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Self-Publishing Advice

No minimum word count and you can post poems, short stories, books, etc... You pretty much are in charge of everything as long as it fits into their formatting guidelines.
 
There is also a company called Lightning Source. I have one book with them. They aren't as cheap as Createspace but they did a nice job on my book. They print what you send; they do not edit or market your work but they do put you on Amazon.com and some other sites as well. I haven't sold a lot of books but this way did not cost an arm and a leg. And it didn't add to the thousands of books stored in my basement. They do not do library bound hardcovers however.
 
Keith, Congratulations on your book. The fact that you've been contacted by traditional publishers make me want to check out your book. (Which I will). I'm wondering with Createspace. Do they help in promoting your book? If so, how?
 
create space

I would recommend Create Space. They have an organized process for writers and decent customer service, and you can self publish and not spend much money. The big issue for self publishing is, of course, promotion, which is that double edged sword. To not have a traditional publisher behind the scenes using their experience in marketing to promote your book, you're left to the task yourself. Most writers don't know very much about selling. At least I would say that I don't. And promoting on forums does seem to work, even though I completely understand how it becomes a pain in the arse for those reading the forums. I'm a writer; I promote my work. But I'm also bothered by all the promotional emails I'm getting (from the forums). Not sure what the answer is because writers can also get easily pulled into paying for advertising--I have. Generally, it doesn't work. The best route, I'm finding, is simply to join a forum like this and simply contribute. It takes time, but it gets your name out there and....if you're thoughtful...it earns you enough respect to nudge people to check out your book. Promote with discretion, if that's possible.
 
When I self-publish books, I use Morris Publishing. I have found them very competitive and offer a variety of services. You can also see all their pricing, even the base pricing, on their web site. I've published 6 books with them now and am still pleased with the product.

Morris is a printing company so you can use your own logo, ISBN and company name. You also won't run into the problems that you will run into with POD publishers when you try to place their books in brick-and-mortar stores.
 
Thank you for the imformation Jim. I will check into it when I'm ready to do my next book. I'm hoping for a new release in 2012. I'm just waiting to find an illustrator.
 
I self published through createspace and I thought it was satisfactory to my liking. Did not use their editorial services though. But after I submitted my final copy edit, it took about two months to have it published with a proof copy paperback in my hand, and available on Amazon. I might go through them again for my second volume. People on the internet kept telling me over an over again that my 100,000 word plus manuscript would be way too much to be put on print. But as I'm holding my book right now, it looks just as normal as any book out there. I could have wrote a 150,000 word manuscript and it would still look OK. I love defying conventional wisdom and logic.
 
beer good said:
The self-epublishing bubble | Ewan Morrison | Books | guardian.co.uk

Well, we can hope.
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People love to hold up the Amanda Hocking example to show everyone that it can be done. I have to admit, the idea of uploading some book I hacked out on my freeware word processor and sitting back to wait for the millions of dollars in royalties to pour in is appealing. Publishing is an evolving industry, but one thing that will remain constant is that most self-pubbers suck. I know that will hurt some feelings, but that's just the way it is. For every Amanda Hocking out there, there are 10,000 Amanda McKittrick Ros's.
 
Has anyone actually read Amanda Hocking? Someone whose taste I usually trust did, and said it was the most horrible thing she'd read - Stephenie Meyer was Nobel Prize material in comparison.
 
beer good said:
Has anyone actually read Amanda Hocking? Someone whose taste I usually trust did, and said it was the most horrible thing she'd read - Stephenie Meyer was Nobel Prize material in comparison.
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LOL! I have not read Hocking, and I sort of just assumed she was a good writer/story teller. I most certainly salute her success, but now you've got me wondering....
 
Starchaser3000 said:
I self published through createspace and I thought it was satisfactory to my liking. Did not use their editorial services though. But after I submitted my final copy edit, it took about two months to have it published with a proof copy paperback in my hand, and available on Amazon.
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I don't understand the time lag. I've now published 5 novels with createspace. Once I've uploaded my content and cover, I can order a proof within a day or two. You can also publish without a proof, but I definitely do not recommend doing so.

Also, one of my novels was 135,000 words and it looks great. Why would a thicker book be a problem?

CREATESPACE UPDATE - They no longer have the "pro-plan," which costs 39.00 to get lower book costs and higher royalties. Now, everyone gets the same deal as pro-plan gave. Which sort of sucks because I purchased the pro-plan for 3 novels.

Take care,

JohnB
 
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