Self-Publishing my Book - Comments welcome...
Discussion
Hello all.
I've been writing a book and am now around 80% complete, expecting to finish a first draft by the end of September. I shall be self-publishing and am pretty happy about what this means in terms of marketing and distribution. Looks like priniting will cost around £3 per book for a professionally-produced product.
So I would just like to ask whether anyone else on here has written a book (self-published or otherwise) and if so, do you have any "I wish I'd known this" or "I wish I'd done that" tips.
Thanks!
I've been writing a book and am now around 80% complete, expecting to finish a first draft by the end of September. I shall be self-publishing and am pretty happy about what this means in terms of marketing and distribution. Looks like priniting will cost around £3 per book for a professionally-produced product.
So I would just like to ask whether anyone else on here has written a book (self-published or otherwise) and if so, do you have any "I wish I'd known this" or "I wish I'd done that" tips.
Thanks!
A friend has self published plenty of books, and wrote one about how to do that.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0749BPCBY/
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0749BPCBY/
A friend of mine self published his memoirs.
Purely because he wanted to record his very interesting and colourful life and he could afford to do so. A great read it was too.
He publicised it locally and sold, gave to friends and family around a thousand copies IIRC
A few months later he put it up for the Richard and Judy book competition and it was shortlisted for the final four. The prize was a publishing deal..
The Tristrams found out that he had self published it and as the competition was for books that had never been published it was pulled from the competition at the last minute..
He was upset, but the story has a happy ending as a year or so later the same publishing house that judged the Richard and Judy competition rang him up and offered him a book deal. The book was tweaked a bit and went on to be a Sunday times bestseller for 6 weeks.
The thing to take from it is,you can self publish for your own vanity but it’s rare that very much money is made out of first books..by the author or the publisher.
Purely because he wanted to record his very interesting and colourful life and he could afford to do so. A great read it was too.
He publicised it locally and sold, gave to friends and family around a thousand copies IIRC
A few months later he put it up for the Richard and Judy book competition and it was shortlisted for the final four. The prize was a publishing deal..
The Tristrams found out that he had self published it and as the competition was for books that had never been published it was pulled from the competition at the last minute..
He was upset, but the story has a happy ending as a year or so later the same publishing house that judged the Richard and Judy competition rang him up and offered him a book deal. The book was tweaked a bit and went on to be a Sunday times bestseller for 6 weeks.
The thing to take from it is,you can self publish for your own vanity but it’s rare that very much money is made out of first books..by the author or the publisher.
I've written three books , all published by publishing houses , in 2007 , 2012 and 2019 . I was told I had to get an agent - I didn't ; I was told I had to send a summary of the book , but never the full manuscript - so I sent the full text. I have had two rejections , one on each of the first two , and maybe I have been lucky , but don't reject the idea of approaching publishers .
The first thing to do is forget worrying about publishers and finish the book ! Then leave it a week or so and edit it , and do so again after another month . You will find plenty to change , trust me .
Self publishing a vanity ? Who bloody cares - all writing is self indulgence but if you can keep your readers entertained you can rightly be proud. There e is no place for self effacement or false modesty in writing books - push as hard as you can . Be proud you have done it because most people can't.
When you get a deal or self publish you need to get your publicity and marketing sorted . I am no extrovert but I turn myself into a complete tart when it comes to plugging a book. Website , local papers (do a press release , but then badger them ), ditto local radio and specialist press. If the book has legs , get a signing session sorted at bookshops - I've done Waterstones and independents and whilst you wont get rich . it is an experience relatively few have had and should be savoured.
If you get a publisher, remember it becomes their product . Don't be precious about title , the publisher will dismiss your smartarse title only few will 'get ' (if my case is typical ) and ensure any title is SEO . Prepare to battle sub-editors - I have had wonderful and awful experiences with them . My last book was on car and motorsport and the feckless bint who subedited was not only clueless about the subject , she was a stranger to popular culture before 2000 and had an obsession with the Oxford comma . So be prepared to fight !
Good luck . It is the biggest kick imaginable to see your book in Waterstones or reviewed in the magazines .
The first thing to do is forget worrying about publishers and finish the book ! Then leave it a week or so and edit it , and do so again after another month . You will find plenty to change , trust me .
Self publishing a vanity ? Who bloody cares - all writing is self indulgence but if you can keep your readers entertained you can rightly be proud. There e is no place for self effacement or false modesty in writing books - push as hard as you can . Be proud you have done it because most people can't.
When you get a deal or self publish you need to get your publicity and marketing sorted . I am no extrovert but I turn myself into a complete tart when it comes to plugging a book. Website , local papers (do a press release , but then badger them ), ditto local radio and specialist press. If the book has legs , get a signing session sorted at bookshops - I've done Waterstones and independents and whilst you wont get rich . it is an experience relatively few have had and should be savoured.
If you get a publisher, remember it becomes their product . Don't be precious about title , the publisher will dismiss your smartarse title only few will 'get ' (if my case is typical ) and ensure any title is SEO . Prepare to battle sub-editors - I have had wonderful and awful experiences with them . My last book was on car and motorsport and the feckless bint who subedited was not only clueless about the subject , she was a stranger to popular culture before 2000 and had an obsession with the Oxford comma . So be prepared to fight !
Good luck . It is the biggest kick imaginable to see your book in Waterstones or reviewed in the magazines .
Edited by coppice on Sunday 7th August 07:24
Edited by coppice on Sunday 7th August 07:25
Edited by coppice on Sunday 7th August 07:26
I've written and self-published a nonfiction book through Amazon KDP (Kindle Direct Publishing).
As advice above, finishing and editing is hugely important. I made the mistake of getting so excited to get it live I didn't spend enough time in the editing process, so ended up a couple of months later releasing a "version 2", overwriting the first one.
The KDP platform is fairly usable and you get good reporting from it. I did send my manuscript to a publisher who offered me a print run, if I stumped up the first £x. I declined...
What are your motivations? Are you publishing it for your own satisfaction, or to make a million? If the former, brilliant; if the latter, potentially prepare for disappointment. My main takeaway is that whilst it's a massive deal for you, NOBODY ELSE GIVES A s
t. I put my book on Amazon and expected it to rise to a decent position selling some copies every day. This didn't happen. So if you want it to become known, think of how you will promote it. Paid ads, social media (although you'd need a big following already to make a difference), LinkedIn etc. Other than friends and family who I press ganged, mine did not sell brilliantly because I didn't proactively market it (although there is a link in my Pistonheads profile 
).
Having said all that, pressing "publish" felt brilliant and reading the KDP reports where you can see a random in India or Australia who has purchased it is a fantastic feeling.
All the best with it!
As advice above, finishing and editing is hugely important. I made the mistake of getting so excited to get it live I didn't spend enough time in the editing process, so ended up a couple of months later releasing a "version 2", overwriting the first one.
The KDP platform is fairly usable and you get good reporting from it. I did send my manuscript to a publisher who offered me a print run, if I stumped up the first £x. I declined...
What are your motivations? Are you publishing it for your own satisfaction, or to make a million? If the former, brilliant; if the latter, potentially prepare for disappointment. My main takeaway is that whilst it's a massive deal for you, NOBODY ELSE GIVES A s
t. I put my book on Amazon and expected it to rise to a decent position selling some copies every day. This didn't happen. So if you want it to become known, think of how you will promote it. Paid ads, social media (although you'd need a big following already to make a difference), LinkedIn etc. Other than friends and family who I press ganged, mine did not sell brilliantly because I didn't proactively market it (although there is a link in my Pistonheads profile ). Having said all that, pressing "publish" felt brilliant and reading the KDP reports where you can see a random in India or Australia who has purchased it is a fantastic feeling.
All the best with it!
Written books published by others in the early 80s and run my own book publishing business since 87. Had enough after 34 yrs (I'm way past retired!) but only really given up because I still have too much else to do in my life. But I loved every f minute of it! I was told when I jacked my 'safe' job in (1990) I wouldn't last five minutes. Ha ha ha.
Gave plenty of advice to those who called me, and many did. I should have set up a consultancy. This is your first port of call but few know it - don't buy it, it's about 30 quid now (published every year since 1906 - exc war years I think). I still have a couple of my old copies bought in 87 and 90 for nostalgia.
Sort of daft title, and not the thing naive budding authors look for, but believe me, it's the 'bible'.
Go to your library, should have a copy, doesn't have to be the latest issue.
Gave plenty of advice to those who called me, and many did. I should have set up a consultancy. This is your first port of call but few know it - don't buy it, it's about 30 quid now (published every year since 1906 - exc war years I think). I still have a couple of my old copies bought in 87 and 90 for nostalgia.
Sort of daft title, and not the thing naive budding authors look for, but believe me, it's the 'bible'.
Go to your library, should have a copy, doesn't have to be the latest issue.
Hello all.
Sorry for the late reply and thanks to all above. Will take a look later today and answer questions etc..
Cheers.
Edit to add - actually I do have time to answer questions:
Sebring - I'm intending to self-publish because I am fairly confident that I can reach my entire target audience without needing a publisher. I am more than happy doing my own marketing and I have plenty of connections in the field that the book covers (Don't want to talk about the subject material yet).
It isn't an exercise to make money (which answers one of evenflow's questions), but my gut feeling is that any profit will be higher from self-publishing (fewer sales perhaps but a far bigger margin).
Coppice - Yep, all I am concentrating on at present is finishing the book. 80% was a slightly high estimate. Currently at 40k words, aiming to be at 55k (around 240 pages). Once the first draft is finished I will spend a month on a second draft. Then I will get some 'press' copies printed (20-30) and give them to people I trust to give me honest feedback. (I should add that a few trusted people read the first 5k words and liked what they read). Your other points noted, thanks.
Evenflow - Yep, lots of editing, no rush. Motivation? Well I've written a few things in the past (short articles, very light-hearted) and just fancied giving a book a go. As you'll have seen above, people liked the first couple of chapters and I have plenty of time to write. I know a lot about the subject I'm writing about, it's all very light-hearted, quit 'laddish' and a very easy read. At worst, I wrote a book that sold zero copies but made a few people smile. I can live with that.
Dandarez - Noted about the book, much appreciated, good to read your comments, thank you.
hmg - Interesting, doubt I'll ever get on Richard and Judy, book is too 'laddish' and a bit sweary...
Alex Z - Looks good, just bught a copy.
OK then, off to the pub to carry on writing :-)
Sorry for the late reply and thanks to all above. Will take a look later today and answer questions etc..
Cheers.
Edit to add - actually I do have time to answer questions:
Sebring - I'm intending to self-publish because I am fairly confident that I can reach my entire target audience without needing a publisher. I am more than happy doing my own marketing and I have plenty of connections in the field that the book covers (Don't want to talk about the subject material yet).
It isn't an exercise to make money (which answers one of evenflow's questions), but my gut feeling is that any profit will be higher from self-publishing (fewer sales perhaps but a far bigger margin).
Coppice - Yep, all I am concentrating on at present is finishing the book. 80% was a slightly high estimate. Currently at 40k words, aiming to be at 55k (around 240 pages). Once the first draft is finished I will spend a month on a second draft. Then I will get some 'press' copies printed (20-30) and give them to people I trust to give me honest feedback. (I should add that a few trusted people read the first 5k words and liked what they read). Your other points noted, thanks.
Evenflow - Yep, lots of editing, no rush. Motivation? Well I've written a few things in the past (short articles, very light-hearted) and just fancied giving a book a go. As you'll have seen above, people liked the first couple of chapters and I have plenty of time to write. I know a lot about the subject I'm writing about, it's all very light-hearted, quit 'laddish' and a very easy read. At worst, I wrote a book that sold zero copies but made a few people smile. I can live with that.
Dandarez - Noted about the book, much appreciated, good to read your comments, thank you.
hmg - Interesting, doubt I'll ever get on Richard and Judy, book is too 'laddish' and a bit sweary...
Alex Z - Looks good, just bught a copy.
OK then, off to the pub to carry on writing :-)
Edited by Turtle Shed on Thursday 11th August 12:11
Edited by Turtle Shed on Thursday 11th August 12:12
Turtle Shed said:
Hello all.
Sorry for the late reply and thanks to all above. Will take a look later today and answer questions etc..
Cheers.
Edit to add - actually I do have time to answer questions:
Sebring - I'm intending to self-publish because I am fairly confident that I can reach my entire target audience without needing a publisher. I am more than happy doing my own marketing and I have plenty of connections in the field that the book covers (Don't want to talk about the subject material yet).
It isn't an exercise to make money (which answers one of evenflow's questions), but my gut feeling is that any profit will be higher from self-publishing (fewer sales perhaps but a far bigger margin).
Coppice - Yep, all I am concentrating on at present is finishing the book. 80% was a slightly high estimate. Currently at 40k words, aiming to be at 55k (around 240 pages). Once the first draft is finished I will spend a month on a second draft. Then I will get some 'press' copies printed (20-30) and give them to people I trust to give me honest feedback. (I should add that a few trusted people read the first 5k words and liked what they read). Your other points noted, thanks.
Evenflow - Yep, lots of editing, no rush. Motivation? Well I've written a few things in the past (short articles, very light-hearted) and just fancied giving a book a go. As you'll have seen above, people liked the first couple of chapters and I have plenty of time to write. I know a lot about the subject I'm writing about, it's all very light-hearted, quit 'laddish' and a very easy read. At worst, I wrote a book that sold zero copies but made a few people smile. I can live with that.
Dandarez - Noted about the book, much appreciated, good to read your comments, thank you.
hmg - Interesting, doubt I'll ever get on Richard and Judy, book is too 'laddish' and a bit sweary...
Alex Z - Looks good, just bught a copy.
OK then, off to the pub to carry on writing :-)
All the best man. I've got about 40k words of a 'laddish' story down but its done, finished. Just wrote it for myself but like you, the people who have read it liked it. It's too short to be a novella and too long to be a short story and I've nothing left to say, so there it sits. Sorry for the late reply and thanks to all above. Will take a look later today and answer questions etc..
Cheers.
Edit to add - actually I do have time to answer questions:
Sebring - I'm intending to self-publish because I am fairly confident that I can reach my entire target audience without needing a publisher. I am more than happy doing my own marketing and I have plenty of connections in the field that the book covers (Don't want to talk about the subject material yet).
It isn't an exercise to make money (which answers one of evenflow's questions), but my gut feeling is that any profit will be higher from self-publishing (fewer sales perhaps but a far bigger margin).
Coppice - Yep, all I am concentrating on at present is finishing the book. 80% was a slightly high estimate. Currently at 40k words, aiming to be at 55k (around 240 pages). Once the first draft is finished I will spend a month on a second draft. Then I will get some 'press' copies printed (20-30) and give them to people I trust to give me honest feedback. (I should add that a few trusted people read the first 5k words and liked what they read). Your other points noted, thanks.
Evenflow - Yep, lots of editing, no rush. Motivation? Well I've written a few things in the past (short articles, very light-hearted) and just fancied giving a book a go. As you'll have seen above, people liked the first couple of chapters and I have plenty of time to write. I know a lot about the subject I'm writing about, it's all very light-hearted, quit 'laddish' and a very easy read. At worst, I wrote a book that sold zero copies but made a few people smile. I can live with that.
Dandarez - Noted about the book, much appreciated, good to read your comments, thank you.
hmg - Interesting, doubt I'll ever get on Richard and Judy, book is too 'laddish' and a bit sweary...
Alex Z - Looks good, just bught a copy.
OK then, off to the pub to carry on writing :-)
Edited by Turtle Shed on Thursday 11th August 12:11
Edited by Turtle Shed on Thursday 11th August 12:12
Am working on a book for young adults at the moment and that is fun, only around 12k words down flr now and no idea where its going, but that's the fun of it for me, leave it, pick it up, no pressure.
Turtle Shed said:
Looks like printing will cost around £3 per book for a professionally-produced product.
How many do you need to have in the print run to achieve that price?Where are you going to keep them after they've been printed but before they're sold?
How are you going to market/sell the books?
My suggestion is that you keep your financial exposure (and the size of your physical stock) to an absolute minimum. By the time you've shifted a few books to friends and family that's very likely going to be the end of the road.
Panamax said:
Turtle Shed said:
Looks like printing will cost around £3 per book for a professionally-produced product.
How many do you need to have in the print run to achieve that price?Where are you going to keep them after they've been printed but before they're sold?
How are you going to market/sell the books?
My suggestion is that you keep your financial exposure (and the size of your physical stock) to an absolute minimum. By the time you've shifted a few books to friends and family that's very likely going to be the end of the road.
Initial 'proper' print run would be around 1,000 books. (£2 each). Will keep them at home initially, plenty of space.
Marketing I will do myself, happy to do this. Selling is in hand too, via a website but also I have some physical premises in mind.
I'm under no illusions, worst case is I have wasted time (I have plenty to spare) and a couple of grand (which would be frustrating, but I am confident of shifting enough books to cover the print run).
Edited by Turtle Shed on Thursday 11th August 14:48
I've published 2 short books through Amazon KDP. It's so easy. You upload the script as a word document, the cover illustration and that's it. You set the price and they give you 70% of each sale (iirc). They also translate it into every language going and sell it globally on amazon.nl, .de, .com, .co.uk etc. You can order it as a printed copy, or download it to a kindle reader. If someone on Amazon Prime borrows it rather than buys it, you get paid per page turn which they know when the reader next syncs the kindle..
The user interface is really intuitive - I bet it didn't take more then 5 mins and was the same as uploading a document to the database at work. They even sort the ISBN number and you can see through your KDP account that someone in China has bought a copy.
Marketing can be done as any other book marketing, and you can work the system to get it onto the front page but you are already out to a global audience so if a Pistonheader in Canada wanted a copy they could get it delivered to their device in less than 30 seconds. Both my books were factual/specialist and up for £2.99; I wasn't expecting to sell any copies, but with no worries about up front costs, postage or stock storage they provided me with a passive income of about £10 a month in the first year without any advertising or marketing at all.
On my to do list is to write a series of fictional short stories - if 2 specialist books give me £10 a month, then more books with a bit of advertising....worked for Barbara Cartland I suppose.
The user interface is really intuitive - I bet it didn't take more then 5 mins and was the same as uploading a document to the database at work. They even sort the ISBN number and you can see through your KDP account that someone in China has bought a copy.
Marketing can be done as any other book marketing, and you can work the system to get it onto the front page but you are already out to a global audience so if a Pistonheader in Canada wanted a copy they could get it delivered to their device in less than 30 seconds. Both my books were factual/specialist and up for £2.99; I wasn't expecting to sell any copies, but with no worries about up front costs, postage or stock storage they provided me with a passive income of about £10 a month in the first year without any advertising or marketing at all.
On my to do list is to write a series of fictional short stories - if 2 specialist books give me £10 a month, then more books with a bit of advertising....worked for Barbara Cartland I suppose.
^Thanks. I have dabbled with KDP in the past but right now I am not keen to have my book in the digital domain at all. I'm of the "Once it's out there it's out there" mindset.
Going to do little print run when I've finished the thing and take it from there, as noted above.
Wrote another chapter today, takes me to 41k words, think 55k is where I want to be, so will easily be at the end of the first draft mid-September.
Honestly though, if I never sell a single copy there will be some joy in knowing I wrote a book, and it will certainly get an ISBN along with filing with the British Library (think you have to do that, not something to worry about right now) .
Going to do little print run when I've finished the thing and take it from there, as noted above.
Wrote another chapter today, takes me to 41k words, think 55k is where I want to be, so will easily be at the end of the first draft mid-September.
Honestly though, if I never sell a single copy there will be some joy in knowing I wrote a book, and it will certainly get an ISBN along with filing with the British Library (think you have to do that, not something to worry about right now) .
Edited by Turtle Shed on Thursday 11th August 18:05
Alex Z said:
A friend has self published plenty of books, and wrote one about how to do that.
https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0749BPCBY/
Arrived today, very good so far. I like that they like Amazon.https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B0749BPCBY/
I've bought a couple of self published books done on the Amazon print-on-demand platform. Both were from people I was aware of via social media, so they had an audience to sell to.
One of the authors (a historian) had previously had books published by 'proper' publishers, before self publishing and running a kickstarter campaign (are those still a thing?) to pay for a professional editor and cover designer.
One of the authors (a historian) had previously had books published by 'proper' publishers, before self publishing and running a kickstarter campaign (are those still a thing?) to pay for a professional editor and cover designer.
Getting plenty of advice then Turtle!
I've got five mins - I seem to have more time these days but I can still 'bang the keyboard' so here goes a bit more advice take or leave.
One thing I'd add, don't bother with the expense of a 'barcode' - I used them initially in the 'old days' and it was costly back then, but it's really only needed if you sell in bookshops (if you don't have a barcode on your book and you sell to a bookshop, I found that they'll print their own and stick them on and 'their' selling price, so defeats the object (or did).
Plus I found the placement of a barcode (I absolutely loathe them on books, can totally spoil a back cover/jacket, example: sometimes spoiled my artwork obscuring a pic or photo, so after a couple years or so I didn't bother. Made no difference to my sales, none.
ISBN needed? Yes, of course.
But what some would-be publishers don't realise is, yes, your book will end up in the British Library and the others eg: the Library of Wales to the Bodliean, but do you realise that is obligatory that 'you' supply those SIX copies at 'your cost' to the British Library, but worse as far as I was concerned, you must supply the 'best' copies - for example, if your book has a limited additional print run of say 'leather bound' or 'slip-cased' (or both) or any special edition, you are required to submit 'those' copies, not your run o' mill 'standard' copies!
If you want wider appeal for your market (and don't have quite the 'push' Coppice has), send out 'review' copies to mags and journals - even local papers, or better still, local radio/tv is a great one (but contact first to see if they are interested, 'don't' waste or send books, they'll soon let you know - just one good review can work wonders for sales - ask me how I know!
I actually published a 'diet' book in the early 90s - about as far away from my specialism that one could get! - I had all types of authors with varying subject matter contact me, sometime by letter, phone, even knock on my door. 'Publishing' to many seemed like a 'black art'! LOL
This particular guy did turn up unannounced and knocked on my door. Was I interested in publishing his diet book? No. But being me I gave him all the knowledge I'd gained at this point, and pointed him to the 'Writers' book I mentioned in the post above. He told me he'd get it but had already sent his manuscript to leading publishers but none were interested. Never send a 'manuscript', publishers just don't have time to 'read' them, always send a synopsis, far better. Anyway, as he walked off dejected but I wished him luck. As I walked back up my drive I heard a lovely roar as this car started, so being a PH I walked back down my drive to see what it was? It was a Vegantune Evante (remember them!). At the wheel was the would-be diet author. I invited him back in for a coffee to 'talk cars' not books. Long story short. I asked him about his background. He then told me he was a 'champion' British archer, he'd retired from the forces early, he and his wife and built their own house from scratch... 'I assume you told the major publishers you contacted all this?' 'No.' he said. Blimey, I thought, this is extremely useful to promote your book. Leave it with me. I couldn't believe he'd not mentioned his background. I used it for promotion and I published his 'diet' book - christ, he was quickly invited on local tv, radio, then magazines, and even in the Daily Wail! If I'd not heard that Evante start up, I'd have missed out. I call it fate, others call it coincidence!
The book was reprinted and updated several times over 5 yrs. It all ended when I was about to do a fifth updater and he called me and said he had some bad news for me but not him. He'd been 'pinched' by another publisher (the largest in the world at the time, Random House, it still is I think) and it was too good an opportunity for him to miss. What could I do? Sue them?
What was galling was his next book was virtually identical to what we'd done together but in a cheaper 'B' format edition with what I thought was a bloody daft title. However, I still have the personally signed copy of his new book in which he thanked me, writing 'without whom none of this would have been possible.' He sadly died while actually at the wheel of his car some years on.
In my early days publishing in the late 80s (I tested the water first, in that I started my business while working full-time - I had a safe job and didn't really want to give it up unless I was convinced my publishing adventure would work). I actually skived off work to pick up my first books! I'd send out some review copies and as soon as good reviews appeared I used to drive to London to what would turn out to be my main wholesaler, for example who took 300 copies, drive a few miles across the city to another wholesaler competitor who would ask 'How many did xxxx take?' So I would say '400', and he'd say 'Ok, give us 500.' AND best of all, I'd have cheques in my hand!! Then there were all the usual bookstore outlets and of course WHS, who back in those days had their head office just down the road from me in Swindon and was great to deal with, even with specialist books like mine. I'd sell in very small numbers to them and local bookshops because invariably they wanted SoR (Sale or Return) - no thanks, that's a mug's game and I quickly caught on - who wants dog-eared books back and reimbursing costs. Another thing back then was the scourge of the book trade 'Remaindering'. This is where you have unsold stock and want to be rid of it - I did it just the once with a 'flop' title. I'd printed a 1000 copies (something I also learned, you never, ever, know when your market will be exhausted, so your print run is important). Not so today with 'Print on Demand', have a single copy if you wish (how brilliant is that! albeit costly) or exactly what you think you can sell. Really, you shouldn't go wrong. However, back to the 'remaindering' I sold over half the 1000 but the rest nearly 500 books I could not shift. So I 'remaindered' them (loads of remaindering businesses used to be out there. Every one of them would want a 'minimum' of 90 per cent discount! I never got caught again.
I do have a Beeb tale, doesn't everyone?
Back then in the late 80s my third title and the author had got some publicity in a national newspaper. Our phone rings. 'Hi, is that xxxxxx Publishing?' 'Yes.' 'Hello, this is the BBC World Service at Broadcasting House. Can you supply us a review copy please of your new title by xxxxx.'
Wow! Trying to contain my excitement... 'Yes, of course, no problem whatsover.'
The lady gave me the full address and a specific room number for the book to be sent. All properly packaged, special delivery, posted!
What a plonker, how did I fall for it?
Weeks passed, nothing. I had an editor helping me at this point (a retired publishing lecturer) a great friend. He asked me what had happened and said he'd call them. It went something like this: 'Hello, I'm enquiring about a book (he gave the title) sent for review to you and wondered at what stage it would get a mention or a review?'
The response was brief and to the point:
'Oh if it's not had a mention, that will be in the review copy room - it's full to the ceiling with books, the majority of which rarely get looked at let aloned reviewed, they get passed on or sold.'
Those 'cheques in my hand' of course became a distant memory. I've way past retired now but even in more recent years, booksellers and wholesalers became far more savvy and would only buy what they needed or had sales for already. And naturally, they wanted 60 to 90 days to pay, or even much longer if you were daft and too lenient.
I'll stop now, I've keyed (typed) far more than I intended. Hope some of it helps.
I've got five mins - I seem to have more time these days but I can still 'bang the keyboard' so here goes a bit more advice take or leave.
One thing I'd add, don't bother with the expense of a 'barcode' - I used them initially in the 'old days' and it was costly back then, but it's really only needed if you sell in bookshops (if you don't have a barcode on your book and you sell to a bookshop, I found that they'll print their own and stick them on and 'their' selling price, so defeats the object (or did).
Plus I found the placement of a barcode (I absolutely loathe them on books, can totally spoil a back cover/jacket, example: sometimes spoiled my artwork obscuring a pic or photo, so after a couple years or so I didn't bother. Made no difference to my sales, none.
ISBN needed? Yes, of course.
But what some would-be publishers don't realise is, yes, your book will end up in the British Library and the others eg: the Library of Wales to the Bodliean, but do you realise that is obligatory that 'you' supply those SIX copies at 'your cost' to the British Library, but worse as far as I was concerned, you must supply the 'best' copies - for example, if your book has a limited additional print run of say 'leather bound' or 'slip-cased' (or both) or any special edition, you are required to submit 'those' copies, not your run o' mill 'standard' copies!
If you want wider appeal for your market (and don't have quite the 'push' Coppice has), send out 'review' copies to mags and journals - even local papers, or better still, local radio/tv is a great one (but contact first to see if they are interested, 'don't' waste or send books, they'll soon let you know - just one good review can work wonders for sales - ask me how I know!
I actually published a 'diet' book in the early 90s - about as far away from my specialism that one could get! - I had all types of authors with varying subject matter contact me, sometime by letter, phone, even knock on my door. 'Publishing' to many seemed like a 'black art'! LOL
This particular guy did turn up unannounced and knocked on my door. Was I interested in publishing his diet book? No. But being me I gave him all the knowledge I'd gained at this point, and pointed him to the 'Writers' book I mentioned in the post above. He told me he'd get it but had already sent his manuscript to leading publishers but none were interested. Never send a 'manuscript', publishers just don't have time to 'read' them, always send a synopsis, far better. Anyway, as he walked off dejected but I wished him luck. As I walked back up my drive I heard a lovely roar as this car started, so being a PH I walked back down my drive to see what it was? It was a Vegantune Evante (remember them!). At the wheel was the would-be diet author. I invited him back in for a coffee to 'talk cars' not books. Long story short. I asked him about his background. He then told me he was a 'champion' British archer, he'd retired from the forces early, he and his wife and built their own house from scratch... 'I assume you told the major publishers you contacted all this?' 'No.' he said. Blimey, I thought, this is extremely useful to promote your book. Leave it with me. I couldn't believe he'd not mentioned his background. I used it for promotion and I published his 'diet' book - christ, he was quickly invited on local tv, radio, then magazines, and even in the Daily Wail! If I'd not heard that Evante start up, I'd have missed out. I call it fate, others call it coincidence!
The book was reprinted and updated several times over 5 yrs. It all ended when I was about to do a fifth updater and he called me and said he had some bad news for me but not him. He'd been 'pinched' by another publisher (the largest in the world at the time, Random House, it still is I think) and it was too good an opportunity for him to miss. What could I do? Sue them?
What was galling was his next book was virtually identical to what we'd done together but in a cheaper 'B' format edition with what I thought was a bloody daft title. However, I still have the personally signed copy of his new book in which he thanked me, writing 'without whom none of this would have been possible.' He sadly died while actually at the wheel of his car some years on.
In my early days publishing in the late 80s (I tested the water first, in that I started my business while working full-time - I had a safe job and didn't really want to give it up unless I was convinced my publishing adventure would work). I actually skived off work to pick up my first books! I'd send out some review copies and as soon as good reviews appeared I used to drive to London to what would turn out to be my main wholesaler, for example who took 300 copies, drive a few miles across the city to another wholesaler competitor who would ask 'How many did xxxx take?' So I would say '400', and he'd say 'Ok, give us 500.' AND best of all, I'd have cheques in my hand!! Then there were all the usual bookstore outlets and of course WHS, who back in those days had their head office just down the road from me in Swindon and was great to deal with, even with specialist books like mine. I'd sell in very small numbers to them and local bookshops because invariably they wanted SoR (Sale or Return) - no thanks, that's a mug's game and I quickly caught on - who wants dog-eared books back and reimbursing costs. Another thing back then was the scourge of the book trade 'Remaindering'. This is where you have unsold stock and want to be rid of it - I did it just the once with a 'flop' title. I'd printed a 1000 copies (something I also learned, you never, ever, know when your market will be exhausted, so your print run is important). Not so today with 'Print on Demand', have a single copy if you wish (how brilliant is that! albeit costly) or exactly what you think you can sell. Really, you shouldn't go wrong. However, back to the 'remaindering' I sold over half the 1000 but the rest nearly 500 books I could not shift. So I 'remaindered' them (loads of remaindering businesses used to be out there. Every one of them would want a 'minimum' of 90 per cent discount! I never got caught again.
I do have a Beeb tale, doesn't everyone?
Back then in the late 80s my third title and the author had got some publicity in a national newspaper. Our phone rings. 'Hi, is that xxxxxx Publishing?' 'Yes.' 'Hello, this is the BBC World Service at Broadcasting House. Can you supply us a review copy please of your new title by xxxxx.'
Wow! Trying to contain my excitement... 'Yes, of course, no problem whatsover.'
The lady gave me the full address and a specific room number for the book to be sent. All properly packaged, special delivery, posted!
What a plonker, how did I fall for it?
Weeks passed, nothing. I had an editor helping me at this point (a retired publishing lecturer) a great friend. He asked me what had happened and said he'd call them. It went something like this: 'Hello, I'm enquiring about a book (he gave the title) sent for review to you and wondered at what stage it would get a mention or a review?'
The response was brief and to the point:
'Oh if it's not had a mention, that will be in the review copy room - it's full to the ceiling with books, the majority of which rarely get looked at let aloned reviewed, they get passed on or sold.'
Those 'cheques in my hand' of course became a distant memory. I've way past retired now but even in more recent years, booksellers and wholesalers became far more savvy and would only buy what they needed or had sales for already. And naturally, they wanted 60 to 90 days to pay, or even much longer if you were daft and too lenient.
I'll stop now, I've keyed (typed) far more than I intended. Hope some of it helps.
It does indeed help, great stuff, and thank you to everyone else again too.
My book is at 45k words now, last ten chapters are fleshed out and it will be coming in at 55k words or possibly slightly more. First draft done by mid-September, then edit/polish/rework until mid-October before getting a few copies out to friends/relatives for comment.
I've got plans about how/where to market it if my friends/relatives like it, but as was mentioned early in the thread the first thing to do is finish it...
Worst case is that I wrote a book that nobody liked, but I'll still be able to say I wrote a book :-)
My book is at 45k words now, last ten chapters are fleshed out and it will be coming in at 55k words or possibly slightly more. First draft done by mid-September, then edit/polish/rework until mid-October before getting a few copies out to friends/relatives for comment.
I've got plans about how/where to market it if my friends/relatives like it, but as was mentioned early in the thread the first thing to do is finish it...
Worst case is that I wrote a book that nobody liked, but I'll still be able to say I wrote a book :-)
Hello again everyone, apologies for the thread bump, but you can't add an update and not do a bump :-)
Tomorrow I will be writing the final chapter of my book, I am currently at 60,000 words, it will end up at around 62,000 words and something like a total of 230 pages at a typical paperback size. There are 34 fairly short chapters, it is 'Clarkson-esque', each chapter is a little tale of its own.
The advice quite early on said finish it, give it a week, edit it, and then edit it again. That is exactly what I shall do.
Once it has had that second edit I shall get about a dozen copies printed, give them to trusted friends and see what they think. If some like it then I shall move to the next step and try to sell a few. (I am confident in my ability to market it). If nobody buys it, well I still wrote a book...
But now to the reason I wanted to add a new post, and this is pretty much the thing that has bothered me from day one:
My book is about the people and goings-on at an entirely fictional golf club. It features 82 characters, each of whom has a short biography written about them at the start of a chapter in which they appear. Every single one of these characters is entirely fictional too.
But, and I might be over-thinking this (I am a worrier), suppose someone reads the book and says: "Hey, I'm called John Smith, I'm a golfer, I reckon that character is based on me, and I don't like what I've read. I am going to sue the author for libel".
Obviously I've written a disclaimer, but this thought bothers me. I would therefore be very interested in what others have to say about this.
Thank you :-)
Edit to add my 230 page estimate was off. I'd used a smaller font than I should have. At 11pt and 14pt line spacing we are at a very manageable 290 pages, plus the usual bits and bobs at the front and back. Editing of first draft going well :-)
Tomorrow I will be writing the final chapter of my book, I am currently at 60,000 words, it will end up at around 62,000 words and something like a total of 230 pages at a typical paperback size. There are 34 fairly short chapters, it is 'Clarkson-esque', each chapter is a little tale of its own.
The advice quite early on said finish it, give it a week, edit it, and then edit it again. That is exactly what I shall do.
Once it has had that second edit I shall get about a dozen copies printed, give them to trusted friends and see what they think. If some like it then I shall move to the next step and try to sell a few. (I am confident in my ability to market it). If nobody buys it, well I still wrote a book...
But now to the reason I wanted to add a new post, and this is pretty much the thing that has bothered me from day one:
My book is about the people and goings-on at an entirely fictional golf club. It features 82 characters, each of whom has a short biography written about them at the start of a chapter in which they appear. Every single one of these characters is entirely fictional too.
But, and I might be over-thinking this (I am a worrier), suppose someone reads the book and says: "Hey, I'm called John Smith, I'm a golfer, I reckon that character is based on me, and I don't like what I've read. I am going to sue the author for libel".
Obviously I've written a disclaimer, but this thought bothers me. I would therefore be very interested in what others have to say about this.
Thank you :-)
Edit to add my 230 page estimate was off. I'd used a smaller font than I should have. At 11pt and 14pt line spacing we are at a very manageable 290 pages, plus the usual bits and bobs at the front and back. Editing of first draft going well :-)
Edited by Turtle Shed on Tuesday 20th September 08:28
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