[stylist] Self-publishing
Donna Hill
penatwork at epix.net
Tue Jan 1 18:04:25 UTC 2013
Eve,
As Robert stated, there are two recordings of monthly conferences that are
available on the Writers' Division site, and I posted a link to a
comparison of some of the major players. Have you delved into these
resources?
I think the most important advice I can give you is to educate yourself and
make your own choices based on how you feel about what you learn. I
personally wouldn't want to be responsible for telling someone to use a
specific service and then find out they weren't happy with my advice.
Publishing is scary stuff, and self education is the only hedge against it
that any of us have.
For instance, if I use one service and a year later you use it based on my
having been happy, you may end up glossing over new comments by other
writers about changes which have happened in the interim. There are blogs
and articles all over the web, as well as forums in which people share their
experiences. I find that Googling a specific issue or "problems with ..." in
which you name the company you're curious about, helps me get a handle on
it. In the end, it's a risk, and there's no way around that.
Donna
-----Original Message-----
From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Eve Sanchez
Sent: Tuesday, January 01, 2013 12:07 PM
To: Writer's Division Mailing List
Subject: Re: [stylist] Self-publishing
Donna, Thanks for the wonderful information. You were so thorough that it
makes one rethink the world of self-publishing with an informed mind. I
wonder if you or anyone else has counsel on particular companies or not.
Would love to hear more. Eve
On Mon, Dec 31, 2012 at 3:45 PM, Donna Hill <penatwork at epix.net> wrote:
> Bridgit,
> Here are some thoughts about self-publishing. First, if I were your
> age, I would have given finding an agent/publisher more of a try, but
> time looks different from this side of 60. I would always recommend
> that authors try to get an agent for the simple reason that it is a
> wonderful way to learn about the industry. You also might get lucky. I
> tried it for about 4 months before I became overwhelmed with the
> perception that I was wasting my time.
>
> Unless you really have an in with the industry, unpublished authors
> need an agent to get anywhere with large and medium-sized publishers.
> First, you need to research which ones are either scam artists or just
> don't have the connections and history to get you to the publisher you
> want. Then, you send everything out that each of their submission
> guidelines requires -- this is almost never the same twice, so you
> need different types of query letters, different length synopses and
> so on. Then, if you get someone interested in you, it's back and forth
> till that contract is signed. Then, you wait.
> Maybe
> they find a publisher within 6 months to a year or whatever. Then,
> you're back and forth with that contract. Then, their people will edit
> the book, so that takes time, and the changes may or may not be
> something you can live with. Eventually, they publish the book and
> place it in whatever retail markets they work with.
>
> Now, you get busy and set up book signings, workshops, any kind of
> public appearance you can think of to get the book out there. Then,
> you also have to work within whatever deadline the publisher has for
> the book to sell x number of copies. If it doesn't sell that many in 6
> months or a year, you're on your own. Retail stores have deals with
> publishers (including self-published authors) in which the
> publisher/author agrees to take (well,
> buy) back the unsold books after a certain length of time.
>
> Since self-publishing is relatively new, there are a lot of professors
> and other professionals who don't like or recommend it, especially
> those who are older and grew up without these new options.
> Nonetheless, it continues to make inroads into the bottom line of the
> major companies, and they continue to have to adjust their thinking to
> it. For instance, the publisher used to set up at least some of your
> promotional appearances, which is unheard of nowadays for first-time
> writers, and they used to give a new book longer before dropping it
> and claiming it as a tax write-off.
>
> The reality is that self-publishing has it's pros and cons. You bear
> the entire cost and responsibility for the initial publication. This
> has come down considerably, however, since the dawn of print on demand
> and e-book publishing. Also, there are certain awards that you can't
> apply for unless you're with a publisher that has more than one signed
author.
>
> However, with self-publishing, you get more of a return per book,
> because your expenses after the initial cost are limited to what
> percentage you agree to pay your distributors. Also, there are more
> and more awards which include self-published authors.
>
> Also, the tendency with self-published authors is to not get thorough
> copy editing done. My sighted husband says that this is getting worse
> within the major publishing houses as well; he's finding more mistakes
> nowadays. As many mistakes as my friends found in my books and as many
> as I found myself, even after multiple readings, I'm reasonably
> certain that it isn't possible to get it perfect, but it's crucial to
> give it due diligence. Hiring copy editors is a thorny problem in
> itself. Agents are generally willing to do only the most cursory of
> editing; they want it as good as you, using all of your resources, can
> make it before you hand it over. One of the scams out there is that an
> agent loves your book and suggests that you hire so and so to edit it
> for a large fee. Sometimes, these are people who are working together
> under cover of separate business names.
>
> Some of the print on demand services offer copy editing in their
> various packages, but I haven't used it yet, so I can't comment on
> whether they're any good. I might purchase a package that has a round
> of copy editing in it, so I might be able to comment more thoroughly
> later on. Regardless, I'm sure that I would never advise anyone to
> rely on that.
>
> I didn't hire anyone, but I had professors and other education and
> writing professionals including a friend who is a former newspaper
> writer who has a bit of a talent for it, who I convinced to read it.
> Many of them gave me excellent feedback, and not just on spelling and
> word usage. Hopefully, you have friends and family who are willing to
> give you their real opinions and thoughts without worrying about
> hurting your feelings. The worst thing you can hear from someone who
> reads your book prior to publication is "it was good."
>
> Every reader is different, and though you aren't going to take every
> suggestion, it's important to get some clue as how the book is being
> perceived by others. One reader told me that I used the characters'
> names too much, which led me into a much clearer consciousness of why
> and when I use dialog tags. Several people mentioned that they would
> have liked more of a description of how my legally blind character
> sees. I was initially following the tactic I use in my article writing
> -- not mentioning blindness up front till I have the reader interested
> in something else. I had taken this to extremes , with very little
> mention of her vision except as it related to things like using a
> guide dog or reading Braille or audio books.
> Nonetheless, I listened to my readers and added just a few short passages.
> I'm glad I did. An optometrist who is one of 45 worldwide to have
> earned the highest level of certification in low vision care, agreed
> to read the book.
> She singled out the first of these passages as the best description of
> the realities of low vision she had ever read. Also, she ended up
> writing a preface for educators in which she talks about learning,
> through a little incident regarding one of my blind character's
> classmates, how vital Braille was compared to audio learning. That one
> tip from a couple of friends has led to a door-opener that I couldn't
> have anticipated in my wildest imagination.
>
> BTW, Congratulations on your new baby! I remember all of the flack you
> were getting about whether or not you should even try to get pregnant
> in the first place. Kudos!
> Donna
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: stylist [mailto:stylist-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Bridgit
> Pollpeter
> Sent: Sunday, December 30, 2012 8:39 PM
> To: stylist at nfbnet.org
> Subject: [stylist] Self-publishing
>
> I've been interested in self-publishing for years, but I go back and
> forth on it. My professors at university were not fans of self
> publishing, and they all, both in the English and fine arts
> department, strongly discouraged it. But I have heard so much about it
> and know many people who have done it, so I wonder what the draw is
> other than you can publish a book whenever you feel like it without
> going through other people. I currently have little time to write
> because of my new baby, but I want to investigate all options
> available. It's interesting to hear these perspectives.
>
> Sincerely,
> Bridgit Kuenning-Pollpeter, editor, Slate & Style Read my blog at:
> http://blogs.livewellnebraska.com/author/bpollpeter/
>
> "If we discover a desire within us that nothing in this world can
> satisfy, we should begin to wonder if perhaps we were created for another
world."
> C. S. Lewis
>
> Message: 9
> Date: Sat, 29 Dec 2012 14:38:38 -0600
> From: "Julie J." <julielj at neb.rr.com>
> To: Writer's Division Mailing List <stylist at nfbnet.org>
> Subject: Re: [stylist] BookShare and libraries
> Message-ID: <50DF54CE.9070208 at neb.rr.com>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> Donna,
>
> I appreciate your thoughts. I understand wanting to get your book out
> to as many people as possible and being comfortable with sacrificing
> payment in order to do that.
>
> I guess I'm not quite in that same place. Yes, I'd like people to
> read my book, that's a huge reason I wrote it. I'm not willing to
> sacrifice the potential to earn something from the sale of the book
though.
>
> I'm supportive of programs like libraries and BookShare. I use both
> NLS
>
> and my local library, although I have not used BookShare. I think
> they are an important resource to all people. However I do also
> purchase books. I have purchased many ebooks, many more audio books
> and when I can't find a book in any other format I will purchase the
> print and scan
>
> it. I think the main factor for me is whether or not I am willing to
> wait for the library to get the book I want. For example the final
> Wheel of Time volume is coming out on the 8th. I expect the library
> will make it available, they have all the other books in the series.
> However I want to read it along with the other fans when it is first
> released. I intend to purchase the Audible book. I see it as a way
> to support my favorite authors and to get the books I want when they
> are released.
>
> I am aware of the issues with the Kindle hand held book reader.
> However
>
> it is possible to read Kindle books on a nonKindle device. There is a
> free ap for the Apple i devices which allows a person to play Kindle
> books on an iPad, iPhone or other similar device. I don't think that
> I'm excluding blind people from reading by making my book available
> through Kindle, especially since it will also be available in other
formats.
>
> You are correct that most self published authors make nothing from
> their
>
> books. I don't see that as a reason to give up before I've even tried
> though. I'd also venture a guess that most authors that go the
> traditional publisher route also fail. Most people who submit
> manuscripts for publication will get nowhere. That doesn't stop them
> from continueing to try. I think self publishing is the same way.
> You have to keep trying and trying and trying until it works. I think
> many writers fail to make money from their books because they give up too
soon.
>
> And I have to say thank you again. Your comments helped me more than
> I realized to clarify my own thoughts on this topic. I thought I was
> a lot more undecided, but reading back through what I wrote, I think
> I've sorted out where I'm at with this issue and how I want to proceed.
>
> Julie
>
>
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