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Publishing vs. Self-Publishing:
I have been published, and I have self-published. It's been interesting, difficult, grueling, and yet even exhilarating at times.
There are pluses and minuses with each way, but the end result is the same -- you have a book "out there" and, in a very small
way, you are immortal -- well, at least your words are. Your words will live on, long after you're gone.
When you have a publisher, a lot of the work is done by them -- formatting, editing, cover design, interior set up, distribution,
ISBN numbers, copyrights, advertising, marketing, and in the case of a children's book, they have staff artists who do your book
illustrations. None of this is so, when you self-publish.
When you make the decision to self-publish, you will ultimately have to decide how much of the burden you want to, (or can), carry
on your own. There are self-publishing companies online that will gladly sell you publishing packages, some costing thousands of
dollars. They will do most of the work I'm told, however, you have to ask yourself how long it will take to recoup the money
you've spent -- not to mention, your cost per book is about $20. To make any money -- this is a business, remember -- you would
have to set your selling price in excess of $25-35! Robert and I quickly decided this was not for us.
A further search into self-publishing brought us to P.O.D., which means "print on demand". There are several of these online,
notably Lulu.com and Createspace which is owned by Amazon.com. With each, you do almost all of the work and upload your
formatted pdf or ePub book to them for printing or publishing online as an ebook. You should also do your homework here --
research, study, check out complaints on the Better Business Bureau's website for each, and then decide which company you will
ultimately entrust with the birth of your book.
You have to also decide if you want the P.O.D. publisher to assign an ISBN number to your book -- understand, this will make
them the publisher -- or if you will obtain your own ISBN number for your book. This is daunting, trust me. There is only one
place to get ISBN numbers, Bowker, and they're expensive. Robert and I decided this was the way to go -- damn, we're doing all
the work so we ARE the publishers. Since we each have several books we want to self-publish, we went to Bowker and jointly
bought a block of ten ISBN numbers for $250 -- far less expensive than buying one ISBN number at a time, which is $125 per
ISBN. Keep in mind, in most cases, you also need to purchase a separate bar code for each ISBN number. That's for the back of
your book. This carries the price you're charging per book, and has the ISBN number, as well. Each bar code costs $25.
As you can see, when you self-publish, you've made a concrete decision to BE the publisher of your book. You take on the whole
exhausting process, beginning with learning everything you have to do to publish a book, and then learning how to do each step.
Believe me when I say, it's a mind-boggling, tedious and frustrating process. I don't know how many times Robert and I felt we
had a handle on something, only to find out we had done it wrong and had to start over. There are even times when you wonder if
your book is even worth all the trouble.
In our case, we felt our books were worth the work of self-publishing, daunting as we knew it was going to be. Deciding who to go
with was relatively easy. Since we both belong to AuthorsDen, we initially went with a P.O.D. company that AuthorsDen had a
working affiliation with: Lulu.com.
Whoever you ultimately go with, please never, ever assume anything ... trust me. All I'm going to say is, just be sure when you
get to the end point -- that of ordering a proof of your book to check whether it's the way you ultimately want it to look -- that
you do just that. You will also be offered the chance to order bulk copies of your book. Make sure you do not order personal
copies at the same time you order your proof and then make the mistake of assuming your proof will be sent first -- it won't.
Enough said -- Robert and I are self-publishing our print books with Createspace. We highly recommend them.
Writers: Getting Published ...
I wish I had a nickel for every letter or email I’ve received from writers who tell me they want to get published, but have no
idea where to begin and they want me to tell them how to do it. I’m sure no expert. I used the hunt-and-peck method myself,
because I didn't know who to ask about how to do it. I’m always happy to share what I learned by trial and error, things writers
can do to get started.
One of the first things I always suggest to them is to get their work “out there”. Join writer groups and communities in your
town and online and post your work … and if you ever hope to be published, use your own name! You want your work AND your name
to be recognized. How else will anyone know what you’ve written? The web is full of excellent writing by cutsie pen names like
“fluffy kitten” or “Pearl Onion”, but it just isn’t professional. There are many writing communities online, (my favorite, of
course, is Authors Den). Most offer critiquing, along with helpful suggestions as to how to make necessary changes. Of course,
it’s expected that you also read and critique the work of other writers, in return. I’ve read some of the best writing I've ever
seen through writing communities and I’ve also made some wonderful and lasting friendships.
Another step that will get your work and your name noticed: create a website to showcase your work. There are many places
online that offer to host free websites. Often they have different looks and designs to pick from and, with a few choices on
your part, your site will be up and running in just a few minutes. Once you have a website set up, submit the URL to search
engines, link it to a blog you may have, or put the link to it on your page in communities you belong to like Facebook or MySpace.
Once again, you want to gain as much visibility (for you and your work) as you can get.
Once you’ve posted your work at writing communities and you have a website, you’re probably getting some excellent feedback
from both. Now it’s time to decide if this is enough for you. Are you satisfied, having a nice following, or do you still want to be
published so bad that you can taste it? If you answered “yes”, then the next step I suggest is, go to a bookstore either in town
or one of the many online bookstores. Buy a copy of the Writer’s Digest that applies to the type of work you do. You’ll find
Writer’s Digest books for poetry, fiction and non-fiction, and so on. They even have one for children’s writers and illustrators.
All of the Writer's Digest books come out once a year and they'll be like a Bible to you for where and how to send out your work
to magazines, periodicals and publishers.
When it comes to submitting your manuscript to publishers, always read their rules for submissions. Each publisher is specific
as to how they want to be approached by writers. Some only want agented material, so forget those, unless you want to take the
time to try and get an agent. (There are Writers Digest books geared to this, as well). Other publishers will only accept
“exclusive” manuscript submissions. This means you send your manuscript only to them and wait for them to either accept or
reject your work and it can take anywhere from three to six months to hear back … there are some cases where it takes even
longer … and still other cases where you won’t hear from them at all, unless they want to publish your work. You'll also find
publishers who require you to submit a query letter and a synopsis first. Then, if it appeals to them, they'll ask you to send the
manuscript.
Here’s a little heads up about manuscripts and submissions:
**Never send an original manuscript, only a copy.
**Always make sure it’s spell-checked.
**Always double space.
**Put the word count at the top.
**If the publisher says “no staples” … they mean no staples! Use a clip.
**Unless they tell you not to, always send a self-addressed stamped envelope for their reply (SASE).
The competition is fierce. Publishers have three-foot piles of manuscript submissions, sometimes monthly -- I’ve seen the piles.
Nothing will get your manuscript trashed faster than sloppiness, spelling errors, and not following their rules. They get so many
manuscripts, they can afford to be picky. But don’t worry, most of the information you’ll need is explained somewhere in the
Writers Digest. There are also interesting articles and interviews peppered throughout, so you actually gain a lot by buying a
copy.
I’ve left one of the most important steps until last. Edit, edit, edit. Read your manuscript out loud. See how it sounds. Edit.
Read it out loud to others, get their opinions. Edit it again. Cut out all unnecessary dialogue, adjectives, adverbs, pronouns and
obvious fillers. When you’ve edited it, edit it again, and then again. Read it aloud to yourself and others one last time before
taking it to the post office.
That’s about it. I’m sure I’ve forgotten a few things worth mentioning, but at least you have a starter's guide. If you have
questions, you can always email me and I will be happy to answer them.
Just remember one thing … like me, you may get a pile of rejections before you get that one “yes”, but that’s the most important
thing to remember. It only takes one “yes” and you’re published. I wish you luck!
School Visits: Part 1 - for Authors:
Always plan ahead. I'm often asked what constitutes a good author school visit. From the school's point of view, they want to
know anything they can do to make it a success. From an author's point of view, we have to ask pretty much same question, "What
should I expect and how can I make it a success?" This is what I'll write about.
I'm certainly no expert, but I can talk a little bit about what works for me, and what doesn't. Maybe it will help to make your
author's school visit a success, too.
Address as Much as Possible When You First Set Up Your School Visit:
* Be honest and open about what you will do and how much you will charge. State your daily rate and the number of presentations
you can/will do for that daily rate. If you are only able to do two presentations per day, for example, make that clear in your
first phone conversation with the school.
Also be honest about the group size you're comfortable with. If you LOVE speaking to a full auditorium of teachers, students,
and at times, even parents, then say so. If you would rather keep the groups small, then tell them that, as well. Just keep in
mind, the smaller the group, the more presentations you will have to do to include all of the school's classes and teachers.
* Be clear and up front about what you charge for traveling, room and/or board, and any other expenses.
* Find out when you will be paid, i.e., the day of the school visit, or in the case of Title One, how long you will have to wait for
the board's approval and your check.
* Find out whether the local media (radio, TV, newspapers) will be contacted about your school visit, whether they will attend,
whether time will be set aside during that day for interviews and photos. Ask the media for copies of the newspaper article
after it appears and make sure they have your address.
* Create an invoice (nearly all schools require one) for services rendered. It should have the name, address and phone number of
the school, the name of your contact there, all charges, and a total for your school visit. Make sure your invoice has your
personal contact information -- I have mine centered at the bottom in smaller print. Mail to the school, and on the day of the
school visit, make sure you bring along a backup copy, just in case.
* Talk with the school to decide how book sales will be handled, i.e., when and where you will sign books, who will collect the
money, you should decide if you will be discounting the retail price of your book(s), and whether you will take preorders for books
prior to the school visit.
* Tell the school what props you will need to have on hand for your author visit, i.e., easel, pointer, chalkboard & chalk, chair,
stool, rocking chair, rug to sit on, microphone, podium, bottled water, tissues, etc.
* Find out where your presentations will be, i.e., auditorium (on stage), cafeteria, library, classrooms, hallway or loading dock.
Again, talk to the school about the maximum number of students you would be comfortable speaking to -- this is very important.
* Find out where you should park and what time you should arrive at the school to meet your contact, the office staff, take a
potty break, and to set up.
* Ask for your school visit schedule as soon as they can give you one, so you can plan, i.e., how long the school has allotted for
each presentation, the ages of each group so you can modify your presentation to be age-appropriate (should you need to), and to
be in your assigned area in time for signing books with anything you need, i.e., pens, bookmarks, etc., Again, make sure you know
when you will do this. During lunch break? After the last presentation?
* Keep accurate records (copies of everything) for the IRS: the total for the entire school visit, i.e., amount you received for
the actual day, or days, of presentations, number of books sold and the dollar amount, any expenses incurred (gas, mileage, plane
ticket, room, food, etc.) that were not already paid to you, or for you, by the school.
* After you get home, be sure and send a "Thank You" note to your contact at the school. You never know whether that might
make the difference in them having you back another time.
If you think of any questions you may have about things I haven't addressed here, please feel free to either call (814-249-1777)
or email me. I'm always happy to help in any way I can. I hope you have a great school visit!
"May you always see the world through the eyes of a child." ~CJ
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