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Writing a book is a complex, often emotional experience – and so is publishing one. Today’s self-publishing environment has its foundation in businesses designed to help authors ease into the process and market their books more successfully. But each business develops its own models and services, so knowing what to expect in self-publishing becomes a priority before you hire any publishing partner.
Let me say upfront that self-publishing on a basic level consists of an individual author investing his own time and money to produce and market his books. Conversely, if you land a book contract with a royalty publisher, they will take on the bulk of the investment and time.
Understandably, many companies shy away from the term “self-publishing” as it grew a bad reputation over the years, with the “vanity publisher” denoting a company taking money from ambitious authors looking for book contracts.
As a prospective author, you must understand the options available to you and not be misled from companies that claim not to be self-publishers and yet require some form of up-front payment in exchange for their services.
Don’t get me wrong; the examples in this blog are not necessarily bad options to have. The trouble I have is when “vanity” publishing companies disguise themselves as royalty publishers.
So let’s pull away the mask and reveal the choices available to today’s author.
Pay Now, Rebate Later
Some publishing companies provide a base price for editing, designing and producing books. Typically, they receive the bulk of the royalty (or return on profit) from the book sales.
However, as an incentive for their authors to sell certain number of books – typically, 2,500 to 5,000 units – the publisher contracts to rebate the fee paid for the publishing services. Before you decide if this model works best for you, be sure you have a solid plan for selling those units. Check to see what timeframe the publishing agreement allows for you sell those numbers.
The rebate model works for some authors, but don’t be fooled into thinking that this is not self-publishing even though there’s the promise of refund on your investment.
- You paid for the services to publish, and you must take the initiative to sell the books.
- But the company retains the higher percentage of the profits from your sales, similar to a royalty publisher – so no matter how many thousands of units you sell, the publishing company ultimately profits most.
If you’re willing to accept the idea of a lower piece of the profits, there’s nothing necessarily wrong with this publishing model, as the publisher contributes the initial work to produce the book.
We Publish, You Buy
Landing a book contract is an exciting achievement. It means that someone recognized the merit of your work and is willing to offer you money for it.
But some publishing companies can be tricky in their tactics at offering a publishing contract. They set themselves up as royalty publishers, absorbing all production and distribution costs. However, they add a clause in the contract that requires you to personally buy back a certain number of books at the production cost plus a little more over the lifetime of the contract.
With this model, as with the last one, the publishing company typically gains the most profit on your sales.
Again, this blog is not to criticize a certain publishing model. You should choose the model that makes the most sense to you. However, if you are required to buy back the books at certain price, you are paying for the costs it took to produce and distribute it. The only difference is it comes later rather than upfront.
We Publish, You Pay for Marketing
Another model that works for authors is to select a publisher who will front the cost for publishing your book in exchange for you investing a contracted amount of marketing dollars.
Initially this sounds like a great deal; after all, you will need to invest in marketing even if you royalty publish. In fact you have to prove you are already successfully marketing you author brand in most cases.
This model usually comes with the contingency that you purchase specific marketing programs with the publisher. If you choose this route, be sure to look at the marketing program they are offering you. Every author is different and every book is unique. You want marketing that is tailored to your book and your expectations.
Ask yourself . . .
Before you sign a book contract, ask the following questions to unveil the marketing mask.
- How much will I have to pay the publisher, now or in the future? If the answer is more than zero, they are a self-publisher.
- How much return on my profit sales do I receive? If it is not close to 100% you should consider the value of paying for the publishing service up front and reaping the reward from your sales.
- Does the publisher specifically state that they are not a self-publishing company? If they have to state it, chances are they are disguising the label. True royalty publishers don’t have to advertise themselves as such.
Conclusion
If you’re considering self-publishing, stay aware of the various forms of publishing services. No matter what model you choose, look past the often disguised rhetoric and pick a publisher that demonstrates the capabilities, experience and quality that your book deserves.