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1. Dear Fellow Writer, so you are thinking of self-publishing, well...
2. Now relax: I promised to put you on the couch and examine your motives..
3. Dear Determined, if you are still thinking of pressing on...
4. Dear FW, what is it all going to cost you?
5. Dear Would-be Publisher, since you haven't give up, it's time for some good news.
6. Dear Writer, if you want to visualise your book then what about a mock-up?
7. Dear Writer Turned Publisher, it is sometimes difficult to decide who is the Publisher of a book.
8. Dear Self-Publisher, It's time you were introduced to some more boring details.
9. Dear Self-Publisher, if you are still determined to go it alone you need some serious help to focus.
10. Dear Chicken, if you are afraid to self-publish, there is an alternative, of course.

Dear Fellow Writer

So you are thinking of self-publishing, well...

Self-publishing has an honourable tradition. Beatrix Potter and TS Eliot both had to publish their early works. Virginia Woolf and her husband even set up the Hogarth Press because the work of the 'Bloomsbury Group' could not find a publisher. Even a recent Booker Prize nominee was originally self-published.

Before you take this step mull over these figures. In the UK there are thousands of publishing houses producing around 100,000 new titles in English each year. They want to make money. Most of them are quite good at it, which is why they have been publishing for decades. Couldn't one of them find a place on their list for your work?

Writers and ideas are their raw material. However, the writer is rather like the architect. You might have a great idea for a wonderful building. The problem is persuading someone to build it. These days some writers, like architects, prefer to negotiate the details of their commission and what is required before starting work.

So, before you decide to publish your own work:

But before you let your masterpiece out of your hands:

The downside of finding an agent or publisher is that this takes time. WritersServices.com have lists of agents and lots of tips on how to avoid rejection which might be worth inspecting. It will probably be weeks before you get any feedback, so it could take years to do the rounds. If you are in a hurry or hate rejection then go ahead and publish it yourself. 

Now head for a bookshop and see who is buying and who is publishing what.

More about your motives next time. And don't give up the day job yet.

Laurie

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Dear Fellow Writer

I promised to put you on the couch and examine your motives for wanting to publish your own work.

There are numerous motives for deciding to self-publish.

It is rumoured that even successful published authors, who sell thousands of copies each year, are being dropped by their publishers. Here the motive for self-publishing is obvious.

There are a few home truths you need to face.

You would be wise to accept any publisher's contract as they have the sales and distribution to put you onto the bestseller lists. This process finds a parallel in the computer industry. Small firms innovate and are acquired by one of the giants if their product is successful. Self-publishing will have worked for you if you are snapped up as a potential bestseller.

But I guess all this is rather like reading horoscopes. You have convinced yourself that all the good bits apply to you. So what else can I tell you to make you think twice?

Have you ever thought of all the jobs a publisher does? But your time's up, so off the couch and back to the real world.

I'll tell you next week.

Keep write on

Laurie

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Dear Fellow Writer

If you are still thinking of pressing on with publication then here is what you will have to do:

Actually, now I come to look at this list you will have to do most of this work anyway as the author. You have to do all the work with the text. The technical bits would be done by others anyway. There are some other minor bits like getting the ISBN for you as a would-be publisher. So, the printing part of it is relatively straightforward.

All sounds too good to be true? Can it really be that easy?

You guessed right. Printing is the easy part. It's fun because it turns your work into the book of your imagination, if not your dreams. You might have to spend hours on the phone and a load of time checking things but it is all pretty straightforward.

So what is the hitch? It's the publication bit, not the printing part of the job description. You have now got to tell everybody about your book and then dispatch copies when it is ordered. Now you have a full time job running an office, and wrapping and packing piles of books while doing the rounds of the bookshops as a rep for your publishing company.

Happily there are some firms that specialise in warehousing and dispatch which relieves you of a major part of the work. WritersServices.com's WritersPrintShop have a Print on Demand system which means that your book is only printed when it is ordered. This has the great bonus that you don't have to fork out for an expensive print-run, nor do you have to arrange for storage of your books.

So perhaps we ought to talk about money next time

Don't get excited until you've seen the figures

But keep writing,

Laurie

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Dear FW

What is it all going to cost you?

Self-publishing can absorb a lot of time. Still, other people spend hours watching soap operas or propping up the local bar. So if you now want to spend your time publishing your book, why not? After 'wasting' so much of your time writing, I guess there's nothing wrong spending a bit more on publishing your work if short-sighted publishers won't take you on.

The cost of getting a good editor to give your masterpiece the once-over and possibly a copy editor to remove all the mistakes and inconsistencies that have lain undetected in your manuscript will set you back about £500. The trick is finding good ones. You can scan the web as a very large number of them are freelancers but WritersServices.com employs someone with the expertise to select the right editor for your genre.

Then designers and typesetting will set you back another £500. Most of them work on Macs but you can send them any PC files. They will need to know what sort of output you want and a bit about the printer. The end product might be a very large computer file, camera ready copy or printing plates. It is very important to sort this out, as the cost of your project will rocket if the designer's work has to be converted to work on the machinery of your printer. Don't forget that you will need to liaise with the design team, so there might be some travel costs if they are miles away, unless you are using digital technology and you can inspect the results on your computer.

Now you have to decide how many copies to print. The 'economies of scale' will tempt you to make foolish estimates of your sales. Nobody can endure the scorn of the printer who is talking about thousands while your bank balance is talking hundreds. You will invariably print far too many. You won't be able to recoup your investment by flooding the market with these first editions when you are famous, so avoid over-printing.

There is a way out of this economic and ecological disaster area. Go for Print on Demand. The digital file just has to pass through some clever software process called 'pre-flight' checking and then it is ready to be printed when the orders flood or trickle in. No need for upfront capital or piles of unwanted books accusing you. So think about your bank manager if you still have one, do your bit for the forests of the world and look into Print on Demand.

Remember, if you do use traditional batch printing, you don't have to get everything cut and bound. The printer might be willing to keep the uncut sheets of your book sitting around. It is rumoured that vanity publishers bind the handful they are contracted to produce while the other 990 copies are left uncut until stuck into their recycling skip a few years later. Some books have a short shelf life. Others are evergreens. If you fall into the latter category, then you might risk an investment in a long run. But the realist rather than the romantic in you should be shouting that the shelf life is as long as the time you are prepared to devote to marketing and through to the following Christmas.

Compared with a hobby like hang-gliding, becoming a publisher is cheap. It will probably cost as much as a skiing or golf habit.

Using the new technology offered by the likes of WritersPrintShop not only neatly sidesteps the need to forecast sales, saving you a fortune, but also makes the hard part of publishing much easier.

Check out the options but it's time to look into some assertiveness training as you are going to have to start shouting about your book soon. But don't give up the day job. If you receive a pound or 50 pence per copy, you will have to ship mountains of books to make a living.

In your face, eh!

L

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Dear Would-be Publisher

Since you haven't given up the idea of publish your own work, then it's time for some good news.

Technology is increasingly on the side of the self-publisher.

Profit margins have been changed by Print on Demand. For the self-publisher this is excellent news. Because of the high unit production costs for short runs typical among self-publishers, it used to be hard to match the price of the standard paper or hardback books printed with longer runs. It still costs more to do Print on Demand than it does to print books with longer runs, but there's a real saving. Now that the self-publisher need order only the exact number of books required at that moment, there is a vast saving to be made in the cost of warehousing, having money tied up in stock and writing off unsold stock.

Readership is reported to be growing. It is not just the crude sales figures that point to more reading. Attitude and leisure surveys tell us that people are turning to reading for recreation. New genres appear. Fantasy has evolved out of science fiction and overtly sensual writing has escaped from the restrictions imposed by the rules of Victorian romantic writing. WritersPrintShop's self-publishing not only allows you to enter the market but doesn't force you to fit an existing category.

So there is much to be thankful for with the changes. Things are still evolving. These are exciting times.

Join in!

Laurie

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Dear Writer

If you want to visualise your book then what about a mock-up.

At an early stage it is actually a rather good idea to produce a mock-up. This does not have to be the actual size or shape but will allow the number and size of chapters and the total number of pages to be appreciated. The dummy will prove its worth when it comes to explaining to printers and designers what you are trying to achieve.

If you want to save yourself a load of paper, get to know your printer, as it will probably organise you to print both sides of the paper. This makes it look even more realistic.

The mock-up might also prove useful if you want to persuade bookshops to commit to buying some copies or simply to get some feedback on the content. As you are probably printing on A4 paper, you will have to match the number of words to final output. You can make the font size larger. You can check the WritersServices.com site to help match the font size to produce the number of word on each A4 page that will match your finished book.

There are a remarkable number of additional pages in a book. Just grab one and have a look. The mock-up is a good place to record all this additional information such as ISBN, foreword and much more.

First impressions are very important. If the book is going to sit on a bookshelf alongside other titles, thought must be given to the cover design. Watch people working their way around a bookshop and think how you can grab their attention when they reach your book.

Once a book is in the hands of a potential reader you have just a few moments to sell it. People really do judge books by their cover. They have little else to go on until you become famous!

The whole process of creating a mock-up is well worth while and very good for the morale. It is wonderful to see your book grow.

And it is a wonderful distraction when the writing is blocked.

Have fun,

Laurie

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Dear Writer, turned Publisher!

It is sometimes difficult to decide who is the Publisher of a book. The Publisher is generally the person or body who takes the financial risk. For some reason the hours spent writing do not count. Nor does giving up the day job or refusing promotion when it comes to assessing the risk taken to produce the book. The definition, which is legally loose, is strictly about business. Follow the money.

So what are your responsibilities? Good news! They are minimal.

You don't have to...

* There is no legal requirement for books to have an ISBN. An ISBN is really just a product number, used by publishers, booksellers and libraries for ordering, listing and stock control. The number provides access to the bibliographic data. It is a marketing tool. If you wish to sell your publication through major bookselling chains, or internet booksellers, they will require you to have an ISBN to assist their internal processing and ordering systems.

* You do not need anybody's permission to publish. You are still vulnerable for any libel in your book and of course there are several laws about discrimination, but you can create politically incorrect characters who express views that would breach the law if a real person expressed them. But the law might take the view that your book might incite or promote discrimination and then you could be in trouble. If you plan to enter this danger zone then get a lawyer to check the work.

* You don't have to spend a fortune on a launch party or publicity. You will need to devise some effective ways to let the public know that your book exists but we can chat about that later.

As a publisher you have some legal responsibilities.

* As the writer you are already responsible for the content. If anybody thinks they have been libeled they will sue anybody connected with the book who has money. The plaintiffs go after the person with the most money. So as the publisher you are their only target. You had better check the pension and the house deeds before you get too controversial.

* Under the Copyright Act of 1911 in UK you have a responsibility for 'legal deposit'. This Act has now been replaced by the Copyright and Related Rights Act of 2000. If you publish in Britain, you have to send a copy of the book to the British Library where it becomes a part of the National Archive. Five other libraries also have the right to claim a copy of the book. (Details of rules in other countries will follow).

That's about it. All you need is confidence and money to become a publisher. To survive you also need sound judgment and a flair for publicity. But that's to follow.

Now go and work out if you are worth suing.

See you in Court?

Laurie

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Hi Writer/Publisher

It's time you were introduced to some more boring details.

As the author, you are responsible for sorting out who owns the copyright for anything you plan to include. You are required to exercise 'due diligence' to find out who owns the rights to work and always obtain permission in writing. Do not set your heart on a particular picture, illustration of extract until you have obtained the consent of the owner to include it. This can be a tedious task.

You might have to get a 'model release' from people whose pictures you plan to include. This is a tricky area. You own the copyright of your photos but the people in the image might decide that they did not expect to see the picture published. If the people in the frame might think they are posing, then get them to sign some sort of release.

In all probability you will get away with minor breaches of others' copyright. But just remember that you are aspiring to join the ranks of those who might be quoted in future so respect and uphold the spirit of the rules, even if you breach their letter occasionally.

You might decide to compensate for any lack of skills you perceive in yourself by buying in the skills you lack. Be aware that printing technology is moving fast. Your local graphics experts might be out of date. Even if they have state of the art equipment, the files they use might not match the software they are familiar with. Now the printing machines often take direct digital input. Everything has to be integrated so that the output from each stage will be accepted by the next.

Registration will ensure that your work appears in The Bookseller in the week of publication. The magazine is read by all the bookshops. You can usually guarantee publicity in your local paper, which should be enough to persuade your local bookshops to stock it, at a unreasonable discount. But none of this happens by accident. It all needs organising by you.

You also need to produce an information sheet to send to relevant bookshops, the press, television and radio in advance of publication. Books are not normally news. The media like to plan ahead for features like books. Then follow up with a copy of the book to any organisations that respond to your notice if you can afford it. Remember, the media don't want the same story as anybody else, so can you customise it for their market?

There are any number of sales models. The web is opening up new channels.

In this affluent era, the idea of a special book as a gift for a group, and the specially written book as PR for an organisation is feasible.

Let's just hope it doesn't devalue the media and the stack of unread books doesn't get bigger.

It's all more work for you. You might have to choose if you want to be a publisher or a writer.

Is writing an addiction?

I'll try to cheer you up next time.

Laurie

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Dear Self-Publisher

If you are still determined to go it alone you need some serious help to focus.

Your focus as a writer is on the creative process rather than on the market. But like any one-person business, you need some management. Once you are rich and famous you can have an agent and editor to provide you with your market focus. Right now you will have to give some thought to the potential market yourself.

You will be fortunate if the result of your creative outpouring has any sales potential. Anybody can keep a journal. A skilled commercial writer needs to bring focus to their work. The focus is on the audience. A writer wants to communicate. To communicate you have to tailor your message. There are fashions in style and content for novels, biographies and even historical works. Entertainment and home improvement books have replaced cookery and DIY manuals although they cover the same material. If you want to sell your work you need to study these trends.

So go and have some cups of coffee at your local bookshops. Watch what people are buying. Observe what they pick up when they are browsing. Scrutinise the way they approach a book. Which bit of the blurb do they read? What covers do they like? There is plenty of fun to be had as you do your market research.

You will discover that the package must be attractive, that even the spine has to grab potential readers and the title counts. They do read that bit about the author and why you wrote the book.

You will also realise just how much competition there is. The pessimist will give up, the optimist will see a small gap on the selves which they can fill, the realist will sit down and have another cup of coffee while the writing junkie will go home and knock off another chapter. If you want to entertain people or if you want the ultimate buzz of seeing a stranger reading your book, you have to give them what they want.

We are not talking about selling out or compromising. We are talking professionalism. Accept your brief from the reading public and go away and express yourself through your craft.

Now start rewriting.

There is an alternative of course. Publish and be ignored!

Laurie

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Dear Chicken

If you are afraid to self-publish, there is an alternative, of course.

You could go to a vanity publisher. These go under all sorts of fancy titles. Co-publishing, Subsidy-publishing and Partnership-publishing are popular aliases for vanity publishing. You have to put up the capital cost to produce the book which typically ranges from £3,000 to £10,000 depending on quantity produced and job quality.

You might be promised a royalty of 30% or more which is at least 3 times the normal level. This royalty might only be paid subject to reaching an optimistic sales target. It takes a lot of work to shift 10 copies of some books, so think hard before agreeing to print 1000.

The key role of any publisher is to promote and sell your book so that they can recover their investment. This is where this type of deal comes unstuck. They have your money in their bank. The Publisher is generally the person or organisation who takes the financial risk. That's you. So selling the product is probably up to you.

It is never easy to persuade the media to review your work. Reviewers are unlikely to risk their professional credibility on books received under the imprint of a vanity publisher. But dispersing the mountain of books to every conceivable reviewer will help to shift a pile of books if you can afford the postage.

Don't chicken out or deceive yourself: do it properly and publish yourself.

Cluck cluck

Laurie

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