If you missed the first articles, read “Hey! I have a great idea for a children’s book!”: Part 1! and Part 2: Know your Publishers!
Now, if you are not going the traditional publisher submissions route, you must be planning on independent or self-publishing. This allows you 100% of the control of your book project and can be a really great experience if you are financially prepared and know what to expect. There are two ways you can self-publish: use a self-publishing company or go solo.
Option 1: By going solo, I mean creating your whole project from scratch, not just conceiving and creating the book itself, but also acting as a contractor for every part of the book production and marketing. Here are some pros and cons for that type of project:
Pros:
• Lower cost. It may be less money than using a self-publishing company since you may have more opportunities to negotiate various costs in your favor.
• You have options for printing. You can decide between Print on Demand (POD) and traditional off-set printing. POD usually costs more but you don’t need to buy any books up front, which means your initial investment is much smaller. Traditional off-set printing is cheaper, but you need to buy the books and store them until you sell them. If you buy small quantities, it’s can be just as much or more per copy as POD. To get the better price you’ll usually need to buy at least 1000 copies up front.
• You have total control over your project from start to finish and own all copyrights.
• You can spend as much or as little time as you want marketing your book.
• You receive all of the profit from sales (unless you have an illustrator tied into the royalties).
• If you are not a technology-savvy person, you can still usually do most of your publishing tasks without the use of a computer.
Cons:
• It takes a lot of time to do it well.
• You have to be a business person not just a creative mind. Some people establish themselves as an independent publishing company which is one way to deal with taxes and other business aspects of selling your books.
• You may have to hire an editor to proof your writing. I would not recommend being your own proofreader.
• You must organize and pay for all advertising, marketing, and publicity.
• You pay for everything. For a children’s book you need to be prepared for an initial investment of at least about $3 to $10000. These types of books are the most costly to produce because of color printing,etc. (If you are an illustrator you can subtract the cost you would pay an illustrator from those figures.) There will be costs such as shipping, copyright, marketing and advertising... all of that adds up. But hopefully you will start to recoup with your book sales!
• You will have to manage all of the retail sales tasks: contacts, deliveries, retail discounts, restocking, shipping...
• National in-store distribution is a very large financial investment and risk.
Option 2: Self-publishing companies are not new idea (the “vanity press” has been around for decades) but technology has allowed for a much different experience for those who choose to go this route today. The main difference between Option 1 and 2 is that a large portion of the book production is taken care of for you.
Pros:
• The cost is affordable even if not as inexpensive as going completely independent. As of Jan 2011, you can get a children’s book set up for around $1000. (Web sites may say you can get started for $0, but you are going to spend more on a children’s book no matter which company you use. Their rock bottom price usually does not cover what that really entails.)
• Most use POD, which means you are not required to buy a minimum stock of books, ever.
• You have total control over your project from start to finish and own all copyrights.
• You can spend as much or as little time as you want marketing your book. The companies offer some marketing services as well, including web hosting.
• You receive all of the profit from sales (unless you have an illustrator tied into the royalties).
• You do not have to manage all of the retail sales tasks: contacts, deliveries, retail discounts, restocking, shipping...*
• Your book is available around the world, on line at major retailers. The company sets this up. Shipping is handled by the vendor and paid for by the customer. You just collect the "royalty" check each quarter.
• Since you own all of the book rights, you can still seek a traditional publisher and pull your book out of the self-publishing venue if you get a bite.
• If you have less time to spend on the business details of self-publishing, the self-publishing company handles some of that end.
Cons:
• It costs a bit more than completely independent publishing, and you pay for everything.
• It still takes a lot of time and effort to publish and sell.
• You may have to hire an editor to proof your writing. I would not recommend being your own proofreader.
• You have to be a business person not just a creative mind. You need to understand how the retail business works so you can make decisions, such as how much of a discount you will offer a vendor to carry your book, etc.
• You must organize and pay for all advertising and publicity.
• You do not have to manage the e-tail sales tasks: contacts, deliveries, retail discounts, restocking, shipping...but you still do have to handle sales with local vendors. You must contact and keep locals stocked. The large bookstore chains will probably not stock your book on shelves, but people can order the book on site and pick it up at the store.
• National in-store distribution is a very large financial investment and risk. Often you can get the book stocked with the big guys through your publisher if you agree to buy any books back that do not sell or pay fees (BAD idea).
• You must be computer literate, comfortable with e-retail or email, and have easy access to technology.
If you’re still not sure if you want to wait out the publisher/agent game or dive into self publishing, here are a few more things you should know:
• Neither of these approaches are a money-making bonanza.
• Traditional publishers are less interested in risking their investments on new authors right now due to the economy. You could have a great book and still struggle to find a taker for it. It can take weeks, months even years. But hey, if that manuscript is going to just be sitting on your desktop anyway...
• If you self-publish, almost no one will review your book. Book reviews are helpful in getting schools, libraries and retailers to purchase/carry your book.
• A self-published book is sometimes not eligible or not likely to be seriously considered for industry awards.
• If a retailer stocks your self-published book, there is a good chance you will not see it prominently displayed unless you arrange some incentive for them to do so. The big publishers get the best territory.
• If you have a “niche” book, such as something about a very specific or unusual topic or a local interest angle, you have a good chance of being more successful with self-publishing.
SOAPBOX ALERT! About self-publishing vs. traditional publishing... It is all “real” publishing, but there is a stigma with self-publishing that still part of the industry. Self-publishing can be a choice, but traditional/commercial publishing is not. You can’t make a traditional publishing house choose your book or an agent choose to represent you. Yet, there are thousands of talented writers and artists out there who just can’t get in the door because the number of acceptances is so small. If you can self-publish and want to, I say go for it!
If you want a second opinion about self-publishing, read the article Self-publishing a book: 25 things you need to know by David Carnoy. The USA Today article Authors catch fire with self-published e-books by Carol Memmott is an optimistic report about self-publishing e-books.
So now, if you think you might want to try self-publishing, check my next blog post for what happens next...
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