Publishing Your Book—What Way is Best For You? - Part 2

Publishing Your Book—What Way is Best For You? - Part 2
Judy Cullins c 2004 All Rights Reserved

Your print or ebook is nearly finished. You wonder if you should try to get an agent to represent you to the publisher. Maybe you've already sent out your query letter to some agents. You dream how great it would be to be taken under the publisher's wings.

You've already read about what traditional publishers can and can't do for you. Now is a time for self-publishers who want a print book to check out Print On Demand or Print Quantity Needed.

On Print Books--Print on Demand Two Ways

1. Hire the Publisher/Printer yourself to just print your book from your word file. In Print Quantity Needed such as www.daharts.com (similar to POD) you keep all of your book's rights. This method helps you make much more profit from your effort and you will get your book out to the buyers so much faster, making faster profits.

2. Hire Full-Service Print on Demand Publisher/Printers who each charge you an up front fee to set up. They too take your word files and put into Portable Document Format.

The downside? Check to see if you need these services. You don't need an ISBN # if you sell from your own web site. The biggest down to me is no control over my book. Here, you must buy back each book from the printer/publisher at a wholesale price--almost half of what you will sell it for. So, your profits are limited.

List of POD Publishers to Investigate

1. www.trafford.com-888-232-4444
2. www.IUniverse.com 877-823-9235
3. www.XLibris.com 888-795-4274
4. www.pagefreeepublishing.com 88-707-7634
5. www.infinitypublishing.com 877-289-2665

These companies do not offer a good promotion plan. If you want to sell online, you'll have hundreds of thousands of eager book buyers ready to buy when you apply the number one, free way to promote your book--submitting articles to opt-in ezines and web sites. Contact a reliable book coach for this information.

On eBooks

If you sell your book as an eBook on your Web site or link it to other publishing web sites, you will make 100% of the profit.

FACT: In traditional publishing for print books, you must get a distributor, and a wholesaler to get brick and mortar bookstores to carry your book. The bookstore gets a percentage too. Maybe these costs will add up to 85%! What's left for the author, the one who wants to make a difference in people's lives?

Is there a drawback to self-publishing?

If you print it, you must pay for the printing yourself, but remember that could be as low as $300 for 50 plus books. Print on Demand and Print Quantity Needed print short runs from five to 500. Depending on how many that could run from $2-$5 for a book you can sell for $15. You'll only have to make a small investment, you won't have a huge inventory, and you can apply your extra cash to book promotion, the most important part of the book's journey.

If you write an eBook, here are some of the benefits:

Why Write an eBook Fast?

You…Make all the money, can make ongoing, passive profits for life, spend much less time writing and promoting, retain total control, share your unique, important message with 1000's daily, build your client base and credibility, reach your target audience easily and distribute yourself, spend less money and have more cash flow, finish your book within 30 days, make ongoing passive profits for life, can update your book when it needs it, become the expert in your field, gain trust, credibility and friends.

More benefits: you don't have printing or inventory costs, can use word in 8 ½ by 11 format and PDF, don't have to travel, don't have to tell or sell, don't have to package and mail books, distribute and sell online from email or a Web site, no packaging, no printing, and no mailing

Promotion is always at least as important, if not more important, than your book. Drawbacks are starting to look like profits and a low cost investment for you. With PQN (you have all control, keep and distribute all the books) or eBooks you won't have hundreds or thousands of unsold books in your garage gathering dust.

Many people feel it's a drawback to have to market and promote their books. Yet, you can learn skills such as the sixty second "tell and sell," the promotional article or power press release, and the sales letter for your Web site from an already successful author-coach. Publicity agents charge a lot of money and tend to overdo the media kit, (media editors and reporters usually throw everything away except the news release).

You need to learn how to talk about your book in a few sentences, a few paragraphs, and a longer sales letter. You need someone who has authored and sold many books, one with long-term copy writing experience. But even if you spend $1000 for coaching, editing and printing, you'll still be able to realize a larger profit than the traditional route.

You the author need to decide what path is best for you. Make sure it's a profitable one.