Advice for Self Publishers

As the large publishers get larger their output becomes less eclectic, unless your book fits into what’s ‘hot’, the chances of landing a publishing deal are slim. Developments in printing technology have reduced the cost of publishing a book to a level that can be reached by most, and there are now numerous respectable companies that produce quality books at prices that make this commercially feasible for authors to self publish.

Self publishing has come a long way in the last ten years or so. It is now increasingly viewed as a respectable way for authors to get a foot on the publishing ladder and is one of the biggest areas of growth within the UK publishing sector. The commonly-held belief that authors only publish their books for personal vanity is now way off the mark. The motivations for self publishing are numerous: a desire to be more widely read; a hope that the book will be picked up by a ‘traditional’ publisher; the wish to publish for a small audience, one that a commercial publisher will not find profitable; the personal fulfillment of one’s hobby; publishing for family and friends; publishing as part of a business venture; or a wish to make money from writing. These, and many others, are all perfectly valid reasons for an author to consider financing the publication of their own book.

The production values of most self published books are now often comparable to those of ‘commercial’ books. Indeed, most bookshops are selling self published books, sometimes without even realising it!

But what about the quality of a book’s content? Cynics will assume that all self published books are dreadful... surely, if they were any good they would have snapped up by a commercial publisher? But as we’ve seen, there are many author-financed books out there published for different reasons. And some companies offering self publishing services are now actually turning down books on the basis of poor quality of content. There’s a lot more realism among authors as to what will sell, and a lot of good books are being self published as a result.
There is a bewildering array of articles, blogs and opinion on self publishing out there, especially on the Internet, which can be confusing if you are setting out on the road to self publication. On these web pages we have made available extra information about self publishing in general that we hope you will find useful.

So if you are considering taking the step of publishing your own book, The Self Publishing Magazine will offer you invaluable help. Getting it right is the key to a successful self publishing project. Our extensive article library contains articles on many aspects of the self publishing process. You can check out some past issues here, and take a look at a sample copy and sign up to our e-newsletter as well.

Going it alone or using a self publishing company?
The most widely used definition of self publishing implies that if you do not do all the work yourself; the book cannot be truly considered to be self published. In the modern climate, however, the common understanding of this definition is changing. Of course, you have the choice to go it alone and take charge of the whole process too, but as with anything, people often elect to buy in the expertise they need for certain projects, and self publishing is no different. If you are computer literate, then designing a front cover and typesetting your book may well fall into your comfort zone; for many, though, the writing is the bit they excel at – the technical side of publishing can be a mystery. Book production has a set of conventions and standards that are easy to misinterpret, and if you are embarking on the self publishing road, it can be daunting when faced with myriad of choices for your book (such as what size of book is most economical to print, what kind of paper and board to use, what type of binding, etc). Therefore many people elect to use a self publishing services provider to help guide their project through the system.

Using a Self Publishing services provider
Open any writing magazine and you will be greeted by a plethora of self publishing service providers, each vying for your attention and business. Gone are the days of vanity presses where you could expect to hand over a large sum of money and get little in return. Now the services on offer range from a series of packages – where you can purchase the package you want for the price that best suits you – to a more bespoke service offering you only what you want. So how do you go about choosing a self publishing company?

Word of mouth is a great way to find a company you can trust, so if you know of someone who raves about the firm they used then they may be worth a look. Ads are a good way of finding out about what firms exist, but are not good for judging what service you will actually get. If replying to ads, use your common sense. Ask for quotes from several firms and ask to see sample copies of books they have produced for other people. It is also good to ‘google’ a company and see if you can find any of their other authors to talk to – would they recommend the firm to you? Also bear in mind that some self publishing firms are good at some types books but not so good at others (ie., they might produce brilliant hardbacks, but their softbacks are less impressive) or perhaps some offer great budget packages but can’t accommodate unusual requests or colour work, so it helps to see the kind of books they produce to make sure you are getting the best for your book.

There are some services where you really do all the work yourself. If you are computer savvy and happy producing PDFs and uploading files, this can be a cost effective way to get into self publishing, but if you are looking to produce bulk copies or unusual sized books then you may be better off looking elsewhere.

If you know you want marketing and distribution, there is no point working with a company that only produces the books. Making sure you know what you want up front and checking that the firms you are looking at can provide those services is also essential. It is also worth checking where the books will be printed - it can be costly to ship books in from the States or Europe and can also lead to extra delay as you wait for them to arrive.

All companies are different in what they offer. With some packages you get a few ‘free’ copies of your book and then have to pay for the rest as you want them. Other firms offer a service where you own all copies of the books as soon as they are printed. Remember that if self publishing you should retain all rights to your work – so make sure you do not sign them away to any self publishing firm. Ideally, you should get a contract which will tell you what the self publishing services firm will undertake for you and what you can expect from them. Be wary if no contract is offered, or one that has stringent terms written into it.

Some self publishing firms have gone bust in recent years – taking their authors’ works with them. To avoid this kind of situation happening check the firm out with Companies House (if it is a limited company) as you can have a snapshot of their financial health that way and search some blogs online to pick up any tip-offs about such events.

Remember that publishing a book is now relatively easy to do. But getting retailers interested is far harder. Your starting point if you are serious about getting bookshops to sell your book is quality. Bookshops aren’t interested in trying to sell books that are poorly printed with an amateur cover and with unreasonably high cover price. They know that such books just won’t sell, so why would they bother? As a self publisher you need to ensure that your book is at least as good as anything else on the shelves if you want to stand a chance of selling copies through the books trade. And quality doesn’t have to mean that it will cost you an arm and a leg – we see all sorts of books here at the magazine, and we know that some appallingly produced books have cost far more to publish than some top quality titles. Quality matters, so plan ahead and make sure that you are getting what you expect to get from your suppliers.

Going it alone
It is very possible to self publish your book yourself. You can edit, typeset, design a cover and organize the printing of your own work and many self publishers do just this – and do it very successfully. If you have drive and determination and a smattering of computer skills it can be an enjoyable challenge and you can save money. The key is to buy in the services that you really don’t feel able to handle alone, and to retain control of your project to make sure you have grasped the main elements of the publication process. You will need to take some key decisions about your book, so it helps to look at some mainstream produced books to get a sense of sizes, margins and paper types so that you can make your book as commercially appealing (if you are self publishing with a desire to sell to the books trade) as possible. There are forums and websites where you can connect with other self publishing authors to swap ideas and pick their brains about all aspects of self publishing and don’t forget that the Self Publishing Magazine also offers may invaluable cases studies too (check out our article library to see what we mean).

Printing
The two main methods of printing are Lithographic and Print on Demand (PoD). The former is generally used for printing larger numbers of books, the latter for smaller numbers. With print on demand the unit cost of printing each copy remains the same, but is usually high, making this route usually uneconomic when selling your book through retail trade. With litho printing the unit cost will reduce as you print more copies, making it possible to sell through shops at an acceptable cover price. Quality is also an issue as digital printing currently does not produce photographs as well as litho printing, and is restricted in the materials that it can use. You may need to research the companies you are planning to use to discover which method of printing they use. It may also help for you to analyze your reasons for self publishing – as this may also dictate the printing method you choose. Many people setting out on the self publishing journey think PoD means self published – but this is not the case. Many mainstream publishers now use PoD technology to keep a title in print and, if you are self publishing, you don't just have to use PoD technology. While some self publishing services providers specialize only in offering PoD books, others offer litho or PoD – and there are many printing firms around the UK, and abroad, who can offer PoD and / or litho depending on your requirements.

ISBNs, BookData and Bibliographical data
If you are undertaking all of the self publishing yourself, you will need to acquire some ISBNs. These are purchased from the UK ISBN agency – run by Nielsons (who also run other services related to book information in the UK) You must purchase a set of 10 numbers (10 is the minimum number you can buy, but if you plan to be a prolific self publisher you can elect to buy a hundred or several hundred in one go!). Once you’ve got the ISBNs, you need to allocate one to each title or type of book you are planning (ie., ebooks, softbacks and hardbacks all need different ISBNs). As well as putting the ISBN on the cover of the book and in the prelim pages, you need to use it on the marketing materials you are producing and any website (as the ISBN will link the book to the publisher allowing people to buy it!). You will get an information pack when your ISBNs arrive and it is a good idea to read this and to understand the responsibilities you have if you become a publisher and the rules governing the use of ISBNs. Wholesalers and bookshops know where to send orders for titles because of the data you have supplied – so if you put your home details on the system as your publisher address – and then move house, make sure your publisher data is updated so you don’t lose orders! The first thing to do is let BookData know which ISBN relates to which title and you do this by submitting the new title form which contains all the information about the book (or you can do it online if you have paid a small subscription to a service called PubWeb). The information you use on this form will be used by the entire books trade so make sure it is accurate and if anything changes, tell BookData. If you register the ISBN and opt to be the book distributor, you will be expected to handle all the orders yourself (this means generating invoices, sending books  and dealing with returns). It is possible to get another firm to act as your distributor, but they will take a cut of the cover price.

If you are using a self publishing service, it may be that they will supply one of their ISBNs to you. This means that all communication about that book from the books trade will go to them, not you (unless you are listed as the distributor). This has many advantages – especially if you don’t want to deal with the upkeep of the data and the handling of orders – but it also means you have lost some control of the process and you cannot ‘take over’ the data as the ISBNs are logged in someone else's name. This means you have to trust your self publishing company to keep the data accurate and to handle to orders as they come in. It might also be worth asking what happens to your book and ISBN number if the self publishing services firm gets taken over or goes bust.

Nielsons dominate the UK book industry for bibliographical data, but the American firm Bowker also have a foot in the door here in the UK. You can arrange to send you data to them as well (usually an AI via email is sufficient).
see www.nielsenbookdata.co.uk or www.isbn.nielsenbookdata.co.uk for more information about ISBNs and BookData.

The Books Trade
Here we offer some very brief notes on how the books trade works. The magazine regularly looks as these issues in more depth.
When dealing with the books trade it is important to understand how your book is being distributed. If you are using a self publishing services provider are they going to handle the distribution for you? If you are going to deal with book orders yourself you need to know what discount to offer, what the terms of the order are (sale or return, firm sale?), you will need to issue invoices and be able to pack the books properly and send (often at your cost) to the right address. You will also need to deal with returns and issue refunds and credit notes.

Bookshops
Bookshops buy the bulk of their stock from the wholesalers. Independent bookshops will often get their information about forthcoming titles from the wholesaler catalogues, The Bookseller (the books trade magazine), publisher catalogues and AIs (advanced Information). Before your book is published it is recommended that you start to build a relationship with your local independent bookstore as the owners of such stores are more likely to take a punt on your title if they have got to know you and if you have been a customer. Try to build a reciprocal relationship with your local bookshop – they will be more likely to agree to host your launch if you can get a crowd of potential customers to visit their shop for the launch and if you recommend the shop as the place to buy the book locally in any press coverage.

Local bookshops may want to buy their stock from Gardners or Bertrams (the leading UK wholesalers) but they may also consider buying stock direct from you if you are able to offer a good discount to them. If they elect to buy copies via the wholesalers you will have to open a wholesaler account and you will have to offer larger discounts to the wholesalers as well.

	The wholesaler will ask for a discount off the cover price between 45-55% from you, the publisher. The bookshop ordering that title from the wholesaler will be given a discount of 35-40%, which comes out of the discount already given to the wholesaler. The books will need to be sent (with an invoice) from you (or whoever is dealing with the distribution of your book) to the wholesalers, and the wholesaler will send the books, on account, to the bookshop. You will get paid one month in arrears and will have to deal with returns up to 6 months after you have been paid for the books. Discounts and returns aside, this system also means that it will take up to two weeks for the local bookshop to have stock of your book. Therefore if you can persuade the local bookshop to take stock off you, you can get books into the shop more speedily and often at a better discount to you as well.

Chain Bookshops (Waterstones, WH Smiths, Borders etc) have buying departments with  buyers in most categories (fiction, non-fiction, children etc). These buyers make decisions based on what to take as ‘core stock’. With the sheer number of titles being published in the UK at the moment, it is very hard to get a title taken on as core stock. Core stocking decisions are based on the publicity and press coverage planned for a title, the history of an author (ie if they have had a bestseller, shortlisted for major prizes etc). Chains either buy direct from publishers or via the wholesalers depending on their inhouse policy and the publisher concerned. To be considered for core stock you must have had a large print run – if not, not only can you not fulfill the orders but you also can’t ever hope to break even. Chains usually ask for larger discounts 45%, though you can can negotiate lower ones if you are canny. Chains often have the ‘three for two’ offers or heavy discounts offered off books at the front of the shop. They also offer Christmas and summer reading promotions. Publishers pay the chains thousands of pounds for such promotional opportunities and these ‘selections’ are not based solely on the merit of the book as a result. Chain book buyers can wield a lot of power in traditional publishing – from having a say on the cover of a book a publisher should use to influencing print runs, though this is not going to affect the vast bulk of self published titles.Often your self published book will not be held as a core stock item inthe chains – but will be avaialble as as special order item in any UK bookshop if it has an ISBN.

Libraries
Libraries are always worth targeting if your book is suitable (thrillers, sagas, histroical romance are especially popular lends at libraries). Libraries buy through Library suppliers – the main wholesalers Bertams and Gardners do have library supply departments, but there are also specific library suppliers such as Coutts, Holt Jackson etc who are worth targeting with an Advanced Information sheet.  Libraries often run reading and writing events and so gettting to know your local libraries can open the door to your being able to promotoe your book locally.

Amazon and online booksellers
All books with an ISBN appear on Amazon as they are picked up from BookData – the bibliographical database. Sometimes only basic information will appear. As the publisher you should be able to contact Amazon and enhance the listing. Amazon will source their stock via wholesalers and your book will usually be shown with a ‘hard to find fee’ applied to it and a delivery time of 1-2 weeks.The only way to alter this is by joining their Advantage program. If you sign up to the Advantage scheme, they hold your book in stock and make it available for next day delivery BUT you have to give 60% off the cover price over to them. A way round this is to register as a Marketplace seller. Both of these issues have been discussed in passed issues of the magazine.

Wholesalers
The largest wholesalers in the UK are Bertrams and Gardners. Both deal quite happily with self published authors but you will need to open an account with each as this will then allow them to order books off you (if you have used a self publishing firm who is distributing for you, check that they have wholesaler accounts). You will have to offer larger discount up to 55% before wholesalers will buy in bulk and you also have to cover the postage costs in sending books to them. Wholesalers have their own buying teams who make decision on what books to stock. We have covered this in an previous magazine article and often look at this kind of topic.

Stock or special order?
Every book with a UK ISBN will be listed on BookData – the bibliographic database – and be available for ordering. Books can be ordered through any bookshop or wholesaler via teleordering (an email ordering system that routes direct to the listed publisher or distributor). If your book is not taken as stock by wholesalers or bookshops, it can still be ordered via the teleordering system through any bookshops. Or ordered as as a ‘special order item’ from the wholesalers.

Sale or Return
Most bookshops, wholesalers and chains order on 'sale or return'. This means that if the books do not sell, they can return them for a full refund within a 6 months period. The other type of sale is ‘firm sale’ but this is less common. Returns are unpopular throughout the publishing industry and there have been discussions about ending the practice. However, self publishers would possibly fare worse if sale or return was abolished as bookshops would be less experimental in what they order as they will have to reduce their risk if they can’t return stock.

Advance information and lead in times
The books trade works at least 6 months in advance. That means in June, the buyers are considering what to stock and promote in December etc. To be professional and to get the most from your publishing project make sure that you also work as far in advance as you can (for example Gardners publish their buying deadlines online and if you want to sell through the books trade it does pay to tailor your publishing schedule to such deadlines, not least because you can get into the wholesalers catalogues etc should you wish.

Marketing and promotion
The first marketing you will need to do is to the books trade and the libraries. They require an advanced information (AI) sheet containing all the salient points about your book. As discussed earlier, the trade works several months in advance, so the sooner you can get your AI out to the buyers the better. Basically, you don’t have to wait for your book to be printed to send the AI but you do need to have a realistic idea of its publication date. Also make sure the book is already on BookData so any interested buyers can look the title up. Trade marketing is important is it raises awareness of your book within the books trade. Libraries may also be a good source of future sales and so you can look up the local libraries in your area and ensure the library wholesalers (who supply libraries rather than bookshops) also know about the title. There are some quite good websites about that list libraries and library supply details.

After your Advanced Information sheet has gone out, you can look at putting a Press Relsease (PR) together. As a self published author it is going to be harder – though not impossible – to get noticed by the national newspapers and magazines. Such publications are generally interested in you rather than the book so if you are going to get any feature or news space you need to think about what is especially unique about you first. National newspaper review sections are incredibly hard to get reviews within anyway, self published or not, and the literary editor has a team of reviewers who submit reviews of books that have caught their eye from publisher catalogues and other such resources. They rarely review a book simply because it was sent to them to review. Marketing Mangers in the big publishers spent time socializing with the literary editors to smooth their books’ passage into such supplements, but this is going to be somewhat unfeasiable for most self publishers! It was recently noted in a seminar on marketing that getting features space in the main papers is worth more than a review in terms of sales and awareness of a book.

Many self published authors are also interested in getting their books in the Richard and Judy Book Club; again, the books are chosen several months in advance by the show’s producer and are selected from the main publishers’ catalogues of forthcoming titles. We have not yet heard that any self published book has been chosen for this section, though self published authors have featured on the Richard and Judy show for other reasons (mostly related to the author’s story, rather than the book itself).

You can get coverage in the writing and book trade press if you can sell an aspect of you or your book to the features editors. Having self published a book is no longer sufficient to guarantee you a slot on local radio or in the local press either – play up any local angles and follow up your initial enquires with a phone call.

The magazine features many Marketing and Promotion articles in most issues – and our article library contains many such articles for you to browse.