Guest Post - Annette Fix, author of The Break-Up Diet, talks about Self Publishing

D.I.Y. (Do-It Yourself) Publishing – Is It an Option for You?
By Annette Fix

When I was a little girl and someone tried to tie my shoes for me, I always insisted, “I can do it myself!” Maybe that same stubbornness and strong belief in my own abilities foreshadowed that I’d choose the publishing path less traveled. It wasn’t my original direction, but it’s eventually where I ended up.

Thanks to the advances in printing technology, it’s now possible—more so than ever before—for every writer to see her words printed and bound in book form. The easy access to cover and interior book designers, digital printers, and even offset printers, makes the once mysterious publishing process available to any and every writer who takes the initiative to utilize the resources.

The traditional route—through an agent to an editor at an established publishing house—was the only option for writers for many years. Now, the field of options has grown exponentially.

For a detailed explanation of the available publishing models, take a minute and read this article: http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/11-FE-AnnetteFix.html There is too much information for me to explain in a single blog post.

Alternate publishing options I had to choose from:

Independent Publishing – Independent publishers function much like traditional publishers in their structure, but often take on fewer projects per year, and often do not pay royalties. They can range from micro presses with only one title to large indies like Wiley & Sons (the For Dummies publisher).

Joint Venture Publishing – A newer publishing model based on expense and profit sharing between the author and the publisher.

Subsidy/Vanity Publishers – AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Xlibris, et al. (Countless subsidy companies have cropped up online and often use the misleading terminology self-publishing company and/or POD publisher.*) This model is explained more in depth in the article linked above. *There is no such thing as a POD publisher. POD = Print On Demand—a digital printing technology, not a publishing model.

Self-Publishing – The author creates her own publishing company, purchases a block of ISBN, and moves her manuscript through the editing, design, and printing processes as well as securing distribution/fulfillment, and establishing wholesale accounts, including Amazon.com.
Of those options, I chose to self-publish.

My book, The Break-Up Diet: A Memoir, is the candid story of a 30-something single mother and aspiring writer who is working as an exotic dancer, searching for Prince Charming, and trying to find the perfect balance between her dreams and her day-to-day life as Supermom.

Of course, living my life (and then writing about it) was a wild ride, but I had no idea how much I would learn about the publishing industry during my self-publishing adventure. To give you an idea, I’ve created a list of pros and cons—based on my experiences:

Pros:
Complete creative freedom to choose your book cover image, interior design, launch date, and everything and anything associated with developing the product, fixing it in tangible form, promoting and selling it.

Cons:
Complete creative freedom to choose a lame cover image, horrible interior design, poorly-timed launch date, etc. (laughs) Seriously though, it’s often challenging and costly to find the right freelance editor and designers to work with you to create a product that can compete on the same level with traditionally published books. It’s not unusual for many self-published authors fail to create a competitive product.

Pros:
Receive the lion’s share of the financial return from book sales—which for a $16.95 retail paperback works out to be approx. $7.63 per unit for the author/publisher. Ok, so maybe it’s an emaciated lion. (Traditionally published authors make between $1.00 - $1.50 per unit—based on the number rumors I’ve heard.)

Cons:
Assume all the financial risks, have trouble getting wholesalers to actually pay your invoices, limited distribution, and more confusing accounting and inventory paperwork than any creative person should ever have to deal with. And don’t even attempt self-publishing if you can’t blow through more than $10K without developing a facial tic, or if you’re allergic to standing beside the freeway off ramp with a cardboard sign and giving your books away with a bag of oranges.

Tally It Up:
When it comes down to it, it’s not an easy road. And maybe after reading about my experiences, you’ll have a better idea of whether self-publishing is the right publishing model for you.

Find out about Annette’s publishing journey from the traditional road to her self-publishing detour:
http://www.wow-womenonwriting.com/18-FE3-AnnetteFix.html

***
Annette Fix is a freelance editor, a publishing industry and single parenting speaker, Senior Editor of WOW! Women On Writing, and the author of The Break-Up Diet: A Memoir.

Visit her blog at Annette’s Paper Trail. She enjoys hearing from her readers. You can email her directly at annette[at]annettefix[dot]com.

For the length of her blog tour, Annette will be giving away free digital copies of her memoir. If you’d like a copy, send an email to promo[at]thebreak-updiet[dot]com, please put “Virtual Wordsmith” in the subject line.

Two more Blog Stops today!

Read a review of Madapple, by Christina Meldrum, at The Book Faery Reviews. I love the name of this blog, by the way!

And read Susan Woodring's (author of Springtime On Mars) thoughts on why short story collections are great for discussions in book clubs at Books On The Brain. There is a link to a review of Susan's book and a book giveaway at the bottom of the post, as well.

Marketing - One Author's Experience

As any writer (who intends to make money) knows, a great majority of time is spent marketing your work and yourself. I asked Jim Melvin, author of The Death Wizard Chronicles, what’s been happening with him since the first book, The Pit, was released on September 3, 2007. His answer follows….

“As you and your readers know, most authors who have signed with a small- to mid-sized publisher are responsible for the majority of their own marketing. To say the least, I am no exception. What have I been doing since Sept. 3? Marketing, marketing, marketing … both in-person and online.

In no particular order, here are some highlights:

* I made a featured appearance at the Times Festival of Reading in St. Petersburg, Fla.
* I appeared in six bookstores.
* I did one video interview here.
* I did five audio interviews here, here, here, here, and here.
* I received an excellent review in a major newspaper here.
* I received another excellent review in a popular blog here.
* I was featured in a major newspaper here.
* I was featured or mentioned in at least a dozen other newspapers.
* I was featured or interviewed on several popular blogs.
* And in December, I’ll be starting a “virtual tour” that will have eighteen stops and that will culminate in a free book giveaway.

Whew!

Of course, I’m not claiming to have set any records. I know there are many authors out there who have far surpassed this in quality and quantity, but at least I’m giving it my best.

How has this affected sales? The first shipment to Amazon already has sold out. Hopefully, the next several shipments will do the same. And my publisher reports good sales on its site. Plus, my series is beginning to appear in selected bookstores, though there’s still a long way to go before it sees the kind of distribution routinely provided by the larger houses.

My hope is that a lot of small steps eventually will add up to big gains.”

-- Jim Melvin

Guest Blogger - Eileen Parker

Eileen is in the process of submitting her book to agents. She has graciously offered an inside glimpse of her process.

And here she is....

Eileen here, Eileen Parker. I'm a real-life friend of Lynn's for these past 15 or more years. I'm here to ask if you would you like to watch? Eavesdrop? I'll tell you about how you become an author, by telling you what I am experiencing. I'll skip sage advice, because I haven't any! I'm new at this and I'll let you in on what happens in baby steps.

I have taken some steps already:

I compiled what the book will contain: what chapters, what will be in them, what won't be in them.
Many conversations (that should've had wine) with friends and other loved ones about the focus and scope of the book.
I have the outline and marketing plan written and ready to send for that glorious day when an agent asks for them.

Originally, I wasn't going to use an agent because I have a non-fiction topic that is straight-forward and I would be able to keep the 15% commission that most agents charge. I have been getting rejected. (This I am used to since high school.) When I get a rejection letter, I go through a range of emotions in a second and am left feeling emotionless. This is probably a mental defense mechanism so I keep sending book proposals to publishers. BTW, the editors at the publishers were all kind enough to write a note about what other publishers to try, which was awfully decent of them to take the time.

I know the book will sell, so now I am contacting agents. I am hunting through the 2005 Guide to Literary Agents as a start. I am damned nervous about committing to someone without knowing them first. (This I learned the hard way at my divorce hearing.) I'm going to be metaphorically climbing into bed with someone and letting them hold my baby. I want to send a pre-relationship questionnaire, but what do I ask? I would be thrilled if you gave me some suggestions as a comment or to Lynn's email.

I am doing my version of a background check on them by finding all articles and mentions on Google. I have been checking on the writers' boards, Absolute Write http://www.absolutewrite.com/ and Backspace http://www.bksp.org/ for what other writers have to say about the agents.

And I have been checking up on their authors' activities. For example, I found one agent who had published authors, but the authors weren't really promoted, almost next to nothing. This means something wasn't thought through when choosing the author and the publisher, because both have to have a marketing plan in place and have to work the plan. But hey, the sale got made, right? I'm not impressed. I want people to actually read my book, not just sign a publishing contract, do a couple of media interviews, then sell signed remainder copies on Amazon.

I sent a query yesterday to agent, Sheree Bykofsky, and the day before to agent, Betsy Amster. I'll keep hunting through the book. I'll also take your suggestions of who to approach and who to avoid.