Consider Self Publishing!
Stacie Vander Pol, MBA, author of Top Self Publishing Firms, explains the advantages to self publishing your book and how to make money doing so!
Commitment: Top Self Publishing Firms is a guide to help authors self-publish their books. What inspired you to write this book?
Stacie Vander Pol: Before I decided to write Top Self Publishing Firms, I was looking for a book like it and couldn’t find the information I needed compiled in a book, online, or anywhere else. I was curious about self-publishing companies, but I was only interested if I knew my book had a chance to succeed. I found plenty of information regarding publishing costs and distribution but nothing on sales performance. I started doing all of the cumbersome research on my own, and soon realized it would make a great resource for other writers.
Commitment: What are some of the advantages of self-publication?
Stacie: The biggest advantage to self-publishing is that you actually get your work published. Unless you are famous, well known in your field, or know someone in the publishing industry, your chances of having a book published through traditional channels are incredibly slim. Additionally, self-published authors make a lot more money per book than do their traditionally published peers and the turn-around time from manuscript submission to having a book for sale is a matter of weeks, rather than years, for a self-published author.
Commitment: Are self-published books sold on-line through sites such as Amazon.com and in stores such as Barnes and Nobel?
Stacie: Depending on the publisher you work with, your book will be available to all of the major sales channels including Amazon.com and Barnes and Noble.
Commitment: In Top Self Publishing Firms, you list the twenty-six self publishing firms with the highest sales. Are these firms looking for books in specific genres?
Stacie: All of the firms covered accept manuscripts from various genres.
Commitment: Top Self Publishing Firms contains a lot of helpful information! How much research went into this book?
Stacie: Hundreds of hours of research went into this book. Finding basic information about each of the companies was pretty easy. The biggest challenge was finding out which of the self-publishers achieved strong book sales. I began tracking over a thousand titles on Amazon. After several months, I began to get an idea of the firms that were most successful at selling books.
Commitment: How can a reader tell if a book is self-published?
Stacie: If it’s done well and the paper quality is good, the cover design is professional, and the book is well edited, readers can’t tell the difference.
Commitment: Does it cost a lot of money to self-publish?
Stacie: In the early days, self-publishing was very expensive. You had to have your book printed in large volumes, store boxes and boxes of them in your home or garage, and ship them out to people and stores that purchased them. Print-on-Demand technology has made it possible to print a single book once it has been ordered. The companies I review all take care of printing, shipping, and distribution, which saves authors thousands of dollars in costs.
The cost for working with a reputable firm ranges from $50 to over a thousand. In this industry, you don’t always get what you pay for, so it makes sense to do your homework before deciding on a company.
Commitment: What should an author look for in a self-publisher?
Stacie: The costs and quality differ widely among self-publishing agencies, so you really need to do your research. The top companies each have their strengths and weaknesses, including different royalty rates and different distribution channels. Four areas to look at closely are:
a. Distribution: Where will your book be available for sale?
b. Bookstore Royalties: How much will you be paid for books sold in brick-and-mortar stores?
c. Amazon Royalties: How much will you be paid for Amazon and other online sales? Almost all companies pay a different rate for brick-and-mortar vs. online sales.
d. Sales Performance: How well do their books sell? This is tough one to determine but depending on your goals, it is likely the most important.
Commitment: How does an author make money from a self-published book?
Stacie: Just like with traditional publishing, the self-publishing company pays authors a royalty (percentage of the cover price for each sale). In most cases, self-publishing firms pay much, much higher royalties than do traditional publishers.
Commitment: What are the best-selling genres for self-published books?
Stacie: When it comes to self-publishing, certain genres do perform better than others. The most important part of sales success, however, is that your book has a niche. Be it fiction or nonfiction, the more specific your topic or potential audience, the better your sales will be. More information on best-selling genres and creating a niche can be found in Chapter 9 of Top Self Publishing Firms.
Commitment: What are the first steps an author should take once she has decided to self-publish a manuscript?
Stacie: First, you need to have it edited by an outside person, at least twice: once for content and flow and then again for grammar and punctuation. A friend, student, or professional editor can help with this. Once your manuscript is ready, research the self-publishing options to find the best fit for your book. After that, it’s just a matter of taking the plunge.
Commitment: What other services do self-publishers offer?
Stacie: Other services include editing, custom cover design, and marketing, but you can often find less expensive and more effective services on your own.
Commitment: What advice do you have for authors interested in self-publication?
Stacie: I would just like to encourage all aspiring writers to keep trying, to take a risk, and to put yourself out there. If you really want to be published and you don’t want to wait years for it to happen, consider self-publishing. It’s an excellent option. If you write a great book, you can see outstanding sales results and often make more in royalties than you would with a traditional publisher. I did, and I’ve been very happy with the outcome.
Stacie Vander Pol has an MBA and fifteen years of sales and marketing experience. She has applied her business expertise to the world of publishing and shares that expertise with readers in Top Self Publishing Firms.
To purchase Top Self Publishing Firms, click here.
