This page is meant to give some advice to any budding authors thinking about self-publishing. Broadly speaking it's broken into two sections:
1. Getting published.
2. Marketing once you're published.
This is all very brief, so if you would like further information please contact me via the website:
1. GETTING A BOOK PUBLISHED:
The main thought in my mind was that the finished article needed to look at least as good as other books, otherwise no one would take it seriously. So I took my time and made sure I was totally happy with the quality of what I put together.
i. WEBSITE
My starting point was a simple website with a few downloads (www.martincororan.com). You can then use it as a reference point in conversation e.g. 'Samples of my work can be found at...' A friend put mine together in a few hours.
ii. EDITING
Firstly, get some good friends together, give them your work to read and ask: 'Am I a good writer or am I awful? What needs changing? Does the plot catch your attention? etc.' It's worth getting some candid opinions up front before you start spending money.
Next, the manuscript needs to be copy-edited and / or proof read by a professional editor. Copy-editing is like skim-reading with corrections. Proof reading is more in-depth (and costs more). Check out www.sfep.org.uk/ for registered professionals.
iii. TYPESETTING
Putting the manuscript into the correct Adobe format for printing. Most companies seem to charge by the page (which is rubbish). Try to find someone who'll give you a flat rate. You need to pick a font. My advice would be to find a book with a layout that you like and then copy it.
iv. COVER / SLEEVE DESIGN
Massively important - Despite the saying, EVERYONE judges a book by its cover. I had an idea of what I wanted, but knew that I didn't possess the skills to produce it, so I hired a graphic-designer friend, and together we came up with the attached graphic. If you imagine yourself in front of a retailer whose never heard of you, their first impression of the product is everything.
v. PRINTING
Personally, I would not recommend Print-On-Demand (POD) companies because if you print them one at a time the unit costs will be at least three times what they are printing in bulk, plus they use laser printers so the quality isn't as good (However, it costs a lot less up front so there are pros and cons).
Most books have details of where they were printed on the first few pages. Ring one and get a quote. You're probably looking at a minimum run of 500.
You have to choose things like paper quality / cover finish etc, but again, as long as you take your time and ask questions when you don't understand it's pretty straight forward. I used ‘Cox & Wyman’ who happen to be in Reading (where I live) and who print loads of UK paperbacks.
vi. PRICING
Work out a break even point i.e. how much am I selling them for and how many do I need to sell to recoup my costs. If you're going for coverage I'd write the money off, because then: i. you can relax, and ii. you can give promo copies away.
2. MARKETING IT ONCE YOU'RE PUBLISHED
i. GET IT ONLINE
In the UK Amazon do a service call 'Marketplace' which is effectively home-selling. Your book appears in the listing as per normal. When someone buys a copy Amazon take a small fee and charge postage on your behalf. You get a mail informing you of a sale, you send the order out yourself and Amazon pay you every 30 days. This is how I’ve started. See my listing at www.amazon.co.uk
ii. TELL EVERYONE YOU KNOW
In the first month of touting the book I went from slightly embarrassed to shameless self publicist. It is (unfortunately) the only way you're going to get anywhere. I sent a mail with a link to my site / Amazon and went from there.
iii. GET AN AGREEMENT WITH A WHOLESALER
My experience was that none of the retailers wanted to deal with me directly. They wanted it to follow the same route as big publishers. The main Wholesalers are Garners and Bertrams. Neither has been willing to stock my book, but Gardners are acting as a middleman i.e. I contact Waterstones and inform them that the book is available, they order it from Gardners, Garners order it from me. It’s laborious, but a means to an end.
Set up a 'trading agreement.'As you're effectively the publishing house in the UK you'd be looking to retain 50-60% of the retail price. Once this is set up you can start approaching book-shops.
iv. PUT A PRESS RELEASE TOGETHER
A one page PDF showing all the important details of your book. I use it to send mail-shots to bookshops and then ring back to discuss. My current hit rate's about 1 in 4.
v. BLOGGING / FORUMS
See http://themeltingpot.blogsome.com/. I’ve also joined 10-15 online forums to start networking. Both are free.
vi. LOCAL RADIO / PAPERS
I managed to get an interview on BBC radio Berkshire (which is available to download from www.martincororan.com). Self-publishing is pretty rare, so people tend to be interested.
vii. FACEBOOK / MYSPACE
Have a look at the group 'The Melting Pot' on Facebook (etc...)
In closing, I'd like to emphasise that doing it yourself is REALLY HARD WORK. I wouldn't want to give you an unrealistically glowing picture, BUT it is really exciting, thoroughly recommended, and results in people actually reading your work!