I’d mentioned in an earlier post all the reasons why Mr. Parker and I agreed to go with self-publishing instead of the traditional route. It came down to the economy of labour: if we’re going to do the bulk of the marketing, regardless of the publisher, and if one “publisher” or the other gives us a considerably better margin of profit for the same amount of work, it made good sense to go with the better paying option.
That’s not to say it’s all cash and roses, but I’ll get to the ups and downs of self-publishing later.
Instead, in this post, I want to recap the process we followed to get to the point where we’re at. And when I refer to self-publishing and self-publishing services, I’m referring exclusively to print. eBook services like Kobo and Kindle Direct are outside my purview at the moment.
There are a lot of different services out there, some better than others, some cheaper than others, and some were total scams. I’m not here to sell one over the other, but I will say why I thought it best that we went with CreateSpace.
Don’t settle for the first provider that comes along. Know your needs, then research accordingly.
- Make a list of your strengths, needs and wants before you go hunting for a supplier.
- Find out who’s out there. Make a list of publishing houses that you’ve heard of, or that you find on a quick internet search.
- Eliminate the scams and the bullies.
- Visit the remaining candidates. Look at samples of their work – the insides and the outs.
- Find out what they’re offering, for how much.
- Find out what marketing and sales support they offer.
- Ask questions from live human beings.
- Don’t say yes on the first call.
What do you need?
Considering that Hypergraphia Communications is also an editing and proofreading company, I didn’t feel the need to hire an editor through, say, CreateSpace. Besides that, I have far too many friends who own their own companies who would also be able to give me a good deal. Given the choice between paying less for a stranger to do it and paying more to support a friend’s independent business, I will go with the independent every time.
On the other hand, I’m a dolt when it comes to graphics design. When shopping around for services, I knew I needed someone who could do both interior and cover design.
But you may not be in the same position as me. You may not know a half dozen professional copy editors, like I do. On the other hand, you may moonlight as a graphics designer, so you don’t need any assistance in drafting up a cover. You may already know how to get an ISBN, or know your way around a properly formatted PDF. I dunno. But you do.
Inventory your skills and your needs. Then go to market and look for the best package that meets all your needs without killing your pocket book.
Who’s out there?
Chances are, if you’re already looking into self-publishing services, you can name a few companies off the top of your head – like CreateSpace, Lulu or XLibris. Ask about it in your writing circles or your online chat forums. The more often people bring up the same company names, the more likely those are the real deal, and not some start-up looking to bilk authors out of their money.
Drop in “self-publishing print on demand” in a search browser, and you’ll be inundated with companies willing and able to help you. But just because the name floats to the top of the search results, that doesn’t necessarily mean that list result #1 – or even the sponsored result – is the best option for you. But you should see a few big names pop up on the first page of search results, and that’s probably a good place to start. Do some preliminary research and make a list of those companies that seem to have the best potential.
But don’t stop there. And don’t settle for the first company that makes you bat your eyelashes and sigh at the thought of being published at last.
Is this a reputable company?
Let’s say you find a publishing service, and their vows look down-to-earth and logical. “We don’t go to print until our client is 100% satisfied.” Okay, sounds perfectly reasonable. They may have great testimonials, too. “I loved working with Acme XYZ Publishing Services. Their staff is friendly and attentive. I had some trouble at first, but they helped me every step of the way. I’m just so happy to have finally got my name in print! – Bob from Hackensack.”
But do your research. Look on the net, see what the real testimonials say. Drop the name of the company into a web browser and go to a few sites that aren’t actually run or owned by the company in question.
Go to Preditors and Editors to see if their company name pops up. If they don’t, they may be a very new company – or a bad company reformed under a new name. They could be perfectly legitimate, too, like iUniverse, or they could be questionable, like Author Solutions. If they’re crap, chances are very, very good that someone has posted a comment about them. I found out about this possible legal action against Author Solutions (and its imprints) through someone’s Facebook status update just this morning.
And I’m not Bob from Hackensack. I made up his testimonial. What’s to prevent a company from making up their own? It’s happened before.
Is this a bully company?
Some companies just want your money. You know you’re going to be giving them money. Their job is to get you to give them as much money as possible.
There are two ways they can pressure you into paying more. They can prey on your lack of self-confidence, or they can nickle and dime you with “obligatory” services under the guise of a package deal.
I’m not saying at all that editorial services are a bad idea; far from it. But watch out for bullies; if editorial services are not optional nor scalable, avoid that company. Look for a company that offers different depths of editing services – that’s what I mean by scalable. CreateSpace, for example, offers basic copy editing, comprehensive copy editing, comprehensive copy editing plus, and the unwritten “No? That’s cool with us” option. To see what the difference is between each offering, click here and click on the Editing tab.
And when they offer you editing services, are they trying to guilt you into it? Make you feel like your book is going to be a big disappointment in the end because of all the errors you left in? Tell you that you may end up with bad reviews because of a poor quality manuscript – and how that will reflect poorly on their company?
Your publishing house should be allowed to let you sink or swim if you opt out of editing services, without giving you a hard time about it. They should persuade you, explain what it is they’re offering, tell you the benefits, yes. But bully you into spending money or into saying yes right now, on this very call? Absolutely not.
What services do they offer? Is their work any good?
Is this a one-stop shop? Most of them are. They’ll make sure you have the ISBN (though they may charge extra for it), they’ll make sure you have a cover, and they’ll make sure you have an interior. Some services you can buy in bundle deals, some a la carte. Know your own strengths and do as much as possible for free first.
Can you see samples of their work? And be honest with yourself: yes, you want to get published, and no, you don’t want to spend a lot of money.
But for crying out loud, if their sample covers look like they’ve been designed Grade Six unicorn-loving Computer Science student, fly like the wind. People do judge books by their cover. That’s why ours looks awesome.
How much does it cost if you find errors after the fact? Now that Judge Not is in print, I’ve found some irksome inverted quotation marks, and in one case, I found a bizarre character (symbol) that I hadn’t caught in the original document. But, since I’ve already signed off on the final proof, any changes made after the fact will cost me some cash. If I want a major change (a chapter added in, the font changed, whatever), it’ll cost me considerably more.
Can they convert your paperback into an eBook at the same time, and if yes, for how much?
Do they offer a multitude of distribution channels? Self-publication should never be about vanity; it should be about investment. If I invest, I’m going to diversify my portfolio, so that I have multiple streams of interest and income. If one doesn’t do well, success in another arena will help float the loss.
Do you have to pay the company to sell your books? If yes, that sounds pretty fishy to me. Reputable literary agents get a cut of your royalties after they make a sale; if they don’t sell your work, they don’t get paid. Should you treat a publishing house any differently?
Also, does the publishing service charge extra for expanded distribution? Use your discretion. Do you need it? Can you start selling to a domestic market through social media and word of mouth first, and then expand distribution after the fact? If you have to make up your mind RIGHT NOW, you might be working with a bully.
How responsive are their representatives? What can they offer in terms of sales and marketing?
I had the delight of working with a fellow at CreateSpace who was friendly, knowledgeable and down to earth. He asked me some basic questions, explained all my options, and when I told him what I wanted to go with, he left it at that and was happy to help me through the next steps. Our working relationship also benefited from me having done a lot of research in advance, both in terms of what CreateSpace offered and what the competition offered.
When I had some troubles with their platform (because I was a n00b and didn’t completely read the instructions), I was able to email support for clarification. I was even able to request a callback. CreateSpace is no small company, and while every client is valuable, not every question is unique; there’s little they haven’t heard before, and most of your answers can be found in the FAQ. If not, they can answer your questions without making you feel like an idiot, even though they’ve answered the same question a dozen times already that morning.
One of the real selling features for CreateSpace was the flexibility of their services. According to their site: *We can create a tailor-made publishing solution for your book by mixing and matching our professional book design, editing, and marketing services to meet your individual needs and budget. Contact us to customize your own publishing solution.* You can’t go wrong with that. Other companies tried to lock me in to additional services I didn’t need – like comprehensive editing.
But the other chief selling feature for CreateSpace was its publicity kit options. Once I’d narrowed down my list of self-publication companies, I looked not only at their interior and cover design packages, but also what they could offer in terms of swag – business cards, sell sheets, book marks, all that fun stuff.
Of my top two prospective companies, one could offer 500 postcards for a certain price. But for the same price, CreateSpace could give me 500 postcards, 500 business cards and 500 bookmarks. Assuming the quality is equal between the two companies, why wouldn’t I go with the company that could sell three times the amount of consumer contact points for the same price as the other company was charging?
So in one sense, CreateSpace was actually a little more expensive for the initial production of the book, but, they have a better distribution channels and a way better deal on publicity materials.
CreateSpace also hosts forums, articles and videos galore on the creation, design and marketing of your book. Overall, I found that CreateSpace was the best for my needs.
That’s not to say another company might not be better for you. You may already have a means of producing your own marketing materials, so that’s not on your list of needs.
Bottom line: if you’re set on self-publishing and ready for the investment of time, money and reputation, do your research first.