Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ram Iyer on April 30, 2010 at 5:51am

Hello Clay,

I am sorry if I am posting this question in a wrong forum. I am about 50% complete with my book and am just getting started with evaluating different options. I started some basic work in CREATESPACE, partly because of the Amazon brand equity. However, what I seek is a good publisher who will also help with the distribution aspects such as getting the book in brick-and-mortar retail shops. I contacted TATE and was surprised at the speed at which they reciprocated with a phone call in 24 hours and follow up emails. Of course, their price is steep - close to $4000 for first time authors.

How do I go about selecting the right publisher?
What is offset printing?
Do I need to know some of the printing jargon such short-run offset that you have mentioned?
How do we distribute if we just focus on the printing company? Any tips?

Thanks again and I apologize if my question is in the wrong forum.

Ram

Permalink Reply by Scott Flora on April 30, 2010 at 10:30am

Ram,

You have lots of important questions. Fortunately, many of these questions are answered in the FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) section of SPANnet. (Find the FAQ here: http://www.spannet.org/page/publishing-faq)

The FAQ has information on both different types of publishing and different printing processes. This should give you a better background for making decisions.

Scott

Permalink Reply by 1106 Design on May 1, 2010 at 3:11pm

CreateSpace and Lulu are subsidy publishers, not printers. You don't need them to be a "self-publisher" because YOU are the self-publisher. Print-0n-demand from Lightning Source will feed your book to all the major online retailers without the cost of a "pro" plan. Yes, there is an upfront cost to buy your own ISBNs and hire editors and designers to help prepare a quality book for you, but the end result will be worth the cost and you'll make the money back in increased sales. The do-it-yourself templates offered by the online subsidy publishers encourage authors to produce books that are not up to professional standards, which is why reviewers and retailers pan books released this way. If you're going to put your name on a book, it makes sense to release the best possible product. Buyers know the difference, and you'll have a better chance with distributors and retailers as well.

Permalink Reply by Ram Iyer on May 2, 2010 at 8:19am

Thanks for your thoughtful comments. I have read in some places about how authors who have self-published via CreateSpace or Lulu can eventually get the "real" publishers to take over and get their marketing and distribution muscle behind it. Does anyone have any statistics around this? How probable is this? Is it a good idea to self-publish via Createspace and then send a hard copy of the book to some of the major publishing companies right away (say in a month of its release)? Will that get some attention? Any thoughts are welcome....

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