An increasing number of authors are embracing self-publishing as a commercial proposition. Failing to find deals with traditional publishers or unhappy with the terms they are offered by publishers, they opt to go it alone.

Canada’s National Post ran a recent piece on line titled “Self-Publishing: Doing It Yourself and Doing It Better” which looked at the phenomenon.

Terry Fallis, author of The Best Laid Plans is typical of the most common reasons authors self-publish. He couldn’t find a traditional publisher who wanted to publish his work. What was less typical is that Fallis’ book won the Stephen Leacock Medal for Humour which led it’s author to a deal with a Canadian publisher.

“It was a positive experience for me,” says Fallis of his venture as a self-publisher.

Steve Almond, the author of six books, the most recent of which, Rock and Roll Will Save Your Life, was just published by Random House, has recently become a self-publisher for a two very different reasons.  First, he was unhappy with a publisher’s decision that he must change the title of a story collection.

“Any time that you enter into an agreement that you’re not in control of,” said Almond, “you have to make certain compromises. And that can be kind of tough.”

Since deciding to self-publish his next book This Won’t Take But A Minute, Honey, Almond has also found that the process is much quicker. “I’m used to waiting 18 months…” he said. The speed of print-on-demand is a happy contrast.

But, there are drawbacks for an author seeking commercial distribution of a self-published book. One of the most important is that book stores may refuse to stock self-published works and reviewers may be unwilling to review them.

“It’s not that I have a philosophical objection to self-published books, but the reality is that most of them don’t cleave to the same editorial or production standards as books that come from reputable publishing houses,” says Steven Beattie, Quill & Quire’s review editor.

Steve Almond advises, “Self-publishing has allowed people to put lots of books into the world, but it doesn’t mean that it’s good art. Your job as a writer isn’t to figure out how your book’s going to get into the world, it’s to figure out how to write well enough that your book deserves to get into the world.”

One way to do that is seeking quality editing to improve your draft of the book. Stacy Davis Stanton author of Fertile Ground a memoir of her struggle with infertility and how she successfully overcame it with the birth of a son told the Savannah Morning News, that once you “decide if self-publishing is right for you,” you should,  “…be willing to invest in editing services to fine-tune your manuscript.”

Click here to read the full National Post article

Click here to read the Savannah Morning News interview with Stacy Davis Stanton.

People often ask us about the best publishers for their memoirs and family histories. We try to stay current on what’s going on in the industry. I recently ran across a site called chooseyourpublisher.com.

Chooseyourpublisher.com’s home page copy tells visitors: “For writers and authors the world over, the question of “how to publish my book” elicits a daunting and overwhelming answer… Finding the right publishing company & publisher is an important step to publishing your book…Choose Your Publisher provides you with an “extensive directory” of top-quality & experienced publishing companies.”

To select a publisher the site asks a five questions to be answered with pull down choices:

• What type of book do you want to publish?
• When are you ready to publish?
• Which is the most important reason you want to publish your book?
• What amount do you want to invest to get published?
• What support do you need to help you get published?

The fact that the site asks you what you expect to pay rather than finding out what services you will need then giving you a quote on what it will cost is a warning of what is to come.

The site then asks for your complete contact information. When you enter it, you get a recommendation from the site’s “extensive directory.”

The only problem is that the extensive directory consists of only four possible recommendations: iUniverse, Xlibris, Author House and Tafford. All are owned by Bertram Capital Management of San Mateo, California.

Chooseyourpublisher.com is nothing more than an advertising ploy. It allows authors to choose from an extensive directory of a single corporate home.

Two days after receiving our recommendations online a telemarketer for Xlibris contacted us by phone to sell us a publishing package.

This cautionary tale is like a lot of those to be found on the web. When researching publishing choices make sure your are getting real information not disguised marketing copy masquerading as facts.

It has been fascinating to watch the rapid evolution of ebooks, both as a technological platform and as a publishing platform. As a consumer, you may have already purchased an ebook reader, such as Amazon’s Kindle or the Nook from Barnes and Noble. Apple’s entry into the field with the iPad is expected to result in an explosion of new titles available to readers in the ebook format. Yet the workings of this industry behind the scenes, where books are actually created for delivery to these devices, is still evolving.

The publishing of ebooks has upended and overturned the traditional model of commercial publishing. The traditional author worked through an agent, one who negotiated each book individually with publishing houses to determine the market value of a book. The author’s rights to print, web, and film could be negotiated separately. If the deal didn’t go through, the agent could shop the book around to other publishers.

The ebook market is far less flexible for the author. Because the producers of these devices control the publishing platform, they get to set the terms. At Amazon and Apple, the terms are set: a 70/30 split. The difference comes in book pricing. Apple will sell every book on its iPad for $9.99, an arbitrary price point the author cannot control. Amazon is willing to offer ebooks at a significantly lower price. Although the 70/30 split is a higher percentage than the author could get from a traditional publisher, these low ebook prices will net far less for the author than the proceeds from a trade paperback.

Recently, Barnes and Noble announced the creation of PubIt!, their new ebook publishing division. Whether they can offer more attractive terms for authors remains to be seen.

The stakes are higher than ever before. This isn’t just an issue of the author’s contract, whether he makes a few cents more or less per book. Because there are just a few giants in the ebook business, Apple, Amazon and Barnes & Noble don’t just sell the reading devices, they also control the distribution of ebooks. You can’t choose to shop at an independent bookstore down the street if you don’t like what they’re offering.

In a recent podcast interview Jan Nathan, Executive Director of the Independent Book Publishers Association, and Ron Pramschufer of Self Publishing Inc discussed a variety of types of publication – traditional publisher, small press, independent publisher, self-publisher, vanity press, subsidy publisher, and print-on-demand. It’s an interesting conversation (see link below) as much for what it leaves out as for what it includes.

All of the categories they discuss are for authors seeking to publish for a profit. They look at services and costs including furnishing ISBNs, copyrights,  marketing and sales.

But that leaves out a lot of memoir writers and family historians who not looking to sell their books. They are interested in what used to be referred to as private publication where a small number of copies of their book will be printed for distribution to family and friends. What these authors really need is a printer not a publisher.

When deciding who should print your book, be clear about your intended audience. Don’t pay for services like marketing that are included in a publishing package unless you need them. There are plenty of excellent printers who will charge you only the cost of actually producing the book. Many will do it on an on-demand basis printing as few as a single copy at a time based on orders for the book. We recommend that if you are looking to publish your book privately you use one of these printers.

Click here for Jan Nathan interview.

A recent discussion of a family history book project led a client to say, “I suspect I am getting beyond my pocket book.” Her concern is typical with of authors we work with who want to create a self-published book with a very limited distribution to family and friends. Many recall the days when a self-publishing author had to buy a hundred, two hundred or more copies to get the book printed, often far more than the number of books they actually wanted for friends and family.  The cost the author had to absorb was substantial.

Print-on-demand has changed that. Digital printing has made it possible to print a single book, or a few, at a modest cost. The printer does not print a book until he receives an order for it. The price per book is fixed (although there are discounts for volume). Unit cost is somewhat higher than with traditional offset printing but the average cost of the total order is dramatically lower for small print runs because there is no minimum order.

What is particularly desirable for a cost conscious family history author is that she can complete her book, submit it to an on-demand printer and let each family member or friend know that they can purchase their copy of the book directly from the printer. The author no longer faces the prospect of paying the entire cost of printing the book.

Authors can make choices that further control the cost of their book. Hardback or softcover? How many photos or other illustrations? Full color or black-and-white?

Print-on-demand makes it possible for families to publish histories, journals, diaries, and photo books by distributing the printing costs among all of the intended recipients.

We work with a lot of authors who want to produce a limited number of copies of their memoir or family history book for family members and friends. At some point early in our conversations with them, most of them say, “I need to find a publisher for my book.”

The statement demonstrates a common confusion about what publishers do. Publishers are companies which are involved in both production and commercial distribution of a book. They are involved with the writer from the development of the idea for the book through its writing, editing design, production and sales.

What our clients are really looking for is someone to print their book. If you are planning on only a handful of copies marketing and distribution aren’t things you should be concerned about. Nor should you have to pay for distribution services.

Publishers, both traditional publishers and digital self publishers like CreateSpace, XLibris, or iUniverse, sell you distribution services whether you need them or not.

If you deal with a printer you will pay only the cost of producing your book. You must prepare your manuscript to the publishers specifications. This often means employing the services of an editor and a book designer. But the printer – particularly on-demand printers – will take the files you submit and print exactly the number of copies you want. You will pay only the costs of printing.

Understanding the difference between printing and publishing can save a self-publishing author a lot of money.

First, let’s clarify exactly an ISBN is. An ISBN (International Standard Book Number) is the 13 digit number usually accompanied by a bar code on the book’s back cover or the inside front cover of a mass market paperback. R.W. Bowker, the company which serves as the U.S. ISBN Agency says, “The purpose of the ISBN is to establish and identify one title or edition of a title from one specific publisher and is unique to that edition allowing more efficient marketing of products by booksellers, libraries, universities, wholesalers, and distributors.” The fee is $275 for 10 ISBNs. (Single ISBNs can be obtained through publishers.) The fee for bar codes is $25 each for 1-5 bar codes and $23 each for 6-10.

If you seek to sell your book or even if you are considering commercial distribution, you’ll need an ISBN. If you intend only a limited distribution to family and a few friends, you probably won’t need to get one.

The US Copyright Office defines copyright as “a form of protection grounded in the U.S. Constitution… (it’s) a form of intellectual property law which protects original forms of authorship.” Work is under copyright at the moment it is created. Registration of a copyright is voluntary, but you must register if you bring a lawsuit for copyright infringement. The Copyright Office advises, “Many choose to register their works because they wish to have the facts of their copyright on the public record and have a certification of public record.” Registration within five years of publication is considered prima facie evidence in a court. The basic fee to register a copyright online is $35.

As with an ISBN your intentions for your book will dictate what you should do. If you work with a commercial publisher or an author service company like iUniverse, Create Space, Author House or XLibris make sure you understand who controls the rights (meaning copyrights) to the book.