4 ms·

Or you can keep 100% of your own self publication monies. If 10% of whatever you think O'Reilly can get you is more it might be a reasonable deal?

Finnucane 5y ago
Out of which you pay for editing, copyediting, proofreading, typesetting, printing, warehousing, distribution, promotion. You will be doing pretty well if you still have 10% left after that.
- ghaff 5y ago
  Yes, you do pretty much need to pay at least something for editing and copyediting. (Also possibly at least cover design.) But you probably shouldn't be expecting a publisher to be doing heavy editing for you either. As for the others, you also shouldn't be expecting the publisher to mail out review copies, arrange book signings, etc. Or other promotion that goes beyond just being part of the publisher's stable of books. That's going to be on you. As for the others, with print on demand someone can order a book through Amazon. No involvement on your part.
  - Finnucane 5y ago
    Where I work, we still do all those things, but it's academia. POD is pretty high unit cost. Good luck with that.
    - ghaff 5y ago
      The printing cost for a 200 or so page 6"x9" softcover in Kindle Direct Publishing with color cover and B&W interior is about $4. So if you sell it for $10, you collect about 50%. However, in my case, I give away an eBook. The book is mostly on Amazon so physical books can be ordered for a book signing at an event. I have it priced just a bit above cost. One key with editing is that you need someone willing to put in the time to do a careful job. In my experience, asking a co-worker tends not to work well. About the only time I get carefully edited (mostly copyediting) is when I'm actually working with an editor.
gnat 5y ago
(O'R author and former editor 1999-2006 here) If finance is your only motivation for how you spend your time, do not write a book. It's a very long tail business. Good sales, whether you self-publish or have a publisher, come from great marketing -- the right topic and a high-profile author who is very visible and gets the book noticed by many people. The odds of that being you are very small indeed. Why would anyone write a book? To spread the knowledge, to gain some mana for the author, to gain some mana for the product, to support a consulting business. ("Author of ...") All those motivations are more strongly rewarded when you're published by "A Real Publisher" (doesn't have to be O'Reilly). Real publishers have distribution, and have a brand you and the product and the consulting business can benefit from. If you think you have the reputation and the visibility that will sell your book, definitely think about self-publishing. If you're prepared to invest the time in things that aren't coding and aren't writing (managing reviews, hiring a copyeditor, getting figures, having a professional index built, designing or managing a designer of a cover, etc.) then self-publishing might let you have a commercial success of a book. But books are like startups: most die in the dark. Self-publishing or going with a name publisher is just arguing about 10% vs 90% of bugger all.

Finnucane 5y ago

Out of which you pay for editing, copyediting, proofreading, typesetting, printing, warehousing, distribution, promotion. You will be doing pretty well if you still have 10% left after that.

ghaff 5y ago
Yes, you do pretty much need to pay at least something for editing and copyediting. (Also possibly at least cover design.) But you probably shouldn't be expecting a publisher to be doing heavy editing for you either. As for the others, you also shouldn't be expecting the publisher to mail out review copies, arrange book signings, etc. Or other promotion that goes beyond just being part of the publisher's stable of books. That's going to be on you. As for the others, with print on demand someone can order a book through Amazon. No involvement on your part.
- Finnucane 5y ago
  Where I work, we still do all those things, but it's academia. POD is pretty high unit cost. Good luck with that.
  - ghaff 5y ago
    The printing cost for a 200 or so page 6"x9" softcover in Kindle Direct Publishing with color cover and B&W interior is about $4. So if you sell it for $10, you collect about 50%. However, in my case, I give away an eBook. The book is mostly on Amazon so physical books can be ordered for a book signing at an event. I have it priced just a bit above cost. One key with editing is that you need someone willing to put in the time to do a careful job. In my experience, asking a co-worker tends not to work well. About the only time I get carefully edited (mostly copyediting) is when I'm actually working with an editor.

gnat 5y ago

(O'R author and former editor 1999-2006 here) If finance is your only motivation for how you spend your time, do not write a book. It's a very long tail business. Good sales, whether you self-publish or have a publisher, come from great marketing -- the right topic and a high-profile author who is very visible and gets the book noticed by many people. The odds of that being you are very small indeed. Why would anyone write a book? To spread the knowledge, to gain some mana for the author, to gain some mana for the product, to support a consulting business. ("Author of ...") All those motivations are more strongly rewarded when you're published by "A Real Publisher" (doesn't have to be O'Reilly). Real publishers have distribution, and have a brand you and the product and the consulting business can benefit from. If you think you have the reputation and the visibility that will sell your book, definitely think about self-publishing. If you're prepared to invest the time in things that aren't coding and aren't writing (managing reviews, hiring a copyeditor, getting figures, having a professional index built, designing or managing a designer of a cover, etc.) then self-publishing might let you have a commercial success of a book. But books are like startups: most die in the dark. Self-publishing or going with a name publisher is just arguing about 10% vs 90% of bugger all.