Buyer Beware in the World of Self-publishing

Every once in awhile I fit the category of "there's a sucker born every minute." It is not often, but I do get fooled from time to time. When I made the decision to venture into the field of self-publishing, I had my don't get fooled hat on and still managed to make a couple of decisions that were not too smart.

Based on life experience I managed to avoid several costly errors. I have learned the hard way two valuable lessons; do your homework first as well as you can and there is no substitute for hard work. My Dad also taught me if it sounds to good to be true it is.

Applying these lessons to self-publishing leads me to make the following suggestions to fledgling self-publishers or experienced authors who are moving into the realm of self-publishing (please note, these are only suggestions, you can do what you think is best):

1) Do not pay for book marketing services unless you are certain the vendor you are considering using can actually deliver on what is promised for the fee charged.

2) If you do pay for book marketing services, do a cost analysis first. Will the cost of the program generate enough book sales to cover the cost and turn a reasonable profit?

3) Do not pay for book reviews. Much has been written on how to obtain free reviews. Do you homework and do the work to obtain the reviews. All too often these review for pay services do not deliver on what they promise.

4) Do not jump quickly to use an author services company. There are reputable ones out there. Many are a waste of money. Again, do your homework before you use this approach. I strongly suggest self-publishing entirely on your own.

Before you make this decision I recommend purchasing and reading three books. POD for Profit by Aaron Shepard, Print-on-Demand Book Publishing by Morris Rosenthal and my own Self-Publishing With Amazon's CreateSpace.  

Mr. Shepard's book deals with using Lightning Source Inc, as a POD printer and distributor. Mr. Rosenthal's book details the business model of using POD to self-publish and then marketing books on Amazon. My book deals with both developing a business model using POD as well as how to use the features and services of CreateSpace to self-publish books.

5) Do consider hiring an editor to edit your book as well as an experienced book designer to create your cover design and interior. Again, do your homework and check references. Reputable professionals are happy to produce references.

The number one key to a successful book is quite simply a good book. Your first step in succeeding as a self-published author is to write a good book.

Marketing and promoting your book is going to largely be up to you, regardless of the method of publishing you choose. 

Finally, be aware self-publishing is a business. You will need to have a business plan that includes a budget, a marketing and promotion plan, a means to distribute books, collect funds from sales, keep records for taxes and pay for all the other expenses self-publishing can generate.

To Use An Author Services Company Or Not?

The following is an excerpt from 301 Frequently Asked Questions About Self-Publishing.

42. What is an author services company?

An author services company is a business that accepts payment from an author to help the author publish a book. Author services companies are also known as self-publishing companies, a misnomer, or sometimes as a vanity press, a derogatory term for self-publishing.

The services offered by an author services company include editing, proofreading, interior design, cover design, and typesetting. Marketing services are also a common offering now as well. Some author services, for a fee, will also apply for a copyright for the author and obtain a Library of Congress Number as well, all services an author can do without the help of an author services company, thereby avoiding extra fees for services rendered.

43. Are there advantages to using an author services company?

For a first time author, an author services company can offer several advantages, if the author takes the time to find a reputable, quality author services company. These advantages include providing editing, interior design, cover design services for a fee instead of the author having to search for and contract with freelancers to provide these same services.

44. Are there disadvantages to using an author services company?

The two biggest disadvantages are cost and the time involved in getting a book to press. The charge for the services involved may be higher than if an author hired freelancers to do the work and the cost per copy could be inflated as many author services companies sell copies to the author at an inflated price per copy.

Author services companies have many clients and work on a first-come, first-serve basis. Author services companies usually want to produce work in a reasonably timely manner, but due to the number of titles the company is working on at a given time, this is often not possible. Author services companies (and vanity presses) commonly tack on a surcharge per copy sold, decreasing the amount of profit per copy of the author.

45. How can I determine if a self-publishing author services company is reputable or not?

It takes careful research to find a reputable author services company. There are several steps an author can take to determine if a company is reputable. A good starting point is Mark Levine’s book The Fine Print of Self-Publishing. This book does not review a wide range of author services companies, but provides a considerable amount of information about contracts and the obligations of all parties involved in the contracts.
The Better Business Bureau has records and ratings for many author services companies. This information is all available via the internet and the information included in the ratings can be telling about a company.
 

Word-of-mouth recommendations, or reviews, are also an excellent source of information but be sure to obtain more than one review or opinion about a company. Post a request for opinions on a message board site for self-publishers and considerable feedback will be made available by the members of the group using the message board. Don’t rely on the customer references provided by the company. These may be perfectly legitimate but companies with a bad reputation want to control the feedback given about the company and the quality of its service and work and will select the few authors who are happy with the company’s services to act as references.

 

CreateSpace Continues To Add New Services - Interior Design Templates Now Available - More Competition For Author Services Companies!

Amazon and CreateSpace appear to be serious about making inroads in the self-publishing industry as CreateSpace continues to offer an ever expanding array of new services for authors who desire to self-publish.  The latest addition to the services offered by CreateSpace are interior design templates.

For authors who are just entering the field of self-publishing, funds are often limited, making it difficult for an author to afford professional interior design and layout for their book. CreateSpace templates make it possible for self-publishing authors to improve their interior design, creating a more professional appearing book.

This new feature could be a major boon to the industry as one of the complaints often voiced about self-published books is the poor design of the cover and interior. The greater the number of self-published books that have quality design, the better for all self-publishing authors.

The new feature will introduce competition in the market for other author services companies who often charge significant sums of money to layout the interior of a book. This move would seem to indicate CreateSpace wants to challenge the competition in the author services industry.

Below is the information from CreateSpace announcing the new service.

Creating Content

New Interior Book Templates

Need some help preparing your book's interior as a PDF to meet our submission guidelines? We recently introduced new interior book templates in Microsoft Word to help make the interior file creation process easier for you. Templates are available in a variety of standard trim sizes. Here's a quick overview of how you can use these templates to create your book's interior: 1.     Select the template that fits your manuscript's needs and trim size 2.     Copy and paste your content into the template 3.     Proof each page 4.     Convert your document into PDF format - get specific instructions here