Five Self-Pub Truths (I wish I’d known)
By Rebecca M. Lyles
After decades as a writer and editor, I should have known better. But what do salaried non-fiction writers know about publishing a commercial book? Nothing. So, naturally, I decided to write one.
I didn’t have a plan, but one outcome was non-negotiable from the start: I refused to be one of those pathetic self-published authors with a garage full of books. No way. Not me!
My chances of attracting an agent or traditional publisher? Zero. I had no industry connection, Olympic medal, scandal, platform, or even a chicken-soup inspirational story … nothing to make a big publisher notice me.
Then I learned at a conference that all authors nowadays are expected to hawk their own wares. Successful authors gave inspiring talks about traveling the country, visiting book stores, stalking store owners and customers, handing out bookmarks, shaking hands with strangers.
My reaction: “Well, that’s not going to happen.” An incurable introvert, I would rather have head lice than drive around with a car full of books, begging booksellers to give me shelf space. But even traditional publishers don’t put much effort into promoting small-time authors these days. So if I’m going to do my own marketing anyway, why not try self-publishing? Here are some self-pub benefits:
· Like traditional publishers, interior formatting, an ISBN, online placement with Amazon, Barnes & Noble, e-book creation — the parts you might not want, or know how, to do.
· More control than traditional publishing, especially if you have your stuff together and know what you want.
· Better royalties (although a higher percentage of a little is still a little).
Self-publishers are spectacular at one thing: selling you their services. Their most skilled employees are in Sales. They offer graduated packages, each level containing more benefits. And there’s a good chance that, because you’re special, or it’s the end of the quarter, or it’s Tuesday, you will be offered an INCREDIBLE discount. They dazzle you with visions of success. Wide exposure, opportunity, the chance to be discovered.
But let’s be clear about one thing. While the magician distracts you with illusions, the trick behind the curtain is:
Their business model is to make money from you, not your book sales.
I’m not saying you should not self-publish. Just factor these truths into your plan, your expectations, and your budget. Be smarter than I was.
1. You, not they, provide the platform.
Self-publishing is a bring-your-own-audience proposition. But build your following before you write the book. It takes time, and the method is up to you. Become a well-known expert at something, a Twitter star, a YouTube sensation … collect a mailing list and hordes of followers. Blog. Publish a few articles or short stories. Attend conferences or join writers’ or readers’ groups. Network like crazy. However you can, build a network of potential readers who will buy your books so you will not have to store them in your garage.
Good. You have a platform. I hope your plan is not (1) get the book on Amazon, (2) ask your friends and family to write rave reviews, and (3) sit back and watch the sales take off. Amazon reviews don’t guarantee sales and–even if they did–their review policies have recently tightened. Reviews disappear if they smell even faintly of bias … and Amazon has a scary amount of data on you. Too many five-star reviews? Friends or relatives? Trading reviews with an author friend? They catch and remove those.
A select group of impartial Amazon “career” reviewers are approved, but they’re flooded with submissions and are too busy to review most of them. A recent book about these reviewers paints them as unapproachable and mystical creatures, easily offended and vengeful. Like hypersensitive unicorns.
2. Beware of extra services.
Each service in the publishing package has a price tag, even if you decline it. A personal concierge who guides you through the process? Mine was taciturn, robotic, unresponsive, and seemed annoyed if I dared to ask a question.
If your book needs heavy editing and cover design help (and you aren’t too picky), these included services might be worth the cost. My book dispenses a good deal of writing advice and I’m an editor, so it had to be squeaky-clean. When they sent me an “editing sample,” I was horrified. Their editors recommended that I use outdated grammatical constructions I specifically explained how to avoid in the book. So I had an editor friend of mine review it instead. I had to pay for the unused editing service, but instructed them not to touch the manuscript. In other words, I paid them not to edit it.
I created my own cover design and asked that their graphics people just add artistic fonts and clean up the image a little. The proposed images they returned were crude and amateurish, worse than the original I’d submitted. You guessed it — cover design cost was included in the package too. I paid a professional graphic artist to refine my image, submitted that, and simply said, “Use this.”
If your book is fiction, you’ll probably get a standard text-over-stock-photo cover like thousands of other books in the genre unless you provide your own. If you do that, make sure you have written proof of your rights to use the image.
Despite their claims of editing expertise, it’s still up to you to proof the final galleys. Mine included endless rounds of blank pages, missing bullets, font anomalies, odd line breaks, wrong page numbers, missing footers, and other obvious errors.
Packages might also include such goodies as an introduction to an unnamed agent at BEA (Book Expo America). No guarantee of face-to-face contact, the right genre, or even that you won’t be one of dozens in the room. Of course you have to pay for your own entry fee, travel, hotel, and meals … pretty expensive unless you live in New York and were planning to attend anyway.
3. Marketing support is misleading.
The marketing activities in your package promise promotion to tens of thousands of eager media outlets (see point #5). But the marketing folks will not read your book and they have no idea what it’s about. Press releases are canned, uninspiring, and even misleading. Cover blurbs and teasers? Better write those too. If you’re a novelist, prepare to also become an ad copy writer.
Book copies go to a few distributors and reviewers, but they don’t place them in book stores and they don’t review them. They resell them at a discount on Amazon. By the time your book page appears online, it already has a bargain bin.
4. Author discounts can be a trap.
Remember my nightmare scenario — getting stuck with a garage full of books? The discount, deeper if you buy more, is seductive.
· Fantasy: Throngs of people line up for a signed copy.
· Reality: If you build it, they will not necessarily come.
Be prepared to peddle them door-to-door or give them away (like litters of kittens).
5. The stigma is real.
This is the one nobody wants to talk about. It’s the reason you can send out 29,000 press releases without a single response. Anything coming from your publisher probably goes straight to someone’s junk folder. No one ever sees those 29,000 press releases, because you’ve just paid for some expensive spam.
The tiny independent book store in my small town would not even discuss carrying my book. Forget having a book signing event. They didn’t want to know anything about it — the words self-published ended the conversation.
If the self-pub sales guy tries to persuade you to purchase a New York Times Book Section ad, don’t. For the same money you could buy something useful, like a facelift or a used car. The ad is postage-stamp-sized (literally) and one of a dozen on a single page. And, since they are all from recognizable self-publishing companies, readers tend to ignore them.
Even the reviews offered in your publishing package are on sites known to be exclusively self-pub. Visitors to these sites are interested in selling marketing services to you, not reading your book.
Conclusion
If you decide to self-publish:
· Select your package carefully. Don’t pay for unnecessary services.
· Realize that book marketing is now your fulltime job.
· Don’t overestimate the number of copies you need to order.
· Set a reasonable goal. Producing a book is an accomplishment in itself, but chances of being discovered are slim.
· Spend only what you can afford to lose. Don’t count on getting your money back from sales.
On the bright side, your book, self-published or not, can be a source of pride. Your friends and family can enjoy it. Donate a couple of copies to your local library. Run giveaways on Goodreads and similar sites. If you belong to a writer’s group, your fellow writers will respect your achievement. You can call yourself an author.
You might even sell hundreds of copies and become a local celebrity.
Meanwhile, if you want a copy of a really good book, drop by my house. I have a garage full of them.
Not a grammar book, not for Dummies. Laugh and learn about common mistakes in business and social communication. Then avoid them and put your best foot forward.
From the Errors of Others http://amzn.to/297EN
Rebecca’s corporate career spanned thirty years, first as a technical writer and editor, and then as a manager, for several companies including AT&T, FileNet, and IBM. She now lives in southern California and works independently, as Text CPR, consulting with businesses to improve their communication and training products. When not writing song parodies for the local community theater, she also gives workshops and lectures on writing for both businesses and writing organizations.
Chair & Pen publishes stories on the writing process and the writing life. It is edited and curated by Writing Coach Annalisa Parent. To learn more about how to work with Annalisa, visit www.DateWithTheMuse.com
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