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I have friends who publish periodically through publishers, and those who self-publish. As lifeguard mentions, publishers tend to require tremendous resources f

by waster 13y ago

I have friends who publish periodically through publishers, and those who self-publish. As lifeguard mentions, publishers tend to require tremendous resources from authors, by way of huge marketing pushes/travel, blogging, promotion, marketing, etc. I'm not so well informed about the cost of production via publishers, nor the buy-back of unpurchased books from B&M stores. For those who self-publish, they still do their own marketing. E-published people invest the least cost (i.e., no printing), and perhaps equal time on marketing/promotion. Paper-published people invest more up front because of printing, but perhaps reach a wider audience if they can get their books into B&M stores and because like it or not, many people still prefer paper. This is admittedly unscientific; my sample size is about 20, though some of them blog about their experiences, and refer to their own circles of authors and their experiences, as well. As for your proposed book topic, sounds like a wonderful idea to me.

mittermayr 13y ago
Thanks for the interesting insights. As said in another comment below, there are some great advantages of self-publishing. However, buying back unsold copies from a publisher, even having to invest a single dollar in something other than researching the book is pretty unheard of for renowed publishing houses, at least from what I can gather through my limited experience and contacts. In addition, a lot of the editing, layouting, franchise and distribution work is far more reliable, affordable and streamlined through a publisher's capabilities compared to kick-starting my own efforts on these topics. Self-marketing your books online might have experienced a great change indeed, but I believe there's a whole lot of work between writing the book and selling it. And that's where the publisher usually stands out (still, unfortunately). Happy you like the idea, this is reassuring. Thanks!

by waster 13y ago

mittermayr 13y ago

Thanks for the interesting insights. As said in another comment below, there are some great advantages of self-publishing. However, buying back unsold copies from a publisher, even having to invest a single dollar in something other than researching the book is pretty unheard of for renowed publishing houses, at least from what I can gather through my limited experience and contacts. In addition, a lot of the editing, layouting, franchise and distribution work is far more reliable, affordable and streamlined through a publisher's capabilities compared to kick-starting my own efforts on these topics. Self-marketing your books online might have experienced a great change indeed, but I believe there's a whole lot of work between writing the book and selling it. And that's where the publisher usually stands out (still, unfortunately). Happy you like the idea, this is reassuring. Thanks!