I have started the process of looking to self-publish my highly anticipated debut novel. I have spoken with one firm, which is trying to sell me on the idea of a run of 1500 copies at around $10,000. The representative told me that a smaller run would not make any financial sense. I will check with other organizations to see if I am hearing the same thing.
I am also going to consider going the Kindle route. What I need to know there is do I still retain 100 percent of my rights to the work. If not, that is an issue for me as I still want to publish this novel in old-fashion book form.
My big dilemma comes if I am looking at an investment of $10,000 - which I do not have. Kickstarter appears to be the way to go. If I don't raise the funds, than Kindle would be my back up plan.
The big question - can I convince 500 people to give me $20? I need to meditate a little more on the answer.
2 comments:
I'll buy a copy.
"one firm, which is trying to sell me on the idea of a run of 1500 copies at around $10,000."
Question 1: What happens to your 1500 books? Do they get distributed to retailers/businesses or delivered to your home?
Question 2: If they are distributed to retailers/businesses, how long will the retailers keep them in stock/on the shelves? What happens afterwards?
Question 3: If they are shipped to your home, how will you distribute/sell them? Do you have a plan?
Also, have you thought about creating the books yourself? Printing might be your biggest cost and you can find plenty of articles on how to bind your books online. You probably could charge more because of the uniqueness/rarity of your books (until you acquired your necessary funding to go mainstream, of course) ;)
Remember, that sales person will probably make a nice commission from that sale. Try to negotiate for better terms. Everything is negotiable. Everything.
"I still want to publish this novel in old-fashion book form."
Keep in mind of the demographics of your novel. If you aim this for 40-65-year-olds, the old-fashion method is probably the way to go. Otherwise, ebooks are still a great alternative. You could even record yourself reading the book as bonus content to charge more and possibly earn royalty from audiobook websites.
Oh the possibilities...
I was browsing the net and saw this. I thought I'd comment.
Answers to your questions
1. You take them home. All marketing is up to you.
2. With perhaps the exception of a local mom and pop book store who might carry one or two copies, they will not be distributing to anyone.
3. No major store will carry your books. They will allow you to do book signings, but you must provide all books. Their cut is 55% of all sales.
My name is Michael Drakich. I am currently a self published author. I originally had a small publisher but we parted ways. You can find me at Goodreads or my website - http://michaeldrakich.wordpress.com/
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