reason to sign with a traditional publisher. The author will likely give away a lot (rights, control, subsidiary rights, most of the earnings) and may end up paying for the marketing, putting herself in the very financial position she may have been in had she self-published. If the book sells decently, the publisher becomes the big winner. Yes, the publisher spent some money up front, but it is likely taking little to no risk on marketing the book.
Having taken just the upfront risk of covering all production expenses and possibly an advance, is a traditional publisher entitled to reap the rewards if said rewards fall into its lap as a result of the author’s marketing efforts and money? The answer to this question will vary depending on whom you ask. If you ask the publisher that put up money for an unknown writer to get his book out there, you’ll hear one opinion. If you ask the author who had to pay a publicist $6,000 to run a PR campaign, you’ll hear another. I’ve worn both hats and my opinion changes based on the hat I’m wearing at the time. Even if you traditionally publish, you will likely pay for some expenses associated with publication and/or marketing. If you’re going to spend money regardless of how your book is published, is it better to control the process, the result, and your potential earnings? Only you can answer that.
But, while you will control it all, keep in mind that if you have no platform, your climb from unknown to successful author will require much more than writing a check. You still have to find a way to reach consumers and convince them to take a chance on you and your unvetted work. For a casual Amazon.com customer who sees “Penguin” as the publisher of a book she’s considering, the it-must-be-good-since-it— was-published-by-a-giant-publisher stamp of approval could make the difference between that person clicking the buy button for the Penguin book and choosing your own.
Getting a traditional publishing deal can do a lot for a new author’s career, and if you have the opportunity, it’s something to seriously consider. My company has worked with self-published authors who go on to get traditional deals because of their book’s success. We’ve also worked with traditionally published authors whose book sales have trailed off, creating a situation where the author can’t get any traditional publisher interested in a new title. Those authors turned to self-publishing with the understanding that while sales of 5,000 copies may not mean much to a traditional publisher, that level of sales when you’re self-published and earning most of the royalties can mean some significant money.
Types of Self-Publishing
The options available to you as you begin your self-publishing journey are endless—and growing. Since I wrote the first edition of this book in 2004, book publishing coaches, consultants, and sherpas have been popping up faster than weeds. Toss in the number of self-publishing companies that have come into existence since then, and wow . . . it’s hard to know where to start.
As with any other type of emerging industry, you have those who know it and those who claim to know it. No matter which route you ultimately take in self-publishing your book, one of the most critical choices you have is figuring out who to help you along the way. You have, generally, three feasible options when it comes to self-publishing:
Every author brings to the process their own expectations, financial situation, and abilities; what works well for one author might be incredibly frustrating to the next. Let’s look at each path to self-publishing. As you’re reading, consider which option might work best for you.
Act as Your Own General Contractor
Coordinating the entire project on your own, especially if you have no experience in book publishing, can be daunting. Nuances of the process will surely get overlooked. You will also spend a lot of time and effort researching designers, printers, and so on—and since you’re in a new arena, you may not know if you’re getting what you really need at the right price. Then there’s the coordination of all these moving parts.
With the DIY approach, you’re going to spend more time reinventing the wheel. The information and opinion overload from those you hire will likely contradict each other. But the reward is that you as the author will have ultimate control over every aspect of publication—for better or for worse.
Hire a Publishing Consultant
Hiring a consultant can help eliminate the problems of the DIY approach. The downside to a consultant is that there’s a fee on top of the fees you’re already paying for publication. But assuming the consultant knows her stuff, you could actually save money in the long run: you won’t pay for unnecessary services, the process will be more efficient and expedient, and you won’t miss important steps along the way. Having a professional on your side who has experience successfully managing the book publishing process for authors is invaluable.
Here comes the “but”—you have to find a publishing consultant who has actually seen a manuscript through to publication and distribution. Over the past few years, my company has increasingly worked with publishing consultants who, on behalf of their clients, hire us for some or all of the publishing process. The ones who really understand the publishing process—book production, formatting, distribution—can often help a project move more smoothly. On the flip side, there are consultants who simply don’t know what they’re talking about and give flat-out wrong advice, holding their ground so as to look knowledgeable to their client. An unknowledgeable publishing consultant can turn the entire process into a convoluted mess.
In chapter 3, I provide a road map of the steps needed to publish your book. Sit down with any prospective consultant and start going through the list. If they can’t explain the difference between owning your own ISBN or using one assigned by a self-publishing service provider, quietly slip out the back door.
Hire a Self-Publishing Company
The final publishing route is to find a good self-publishing company that can provide everything under one roof. The operative word here is “good.” The good ones can relieve you of having to learn the ins and outs of an entire industry and can cut out the middleman (in this case, the publishing consultant). And, in many cases, because the company is providing a lot of work to designers, printers, editors, and so on, your overall costs could be lower.
Picking the wrong self-publishing company can lead to a host of disasters, like outrageous printing markups that essentially kill the book before it is available for sale. In chapter 4, I explain the qualities that a good self-publishing company should possess, and show you what questions to ask when choosing one.
Final Thoughts on the Basics of Self-Publishing
Don’t get bogged down by labels here. Whether you self-publish on your own, hire a company, or pay a coach to help you, your main concern should be publishing a great book. Pay for the services you need to make your book better. If someone tries to sell you something that is too good to be true, it probably is.
I know the blogs and chat rooms are filled with vitriolic rants by authors who want other authors to feel bad about the ways in which they publish. Those people are trying to make themselves feel better about their publishing route and their anemic sales. You won’t find many of the haters raking in royalties.