Self publishing vs Publishing, what to expect

No matter what choice you make if its either self-publishing or to work with a publisher it helps to know what exactly is expected of you and what you personally need to do or not do.

Generally when you are self-published you will do everything yourself. That means you set up your book printing either from scratch yourself or you hire a company to do this for you. There are many types out there. I’ll discuss that at the end of this.

After you get your physical books in your hand there is the selling, lots of advertising and speaking with people. Some self-published authors have found timing their book sales around special events. If it happens to deal with a certain subject such as Halloween or special creatures have it come out at that time. If it’s a family book market it around Christmas. Either way advertising and setting yourself up is essential. You can either rent a room at your local library, advertise in your local paper that you will be there with your title on a certain date and where and when. I’ve seen some self-published authors set up a booth at their local mall selling their books just before Christmas which actually isn’t a bad idea, after all many singers have been noticed this way, why not authors?

By now we get the point that if you self-publish you have a lot of work. Anything that is done is up to you to keep up with. To promote your book and make sure it’s done right. Now to discuss the actions of a publishing house/ book publisher.

Always read your contract, I cannot stress that enough; it will be in print exactly what they expect of you or at least what you are not allowed to do while you have signed on with them. Each contract will be different depending on the agency, publishing company and book in question.

In general a publisher will set up your book signings; they will try to work with your schedule and the schedule of the place they are booking for the event. Some might have you hold onto a supply of books to bring with you or they will ship them directly to the place. At times they might have a representative deliver the books, drop and pick them up themselves. This is always explained before they happen. 

The publisher handles the production process of the book, finding the right cover for your book. Some give you choices while others will do test studies to find what the general public relates to better for your book. They also find the proper print style that fits the book, copy editor, formatting. Any advertising, publicity and book placement in stores.

Any time money exchanges hands, either the publisher handles it, the book store or supplier handles it. It is very rare that an author will ever physically handle cash or credit cards when working for a publisher. I personally handle cash sales but then I also work for the company that I am now published through. My situation is different from most authors. I worked as an editor for a year, and then switched to acquisition editor for a few years before I had applied to handle advertising and public relations. I’ve worked with many aspects of the publishing industry.

If you happen to work with a publisher and you find a store or group who would like to sponsor your book. Then who ever happens to be your contact, representative or agent happens to be. Contact them and they schedule everything for you. If you’re self-publishing then you will handle all of it.

Most want to know what your policies are, cost of the book, not retail but discounted price for the retailer. Retailers will never buy the books at full price. Most book stores require 50% off the retail price and reserve the right to return any books that do not sell either with or without the cover attached. Removing the cover makes the book unsellable and some publishers prefer this but not all. Most of these books that are bought back by the publisher or self-publisher get marked down or sale priced. So far I’ve found all book stores require the seller to take back any books that they don’t sell. Most books are on a consignment basis.

Going with a publisher is easier because they have several people for the job one person does yourself.

Back to the printers available. Always read and decide what they offer before you make a final decision. Your book is very important and the cover means everything, it is the first part a person sees before they ever read the back. There are many options when it comes to printers and they lay it out what exactly they do. Some just print your book and you give them your picture and have the formatting done. Some will format the book and pick out your picture for you. 

Then you get into vanity presses. This is a printer-publisher who will charge you for doing certain services. Printing books, book cover and some but not all will make them available on e-books.

A pod is a publisher on demand. Which means as each book is needed they will then print up the books as they are ordered, this is what makes them different from a traditional publisher where they have the books already printed and ready before they are ever ordered.

Always read the fine print in contracts and if you ever have questions make sure you ask them before you sign. I’ve seen several think they understood what they were getting and then didn’t get it after spending a lot of money. I’ve seen vanity presses go anywhere from $500, to $8k. It’s your hard earned money so make sure you get what you are paying for.

I do have some experience with various publishers, printers and a couple vanity presses. However I usually only endorse the ones I feel comfortable directing people to.

A good book printer who will give you a few more choices then just printing is www.brenistaprinting.com

Publishing company, Center One Publishing handles Young Adult, Fantasy, Fiction, and Science Fiction, Romance or a mix of these. They all contain Young Adult content; if it contains mature or questionable content then it is deleted or thrown out. www.centeronepublishing.com

Purchase published books at www.c1books.us

Either way if you are self-publishing or with a publisher, it always helps to promote your own books, discuss them or simply encourage others to read your books. I wish you the best with whatever choice you make!