Question about self publishing

So I am seriously toying with the idea of self-publishing some more stuff (non-fiction side of me) as well as another novel. For those of us who self published, did you pay for a service (like I did with iUniverse) that arranged your ISBN number and Barcoding, or look after it yourself? I am wondering what is the most effective (cost wise) but also considering the amount of time that is involved in that. I know that purchasing several ISBNs is more cost effective than getting them one at a time but buying a shwack of them and then getting picked up by a publisher, while nice, could be a poor use of my moola...

Any thoughts

Non Fiction is a heck of a lot easier to place with publishers than fiction. If I had a non fiction book I think I'd be doing the rounds of publishers first and then considering self publishing having exhausted the possibilities.

I paid to have my book published with Xlibris. I wanted a top quality book available in hardback and paperback, with all the other extraneous stuff like ISBN's and Amazon taken care of, and that's what I got!

I've plans for a non fiction book. Once my current novel is out of the way I'll be starting work on it.

Hi Pam,

I will be starting a thread soon comparing PublishAmerica with Lulu based on my experience with both. It should help anyone seeking to have their first book published and wondering about self-publishing. It may also be useful for anyone who has already paid to be published.

~Shelagh

Lulu is free.

The only thing you need to pay for is an ISBN and that's only if you want to sell your book on Amazon and Bookstores. To sell only from Lulu's website is free. You don't need to buy an ISBN for that.

I have two books published and distrubuted by Lulu. A third will be released late this summer. I get regular royalty payments and live help from support when I need it.

I highly rate Lulu.

This is helpful feedback folks, thank you. I do agree George that publishers will be more open to the non fiction side, although still a challenge I think. I would want to go after the ISBN registration to facilitate being listed in printed books listings, and I think for mass exposure the bigger sellers insist on it (Amazon or B&N in the US, Indigo in Canada) but I was thinking of it in terms of receiving payment for books, so it's great to see you are receiving royalties and support from Lulu Karina.
Has anyone purchased their own numbers directly and had success (or challenge) with that?

I self-published Of Orbs and Lords through E-Booktime, LLC. Being an unknown first-time author of a work of fiction, self-publishing was pritty much my only choice. I hear that major publishers reject 98-99% of manuscript submissions (very bad odds). I don't have experience with any publisher other than E-booktime, LLC but I did find the company's service to be satisfactory. They'll publish a book in paperback format for $395 and for $125 they'll take care of registering the copyright and for $50 they'll obtain an LCCN# for your book. I'm just glad to have published my book.

Hi,

I went through iUniverse with a novel in 2004. One thing to check is whether the service you choose takes care of distribution through Ingram and Baker & Taylor as well as Amazon, B&N, and other online sites.

I'm not sure all of the POD places guarantee all of these, though iUniverse did.

Malcolm

Malcolm wrote:

Hi,

I went through iUniverse with a novel in 2004. One thing to check is whether the service you choose takes care of distribution through Ingram and Baker & Taylor as well as Amazon, B&N, and other online sites.

I'm not sure all of the POD places guarantee all of these, though iUniverse did.

Malcolm

E-Booktime, LLC. will place your book on amazon, B&N, Borders, and several other online sites. They also offer all the books they publish on their website www.e-booktime.com and put your book in the Ingram catalog. All this is included in the basic publication price.

Good to hear you had good results from them Gordon. I checked E-booktime and they seem to have a lot n their site...including some older ones which perhaps were expired copyrights? Interesting.

Pam wrote:

Good to hear you had good results from them Gordon. I checked E-booktime and they seem to have a lot n their site...including some older ones which perhaps were expired copyrights? Interesting.

The books would have to be very, very old to have expired copyrights. Copyright is good for the life of the author +70 years, according to the current law. I havn't checked out all the books they publish, so i'm not sure if they print titles in the public domain or not.

P.S. next time you check E-Booktime's site, be sure to check out Of Orbs and Lords, it's in the fantasy section of their store.

If you are seriously considering self-publishing, I would recommend going through Lightning Source. You have to have your own ISBNs and become a "publishing" company, but you get to set your own price, your own discount, whether your books are returnable or not, book size, hardback or paper, etc. They get you into Ingram and Baker & Taylor, as well as all of the usual online sites. This is the best option because you get to keep all the profits, you don't have to pay a subsidy press to publish your book, and you get full control. I use them and have been very pleased.

That's helpful Flash - thanks. Will dive a bit deeper into that and check it out.
Had a look at your book Gordon - it's a genre that my daughter enjoys so will keep it in mind for Christmas!

I, personally (all smiles), would recommend giving Black Rose Writing a look... www.blackrosewriting.com

We are a new publishing company and need great writers to join us in building something from the ground up, with much one-on-one feedback and help and a personal relationship with our writers rather that just another client.

Note: I used PAmerica once, and if I had to publish my first book over knowing everything I know now, I would have self-published in that instance.

Find somewhere to publish that you trust, that you have a good response time/relationship with, and that is as hungry as yourself. If after some manuscript shopping and rejections, you don't land that ideal situation, then self-publish (Or come to Black Rose Writing . Your book doesn't do any good on your computer with no one else able to read it!

I'd like comments, corrections, additions and whatever to this chart showing the "spectrum" of publishing options.

Thanks

http://linrobinson.com/pubchart.htm

Quote :

Has anyone purchased their own numbers directly and had success (or challenge) with that?

Each country only has one place to purchase ISBN numbers. In the U.S., the minimum purchase is for 10 at $25 each. Lots of 100 get down to $10 each.

For Canada, the government controls the process and provides them for free as part of the library process. Have a look at: (oh crap, this forum won't allow links. Let's see what we can manage). Just the "http://" bit plus
palimpsest.stanford.edu/byform/mailing-lists/bookarts/2000/05/msg00092.html
More info: "www. " books.bc.ca/isbn.php (put it back together and try it).

Self-publishing is pretty much the death knell for most writers. If you self-publish your chances of getting published by, say, Random House is almost nil. There aren't many Chicken Soup for the Soul books out there. Of course, if you just have to publish and aren't willing to go the extra mile to get really good at writing (or it's a limited edition thing, say for a family genealogy), go for it.

The next step up are the POD (publish on demand) printers that will take a chance on you if you meet their fairly low standards. The royalties are just as low as the big boys (8 - 15%) and like self-publishing you have to do your own promotion. Your book still won't show up on the shelves of your local supermarket unless you get them to put them there yourself. And forget Barnes & Noble et al. And the big boys will still turn up their noses at you.

There's a new way to get published coming up if you're really good, but can't quite crack the mainstream market. I may contract my next book with them when they get going. The royalties are much better, but B&N is still out. However, the market is worldwide. Some big names are starting to try it with impressive results.

I can't say more than that now, 'cause I'm sworn to secrecy by the outfit that's setting it up. I think they may start hunting for good authors in a month or two.

As a non-author, I have only read one self published book and that was A Woman from Cairo by Val Landi and that book had a fantastic quality cover, a superb website and a lot of word of mouth praise all over the web. So if you are considering self publishing look for info on that