Get quotes form many different printers,
preferably not your local copyshop who is used to doing wedding invitations, not books.
Your reference librarian can direct you to directories of printers. I know too many people
who have overpaid a printer who was not equipped to print books. Find someone who has a
lot of book-printing experience, not someone who says, "Sure, we can figure out how
to do that." Your book doesn't need to be someone's learning experience. Not looking
long enough to find the right printer is the most costly mistake I see self-publishers
making.Will you be able to
"typeset" the book on your computer? DO NOT PRODUCE A BOOK THAT LOOKS
TYPEWRITTEN! It is unprofessional. Do not expect the typesetter or printer to correct any
errors you have made. They do not normally proofread, so anything you send them must be
already correct.
Try to produce a book of at least 100 typeset
pages. A bibliography and index will sell more books to schools and libraries.
Decide how many copies to produce. If you are
doing a state book, think about 2,000 to 5,000 copies. I started with 5,000 copies of
Haunted Ohio and sold out in 6 weeks. The more you print, the cheaper your per-copy-cost
will be. I see too many people who print 500 copies at $5.00 per book when the book will
only sell for $7.00. You might think $2.00 per book is a good profit, but it isn't really.
And that margin would mean that you would have to sell all 500 books yourself. You MUST be
able to produce your books cheaply enough so that you can make a profit when selling them
to distributors and bookstores for 50% off cover price. In other words, if your book sells
for $10.00, you must produce it for a lot less than $5.00 if you want to sell to
bookstores at a profit. I know of several printers who can produce 100-page paperback
books for less than $1.00 a copy for 1,000 copies. You don't necessarily need a local
printer. Don't worry about being able to control the project from a distance. Most
printers value their reputations and will not slack off even if you don't live next door.
Of course, you should always ask for, and check, their references. The local Better
Business Bureau can also tell you if they've had complaints. John Kremer's directory of
short-run printers is also an excellent and essential resource. Get estimates from at
least 10 printers before you choose. They will want to know things like number of pages,
dimension of book, color or black and white cover? Photos to be printed? How many copies?
The more you learn before you approach a printer, the less likely it is you'll be taken
advantage of.
The newest wrinkle in self-publishing is Print On
Demand or POD. These printers will print and bind books only as they are ordered.
Depending on which promotional package you choose (some will offer your books to
Amazon.com and other online sites) the upfront cost is modest compared to contracting with
a printer. You receive a royalty for each book sold, even for books you personally buy at
a discount to resell at your appearances. I sell some of these books and the quality is
perfectly adequate. You do have to go along with their standard sizes and page counts.
With this kind of technology, you have no excuse
for not publishing your book. Unfortunately, to judge by some of the books on the POD
sites, too many people have decided there's no excuse. The POD catalogs are an
ego-fest of memoirs, bad poetry, thoughts on Life and Love, diatribes and rants. You can
tell by the blurbs (many self-written) that the writing is horrid and the book will
probably not sell many copies. But if you produce an interesting book of ghost stories,
this will not apply to you! Some POD authors have gone on to have their books bought by
"real" publishers.
If you intend to sell to bookstores and
distributors, you'll need an ISBN number and a bar-code. The self-publishing books will
give you information on where to get these numbers. If you produce through iUniverse.com,
buybooksontheweb.com, or other POD sites, they should supply these items. To find a POD
site, just search for "Print on Demand."
NEVER PRODUCE A COMB-BOUND BOOK! (bound with a plastic spiral spine like a cookbook). You will kill
bookstore and library sales. Customers see them as flimsy and cheap. I CANNOT sell them in
my catalog. Your choices are probably Saddle-Stitched or Smyth-Sewn (these terms mean
stapled) or perfect bound, which is the standard paperback binding. I, as well as
librarians and bookstores, prefer bound books, even though they cost me a little more.
Make sure your printer can do perfect binding without having to send it out to another
company.
What shape and size will your book be? Ask the
printers what their standard sizes are and work with those. You will save money if you
stay away from unusual sizes and shapes.
You do not need a graphic designer to make your
book look good. Find a book in the library you like the look of and either copy the type
and layout or ask your typesetter to do so. This is perfectly legal. (I'm only
recommending copying layout, not content!) You only need a good eye. Leave some white
space, but don't double-space text or between paragraphs or your reader will fell like you
are padding the book. 12 point type is about the right size type (this is 12 point type).
Stay away from fancy types like script or gothic except possibly as title page or chapter
title emphasis. And don't switch types all over the book. Always choose a text type-font
that has little feet or "serifs" –it is easier to read. This type is a
serif type. This is a "sans-serif"
type. Avoid it for text.
The cover needs to look very, very good. Better a
plain cover than something that looks like your child drew it. Avoid friends who want to
illustrate your book unless they make their living doing art. Vintage photos, maps, clip
art or plain lettering are all fine. Avoid solid black/dark covers—they scratch, mar
and are hard to print. Laminate or coat your cover (printer will know about this) to make
it less vulnerable. Book dealers will return scratched books to you.
Find a distributor so you can sell to
bookstores all over the state without killing yourself. To find a distributor, talk to the
manager of your local chain bookstore (Waldenbooks, B Dalton, Barnes & Noble, etc).
Make an appointment and ask if the manager thinks a book like this would sell. Ask what
the book should sell for, what size book it should be, and who their distributors are and
how to get in touch with those distributors. They should be able to put you in touch with
a regional buyer.
A distributor buys your books at a
discount—from 40 to 55% and resells them to bookstores. You get paid in 90-120 days.
These buyers may return books they don't sell. They do not advertise your books to the
bookstores—you have to create the demand so people will ask bookstores for your book.
You create demand by sending out press releases
to all state newspapers and magazines about two weeks before you know you will have
finished books, which better be sometime before Halloween. Tell the journalists to ask for
review copies if they are interested. Expect to send out approx. 50-100 review copies out
of a run of 1,000 books. If all goes well, everyone will call you for interviews and give
you publicity that costs you no more than the cost of the book and postage to mail it. Do
the same for local TV and radio shows. I send out a postcard ("Greetings from Haunted
Ohio!") that says "author available for interview." TV, radio, and print
media addresses can be found in various directories at your library.
When you have books in hand, send out
fliers/postcards/brochures to all bookstores and libraries in your state. These don't have
to be fancy, but include cover are, title, author, dimensions of book, page count,
features like photos, index, bibliography and approximate grade level, i.e.: Ages 9 and
up. Adults. Ages 12 and over. Be sure you give the ISBN number and the price. Expect to
take purchase orders and be paid in 30-60 days. There should be no returns from library
buyers. Treat them nicely. If you think your book would appeal to kids, do a similar
mailing to schools.
If you are selling books through the mail,
include realistic shipping costs—say $2.50 first book and $1.00 each additional copy.
For libraries, bookstores, buying multiple copies, say you'll bill them for actual costs
or I say $7.50 maximum and usually send UPS.
Some people think library sales hurt them because
people will only read the book at the library, but I include an order blank in the back of
all of my books. Folks get the book at the library, copy the form and order their own copy
directly from me.
How many copies can you expect to sell? Most
bookstores are happy if they sell 6 copies of any title in a year, but ghost stories
should sell much more than that.
YOU MUST have books out in time for Halloween. Be
sure you have finished books in July or August—that will give you time to get them to
distributors for Halloween. It takes about 2-3 months to get into most distributors'
systems. Ask you printer for their best estimate on how long the book will take to print.
Then build in two to four weeks for problems. Something ALWAYS goes wrong. Sometimes
printers will "bump" smaller jobs and your book will be delayed. You might want
to ask for a contract containing penalties for non-timely delivery since this is a
season-sensitive subject. Still, you'll be surprised to find how well ghost books sell
year-round. But you need the big rush of media publicity you'll get if you have books
available before Halloween.
If you like public speaking, you can tell schools
and libraries that you are available to give talks. I charge $400 per talk plus mileage
and hotel in some circumstances. I charge $600 per talk if I am not allowed to
sell my books. Fees for all-day visits to schools are negotiable.
Other possible places to sell your book: tourist
gift shops, hotels, B&Bs, restaurants (especially if they are mentioned in your book),
prisons, hospital gift shops, librarian conferences, bookfairs, festivals.
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