Here's the highlights from our meeting on 08/16/16. Leslie Williams Delgado was our special guest speaker. It was an awesome meeting. She had a lot of useful information to share.
Here is the outline that she shared.
I. What is Publishing?
a. Publishing is making information available to the public.
i. Printed literature
ii. Recorded film or music
iii. Digital media
b. Think about it: if you post on Facebook, you’re published! But in
actuality, the publishing industry is far more involved than social
networking when you’re looking to publish a book.
c. Why Publish?
i. You want to share your work with the public, whether in general
or a certain demographic, in a professional format. Your work
might be a resource, informational, or simply for entertainment.
II. Types of Publishing (Writing Forward)
a. Traditional publishing: proposing your work to an industry agency with
the prospect of acquiring a publishing contract. Publication of your work
is contingent on their acceptance of your work. (i.e. Zondervan, DK
Publishing)
b. Subsidy publishing: Entering a partnership with a traditional printing
company in which the author provides an initial investment and the
publisher handles distribution and marketing (i.e. Dorrance Publishing)
c. Self publishing: utilizing the services of a printing press to professionally
print your product; extra services such as proofreading, editing, and cover
design can also be purchased, but all costs are the responsibility of the
author; consequently, all marketing and distribution are also the
responsibility of the author. (i.e. Lulu Publishing)
III. Benefits and Drawbacks of Traditional Publishing vs. Self Publishing
(Writers Digest)
a. Traditional publishing offers wide distribution, lots of exposure, and they
take care of the marketing of your book. Additionally, they have the
resources to do offset printing in high quantities, making your books in
high quality at an affordable price for your consumers.
b. Unfortunately, traditional publishing also has the power to make changes
to your work without your involvement, control over cover art and title,
and the entire process from contract to distribution can take a very long
time. Even e-books can be priced unreasonably in this method of
publishing.
c. Self publishing allows you complete creative freedom, and all profits are
yours to keep due to the highly accessible print-on-demand model. The
overall process can be completed in far less time from conception to
production.
d. The drawback to this is that the author is responsible for all costs, from
editing to cover art to printing and distribution.
IIII. When is Self Publishing a good option?
a. When you’re looking to publish a small run of your literature for a small
demographic, such as conventions or conferences.
i. Niche demographics can be far harder to publish traditionally, and
oftentimes the reason traditional publishers tend not to consider
these types of projects; this is when self publishing becomes a
fantastic alternative to the publishing solution!
b. When you’re looking to professionally print literature for small groups
such as clubs or study groups.
c. When you’re looking to create your own personal or family library.
V. The Self Publishing Process
a. Planning the Project (Brian Tracy International)
i. It’s important to gauge your work!
1. What is your intended purpose?
2. Who is your target demographic/psychograpic?
3. How do you plan on marketing?
4. What and where are your projected sales?
a. Unless you have people in the industry who can
assist you with your project, odds are you’ll be
handling this alone. Developing for yourself a clear
idea of the consumer’s aspect of your project will
help you to understand how to market your work.
ii. Research
1. Comparison shopping
a. There are multiple printing presses out there! Most
reputable shops allow you to calculate how much
your product will cost with a wholesale view,
including e-books. You can even calculate
discounts for printing in higher quantities!
b. Be careful to research the printing companies, as
well. Bad reviews from fellow customers can help
you stay away from the danger of losing your
investment!
2. Demographic and venue research
a. Unless you plan to invest in a publisher’s
distribution service, it’s likely that you’ll be printing
small quantities to sell on your own or on demand.
You’ll need to decide how and where you plan to
sell your books successfully to your target
demographic.
b. It’s important to be familiar with venues and events
that could be potential sales hot spots for your
project. Research not only events, but fellow author
experiences selling at those events.
c. Creating the Project
i. Book dimensions
1. Depending on the size of your book, the printing price will
change. Be considerate of your font size (something
comfortable to read for your consumer, but not so large it
takes twice the amount of pages to print.)
2. Remember that all marketing is your responsibility.
Writing the book is not limited to the body or chapters.
Any front and back matter, including acknowledgements,
prefaces, afterwards, etc., need to be considered as part of
the full document.
3. Unique is not always better! Depending on what kind of
book you’re writing, if you plan on printing, you’ll want a
book that’s comfortable for your reader to hold.
ii. Cover and interior art
1. Unless you’re an artist, yourself, you’re probably going to
want to have someone with experience design your cover.
For this, you’ll need to hire an artist!
2. Consider what kind of look you want for your book cover
and interior art. Covers include the illustration design and
the copy. Artists can provide the illustration and design,
but you must provide your own copy!
3. Artists are not equal! It’s important to research artists when
considering becoming their client.
a. A common misconception is that artists are equal.
Just because an artist can draw cartoons doesn’t
mean they can design an elegant fine art illustration!
Look for an artist with a skill set that matches the
look you want for your book.
b. Artists are expensive! Consider discussing the
project tentatively with more than one artist, and
find one that fits your budget with a comparable
skill set. Consider that when entering a contract with
an artist, there are upfront costs to the work, as well.
c. Remember, if you’re looking to illustrate a book,
you’ll need to come to an agreement with the artist
about charging for multiple pieces.
4. It’s important to communicate with the artists the
dimensions and technical specifications for your cover
design! If you’ve selected a trade 6”x9” paperback option
from your printing press, you can’t assume that a 10”x10”
piece is going to fit correctly on the cover! You’ll end up
with a misprinted cover if you don’t provide your cover
designer with these important details!
iii. Marketing
1. If you’ve heard the phrase “don’t judge a book by its
cover,” bear in mind that consumers in fact DO judge
books by their covers! Your cover is like the bright and
shiny packaging to your story! It doesn’t only need a good
design, but a good selling pitch.
2. You need to be able to develop copy for the book that
hooks the consumer with the desire to learn more. The
back cover summary should give a good idea of your book
without spoiling the best parts! Keep in mind it’s an
advertisement for the interior content.
iiii. Production
1. With a complete document and book cover, you’re now
ready to publish digitally and in print. A good practice is to
run one copy on demand for inspection purposes and final
proofing before investing in multiple copies.
2. Digital distribution costs are also more minimal, so your
book could be distributed more easily to other e-book sites.
3. With a completed project, it’s now time to start planning
your sales! Remember, it’s all up to you!
a. Plan for events by projecting the amount of
potential consumers and stocking accordingly.
b. Charge reasonably for your books. Remember, if
you’re publishing in print, you’ll be buying them
wholesale, so it’s up to you to calculate the markup.
c. You are your own marketer. Plan to interact with
your consumers and develop your pitch for your
product!
d. Keep interest high by networking and periodically
promoting your book online on social networks.
VI. The Future of Publishing
a. Should you publish digitally?
i. The concept of the e-book is really still in its infancy. With the
introduction of the Kindle in 2007 and other mobile devices
following suit, the e-book industry sales skyrocketed from 2008-
2010. There has been a small decline since the initial release of the
e-book, but the industry, for the most part, is remaining steady.
(BBC)
ii. Mobile devices continue to become more common in today’s
economy, and the convenience of having multiple books available
in one small device is a selling point for many consumers.
b. Should you publish hard copies?
i. While the e-book does continue to rise in popularity, the fact is
that there are still a huge population of consumers who prefer a
physical copy. There are multiple factors to this finding, but the
most impactful is likely to be that reading a physical copy is in fact
more comfortable for consumers!
ii. Physical books are collectible for a number of reasons, including
their aesthetics, their accessibility when in intense use such as
studies and research, and the ability to attribute them to their
creators with such features as signatures and personalized notes.
(Mashable)
VII. Printing Presses
a. Lulu.com (Print and digital, on-demand, distribution services)
b. Createspace.com (trade paperback and digital, on-demand, distribution
services)
c. Authorhouse.com (Print and digital, package, distribution services)
Works Cited
Klems, Brian. “The Pros and Cons of Self Publishing (& Traditional Publishing). “ Writer’s
Digest. 11 June 2012. http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/the-pros-and-cons-of-self publishing-
traditional-publishing
Donovan, Melissa. “A Writer’s Guide to Types of Publishing Companies.” Writing Forward. 3
April 2013. http://www.writingforward.com/news-announcements/getting-published/types-ofpublishing-
companies
“Publishing a Book? 10 Questions You Must Be Able To Answer.” Brian Tracy International.
http://www.briantracy.com/blog/writing/most-important-questions-to-answer-when-you-write-abook/
Catone, Josh. “Why Printed Books Will Never Die.” Mashable. 16 January 2013.
http://mashable.com/2013/01/16/e-books-vs-print/
Other Resources
Doyen, Barbara. “Anatomy of a Book: The Contents.” 2006. Barbaradoyen.com.
http://www.barbaradoyen.com/book-publishing/anatomy-of-a-book-the-contents
Friedman, Jane. “Start Here: How to Self-Publish Your Book.” 16 February 2015.
https://janefriedman.com/self-publish-your-book/
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