Are you thinking about writing a memoir or personal history book for profit?. Consider the commercial success of memoirs like Frank McCort’s Angela’s Ashes, Mitch Albom’s Tuesdays With Morrie, or Maxine Hong Kingston’s Warrior Woman. It could be your book next!
Unfortunately, it is next to impossible to attract a literary agent or commercial publisher if
- You are previously unpublished and have no track record to offer the publisher.
- Publishers perceive your topic as of limited interest, appealing only to extended family and friends.
- Your book’s content is controversial.
- You want to retain complete editorial control over content and design of the book.
For these reasons, many aspiring authors turn to self-publishing. An author who self-publishes a book pays all the cost of printing himself and then takes all of the responsibility for the book’s distribution. Some great literary and historical writers, including Ben Franklin, Mark Twain, Edgar Allen Poe and Virginia Woolf, have been self published.
Is self-publishing for you? Irma Rombauer’s Joy of Cooking, Tom Peter’s In Search of Excellence, and Jack Canfield and Mark Hansen’s Chicken Soup for the Soul were all self-published, found a large audience and were picked up by commercial publishers. However it is important to realize that these books are the exception. In fact, it is a sad truth of the publishing world that very few books make money.
Let’s say you have created an attractive, well-written book. Great! To make a profit, you would need to plan an aggressive campaign of marketing and promotion. You would face some challenges. It is difficult to get a self-published book into a bookstore, especially with the rise of nationwide mega stores like Barnes and Noble or Borders. These retailers buy from large commercial publishers, distributors and wholesalers.
Many self-published authors have attempted to substitute on-line marketing through Amazon.com or similar internet stores for traditional bookstores. But an Amazon listing alone is hardly a guarantee of success. You will have the responsibility to entice your buyers to visit the site and to purchase the book.
There are many on-demand printers and publishers to choose from. Some of the best known are Amazon.com’s BookSurge, iUniverse, and Xlibris. However, their prices and terms vary widely. Many package their printing services together with marketing services for authors attempting to sell books. These services can be expensive for an aspiring author, and the costs can continue to mount over time.
The profit from book sales will take careful analysis. Each publisher has its own contract terms, and royalties vary. Examine your contract to determine how many books you would need to sell to break even. One last concern is the protection of your rights as the creator of your book. You may want to consult an attorney before signing over the rights to your work. Look for a contract that is non-exclusive that you can terminate at will.
If you are considering self-publishing for profit, treat it like any other business venture. Consider developing a marketing and business plan first. Determine whether there is an existing market for your book. This potential profit must be weighed against the costs of creating, printing and promoting the book.
Are there other alternatives? Yes. One is to create the book and shop it around to agents and commercial publishers first. Another is to print the book without buying marketing services. Try selling it yourself, and assess the market without sharing profits with a publisher.
At Stories To Tell, our Complete Author’s Program is designed to guide you through the self-publishing process. Simply tell your editor the goals you have for your final printed book, and he will recommend appropriate printers or publishers to meet your best interests.
