Book Publishing Options for the Author/Writer

 

Types of Book Publishing
in Chronological Order of
Introduction into Industry 		TRADITIONAL
ACQUISITIONS
PUBLISHER		 VANITY PUBLISHER
(Vantage, Dorance, etc)		 INDEPENDENT
PUBLISHER		 POD
(Print on Demand)
(Printer Not Publisher)		 POD FACILITATORS
(In essence POD Publishers)
INVESTMENT Publisher Pays You an Advance
Advances are rare, but when negotiated they are based on a % of expected book sales
(5-15% of net profits)		 $10-$25,000
Minimal quality
Press Makes No Promises & Costs Are Inflated
(Read the fine print)

$10-$25,000 (2-5000 copies)
PLUS inventory storage, returned copies, marketing/PR

You Keep Larger % of Profits

$500-$2,000
NO inventory control woes or unsold books

AND you keep profits

 $500-$1,000
NO inventory control woes or unsold books &

You Share Profits
(Royalty % varies)
CREATIVE & PRODUCTION RESPONSIBILITIES Publisher has ALL Creative Control From editing & proofing to cover & text design Presses do some, all, or none of these tasks: administrative duties, editing, text layout, cover design
 Author has ALL
Creative Control
(Author / Publisher does all the work or subcontracts it out)
 Author has All
Creative Control
Print Quality & Pricing means 4-color books aren’t viable
 Author does editing
Facilitator does cover design & text layout
MARKETING RESPONSIBILITIES ALL Marketing & Distribution
AND review galleys & marketing/PR. Dollars spent depend on author & book viability
Book dies unless author
does the promoting
 In most cases, ALL marketing/PR & distribution are done by the author

ALL Marketing Control
(do work or subcontract it out)

Author invests what the
budget & time allow on
marketing/PR

ALL Marketing Control
(do work or subcontract it out)

Distribution is hard because bookstores will not shelve POD books, only order them if someone makes a request

Company promises a great deal, but the only real marketing benefit is listing in their database & in
Books in Print
(Some have distribution channels)

ISBN# of POD Publisher will stigmatize the book
(Read the fine print)
ONGOING COSTS Discounts used as purchaser incentives Buy inventory as needed Often at full retail or short discount Whatever you spend for marketing and distribution $5-$15 Per Book Unit for POD copies; marketing & distribution Buy inventory as needed, typically with only a short discount
JUST GIVE ME
THE
BOTTOM LINE
PLEASE

PRESTIGE of being a REAL author

BUT you must still market & promote at your own expense in most cases unless you are a major author or celebrity

NO Credibility in Publishing Industry

Significant investment up front with mediocre product quality & little or no help with distribution & marketing

(Read the fine print)

Significant investment up front of money, time & administrative duties

BUT you have complete creative control

AND you keep all profits or suffer the losses

Lower Start-Up & Higher Per Unit Cost (for POD)

(do work or subcontract it out)

BUT no big inventory
AND you keep the profits

AND Bookstores will not stock them!!

Company handles all administrative duties; you get generic product

(rights are retained by some facilitators in the contract)

AND Bookstores will not stock them!!

 

Contributor
Rita MillsRita Mills, owner of The Book Connection, project manages the creation process through the printing of all types of books, and outsources printing services worldwide.

She utilizes more than 30 freelance professionals with book-specific experience in all areas of writing, editing, design, illustration, marketing and public relations to produce, market, and sell trade-quality books. Rita has worked with many of these freelancers more than 12 years. She knows her personnel’s capabilities and assigns various projects according to specific expertise and the skill set of the freelancers.