Self publishing - how, why, when?

How to self-publish a book ... and who should be doing it
(Not the article you wanted? Check the index for more)

First a disclaimer. My books are published by Fremantle Press and distributed by Penguin across Australia and New Zealand. However, I tried the self-publishing route a few years back, and the knowledge I gained at the time is still current.

If you want to see what I write, feel free to download a copy of my first novel.

What is self publishing?

People write books for many reasons, but most have a common goal: to one day see their work in print. The traditional method is to shop the manuscript around in the hope that an agent and/or publisher will offer a contract. And traditionally, most agents and publishers send manuscripts back with a 'no thank you'.

After a few weeks/months/years of that, many people start to look at the alternatives. Self-publishing is one of them.

First, let's clarify exactly what self-publishing is. A few years back it meant employing an editor, a book designer and a cover artist to get the work into shape and ready for press, and then employing a printer for the books, another for the covers and a binder to put it all together. Print runs were usually in the hundreds, or even thousands, and the finished article looked pretty much like ordinary books in the stores. To get a book into print, self-published authors were pretty much setting up their own mini publishing houses.

These days self-publishing involves uploading a word or PDF file to a company who then makes the subsequent book available through their website. E.g. Lulu. Authors rarely employ professionals to help with editing, proofing and layout, and unfortunately a gigantic avalanche of such books has made self-publishing a less attractive option. (I'm not being elitist here. Once, self-publishing cost a lot of money, and paying 10 or 15% of the total printing cost to an editor seemed like a good idea. Now you can publish a book for exactly zero dollars, and paying $800-$1500 is an expense most self-published authors are unwilling to contemplate.)

If you're investigating self-publishing because you heard Mark Twain, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Ernest Hemingway and Stephen King (amongst others) all went down that route then you need to read this before you decide to follow their footsteps.

So who does self-publishing work best for?

Non-fiction writers with a well-defined, captive audience. For example, someone who holds seminars on particular topics ... such as chicken-farming. There are plenty of opportunities to tell your guests that copies of your book are available at the back of the room, and you have no competition. In this case, 250-500 copies of a self-published book could be a wise investment.
Self-publishing also works for fiction writers who just want a handful of copies for family and friends.

So, who should consider self-publishing only as a last resort?

Fiction writers. Unknown writers. Anyone who thinks they can walk into a bookstore at random and walk out with a firm order for a dozen copies. Let's break those down:

Fiction writers. You'd have to be mad to self-publish fiction. (Yes, I once did it myself. Nowhere on this web site do I declare myself totally sane.) First, agents and publishers will sign you up if your book is good enough, and if you're writing in a genre which has a book-buying audience. 'If the book is good' is subjective - you may think it's terrific, but the professionals will know by page three if you really can write... and they'll often have a good idea by the end of the first paragraph. Even if you write well, the technical details (character, plot, dialogue and so on) all have to fall into line. And if it's not good enough to interest an agent or a publisher, do you really think it's a good idea to slap covers on it and sell it direct to the public?

What do I mean by 'Having a book buying audience'? Well, even if you write a good book which is technically competent, it could be rejected simply because the publisher doesn't believe enough people will want to buy a copy. It may be that your novel is a science fictional thriller and a romance all rolled into one. How do they sell that? Who do they sell it to? This is where self publishing can work, because you can survive on a small number of sales to people who have little choice of alternatives.

Unknown writers & optimists. If you have no presence in the market, it's going to be tough convincing readers to lay down $20 to $25 for your book. It's also going to be tough convincing bookstores to carry it ... Many titles published by the big guys don't sell, so how is a self-published book by a complete unknown going to do?

I want to point out right now that I'm not trying to put anyone off. However, having self-published three books I know something of the pitfalls and the reality of self-publishing, and I don't want anyone wasting a lot of money on a fruitless endeavour.

I haven't put you off yet? Ok, let's continue

Self-publishing takes many forms. The cheapest method is to print your document, staple in the middle and fold into an A5 booklet. Countless clubs and organisations print their newsletters this way, and it's ideal for a small number of pages (16-20 sheets of paper) where the information is more important than the presentation.

At the other end of the scale you have hardback books with those nifty little placemarker ribbons and your name in gold foil on the cover. (They always look like Readers Digest condensed books to me, but then again I write science fiction so what would I know?) These are ideal for memoirs, where you want them to last through several generations.

In between these extremes you have a variety of sizes, from A-format mass-market paperback up to Crown Royal. A lot of self-published and small press books use A5 (which is A4 cut in half). A or B format are the most common, with 'B' format used for more expensive paperbacks from well-known authors, and 'A' used for just about everything.

Often, a book will appear in trade (B) paperback size first, only to be re-released as a mass-market (A) size a year or so later. Why? Because trade paperbacks command a higher price, allowing the publisher to recoup more on each one sold. Readers won't pay big dollars for unknown authors though, so don't rush out and print your self-published title in the biggest format you can find.

Publishers use perfect binding (a kind of hot-melt glue) to hold the book together. I recommend this method if you want your book to look professional. Alternatives include spiral binding and DIY comb binding, which are okay for how-to manuals, but not for fiction. You can pay a print shop or a specialist to run your printed books through a perfect binder... bear in mind the cover flats will have to be at least 5mm bigger all round to allow for cropping afterwards. (Books are bound then cropped to size. This leaves nice even edges all round.) A typical beginner's mistake is to roll up to the binders with an A5 sized book and A4 sized covers - once wrapped around the book, the cover is too short to reach the edges, and you still won't have enough left over for cropping. The answer is to print the book pages smaller, or the covers bigger.

Get the professionals to do it.

I've mentioned binding, finished sizes and printing books out, but I haven't covered professional printers and print on demand (POD). With the former, a company will accept a file from you containing the book (ready for print) and another containing the cover. How you get the book and cover art to this stage is up to you, but I recommend professional help if you have no idea what you're doing.

If you go ahead with the printer's quote, they will produce the specified quantity of books and ship them to your delivery address. You still have to sell them, which is covered in another article.

On the other hand, if you go the POD route you can expect to pay a setup fee but afterwards you can order books one at a time. Expect to pay a much higher price per book, but it's cheaper overall if you only have a small market. Some of these companies will also list your book with online retailers like Amazon and Barnes & Noble, giving you a way to sell online. Lulu seems to be getting good press from those who have used the service. For a short run of books (e.g. 200+) in Australia, try Griffin Digital (formerly Dbooks). For print on demand (i.e. no minumum quantities) try Equilibrium Books

Please bear in mind that self-published books (particularly fiction) are regarded with suspicion by booksellers, reviewers and other industry professionals. A book from a major publisher is guaranteed to have gone through one or more filters, even if it's just a tick in the 'Big Name Author' box.

On the other hand, a self-published 'novel' could be the same shopping list printed over and over on 400 consecutive pages... and no book store owner is going to sit down and read every self-published book offered to them. Plus many of them will only deal with distributors, who in turn only deal with established publishers.

So, if you want your book stocked in more than just your local bookstore, self-publishing is not the way to go. POD publishers is a term now used to lump together all the companies which will happily print illiterate scribble provided they get paid. Cluey bookstore owners know the names of all these companies, and will be reluctant to order books from them unless it's one copy for a customer who pays up front. (One of the problems with POD is that bookstores cannot return unsold books, something all major publishers allow.)

There's a longer article on this phenomenon here.

Self-publishing is a huge topic, and I've only scratched the surface. In 99% of cases you're better off persisting with agents and publishers, who will give you distribution self-publishers can only dream of. As mentioned earlier, self-pub is ideal for non-fiction books sold to captive audiences. It's definitely not the best idea for fiction, unless you only want to impress close family and a handful of friends with your novel.

If you enjoyed this article, don't keep it secret!

Please remember that none of my articles are meant to discourage. In fact, they're all written for the me of three or four years ago, the Simon Haynes who was ready to take the next step but didn't know what that step was.

If you have any comments on this article, please contact me

About the author
Simon Haynes is the author of the Hal Spacejock series, and is also a founding member of Andromeda Spaceways Inflight Magazine. Simon also wrote all the software on spacejock.com, most of which can be downloaded for free.