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Log file opened at: 5/15/01 19:00:14 WTYates: Well, where is everybody??? Carmen: Who knows? diagocat: Good question Peggy: Carmen, this would be a great place for that vacation! Carmen: Yes, I know. I was the one who suggested he move there. Peggy: LOL Carmen: He wants to go back to Hawaii, but not a lot of jobs. Carmen: I have a few friends in the business and so when I go home tomorrow I'll check out Hawaii and see Carmen: Maybe no one is interested in Self publishing. No problem WTYates: Does he do studio stuff? Peggy: Bill, if we don't get any more folks in the next few minutes, we might want to let Carmen go... WTYates: Sure... Take off whenever you need to, Carmen... Carmen: Yes, he does diagocat: No, make Carmen stay. I want to hear about self-publishing. Carmen: We'll see what happens. What I thought is we'd do a Q&A since it's such a HUGE topic. WTYates: He could try Nashville or LA, too. Carmen: I'll be happy to stay Carmen: He doesn't want to go to Nashville and he can't afford to live in LA right now WTYates: OK. We're under way. Now that that's done... Carmen: What he really wants is SFO and that's a great place for Audio post. Just too expensive too. Carmen: OK WTYates: Oh, yes, it is! OK... Questions? diagocat: I would like to know about publishing small booklets rather than full sized books. WTYates: No protocol. Peggy: (oh, goody!) Carmen: The information is just the same. You need to make sure you have editing and also a way to market the booklets. All that's really different is format and should you get an ISBN. Let me tell you a bit about my background. I am coming out with my third self published book next month. What you have to remember is that when you self publish it is actually going into business for yourself. So you have to get all the licenses and pay taxes and all that. What specific questions do you have, cat? Or anyone else. Peggy: Take it from step #1... how do you get the process started? Carmen: Decide on a topic is the first thing. I have found that novels are very hard to sell without a huge network. diagocat: Well, I know nothing about self-pub. I wrote a bunch of stuff for Themestream and would kind of like to put them together in a booklet. Carmen: What would you do with the booklet? And why self publishing? There are different types of self publishing these days. You can go with a packager, like what I do. Or you can do Print on Demand, or you can do Electronic. Peggy: Explain the difference? Carmen: Any of these all require the same thing. A well written and edited manuscript and marketing. Actually there are 4 or 5 ways. A book packager is a company that takes your words and makes them into the book. They do typesetting, layout design, cover, printing, bindery and eventually ship you the finished product. Typically it's a one stop shop and they do no fewer than 500 - 1000 copies. You can also save some money by doing your own typeset and design, cover, and then piecemeal. Find a printer for the inside. Find one for the cover. take everything to a bindery. You CAN save money, but you can also make many more mistakes. Unless you are doing a huge number, I don't suggest that. With POD, like iUniverse, they store your manuscript and only print books as orders are received. Much higher per piece, and many, many retailers won't carry the books as there are no returns. Generally, self published books are almost impossible to get into retail stores. What's important to remember is that bookstores don't buy from people or publishers. They buy from distributors. Distributors buy from publishers, not people. It's possible to get in with a distributor, but not easy. Peggy: Carmen, what route did Rosey Dow go with Reaping the Whirlwind? I remember following her through the whole agonizing thing. Carmen: The next way is Electronic books and that is where the manuscript is accessed electronically. Rosey went through a book packager. WTYates: She went with Winepress. They are a packager. Peggy: Okay, thanks :) Carmen: She also chose them to do the fulfillment, storage and PR program. WTYates: Athena Dean heads it up. She has spoken to us before. Carmen: I went through a similar company in Canada but didn't go for anything beyond getting the book Peggy: Does anyone know if Rosey has made a profit yet? WTYates: She got a Christy nomination! Peggy: I know... isn't that phenomenal? Carmen: No, Rosey has not made a profit as far as I know. She did get the nomination so hopefully they will spur sales. WTYates: She is selling through her website. Carmen: I need to find out how she's doing. Peggy: I ordered it through her website and read the book. It's great. Carmen: The book is great, but getting the word out is hard and, in her case, expensive since she used a PR firm. Hopefully it will pay off. So why would anyone self publish? Peggy: Good question! WTYates: Subject not attractive to a publisher. Dar: Always my point! Carmen: For me it was the topic and I was passionate. I also knew that with only 30,000 people in the US with Huntington Disease, no publisher wanted my book. Locality, legacy, control, timeliness are all other reasons. With Rosey, the 100th anniversary was last year and she wanted to capitalize on that. My self publishing has paid off quite well, but it is unbelievably hard. Peggy: Impeccable timing! Carmen: Impeccable if you can get the word out. Otherwise, who cares? I'm not saying she didn't, I'm saying it always goes back to marketing. And that's frustrating when what you want to do is spread the good news or help someone. But that is the nature of the business. And publishing, self or otherwise.The biggest negative besides marketing is cash flow. Unless you run to Kinko's and run off copies of a booklet, which can be done nicely, you are talking a lot of money unless you POD. Or do Electronic. Peggy: Carmen, "WriterSpeaker.com" is not a self-published book, right? Carmen: No, WriterSpeaker.com is a royalty book and I will never make as much money on that book. I make about $1.00 per book after the advance is paid, versus $15.95 on Faces of Huntington's. Peggy: Wow! That's quite a difference Carmen: But ... WriterSpeaker.com gave me credibility as an author. All of the sudden, someone besides myself thinks I can actually write a book. So there are lots of different reasons to write a book and many ways to accomplish your goals. Thanks to having a book for writers and speakers AND having successfully published my own books, I am a draw at conferences. Any other questions just jump in. Peggy: Okay, so, what would be your recommendation to a 'new' writer about getting published? The normal route...POD... etc.? Carmen: I get asked would I ever self publish a novel and my answer is, probably not. WTYates: How do you get an ISBN? Carmen: You have to buy them in blocks of ten. When you self publish or POD then the company assigns you one of theirs. For questions like that, I suggest you pick up a copy of Dan Poynter's Self Publishing Manual Peggy: Ten? Yikes... what is the cost? Carmen: I think it's around $120.00 for one these days. Don't quote me as I get mine from the publisher. Peggy: For one Number or one Block? Carmen: Honestly, it's typically better to work with someone and piggyback on theirs unless you have other books Carmen: EACH Peggy: ::::groan::::: WTYates: And the distributors won't take you without one... Carmen: And then there are details like submitting to Books in Print, the Library of Congress. Things like that. Dan's book is still the best there is Carmen: No, they sure won't. So this is a must. Carmen: My bookstore at http://www.writerspeaker.com/bookstore1.html has a lot of books I recommend. I also suggest going to the library and asking there. In WriterSpeaker.com I have a complete section on alternative forms of publishing and a slew of related links. People always ask me numbers, so I will tell them if you are interested Peggy: Say I go the regular route and submit a ms to a publisher...it gets accepted [in my dreams!] etc.... do *I* still have to get an ISDN ...or will the publisher get one? Carmen: No, the publisher does all the work Peggy: Well, that's cool :) Carmen: They also now officially own your book too WTYates: That's why he gets the big bucks! Carmen: He takes all the risks. Just like I risked 12,500 on my first title Peggy: Hmmm. we've lost our audience ;( Carmen: But I paid it off, donated $10,000 or so to charity, self produced a CD from the proceeds and am still making money Carmen: Oh well.... LOL. I still own the book. WTYates: Good show! Peggy: This is your first HD book? Carmen: Hey, if they don't ask questions, I can't answer them. Carmen: Yes, my first HD book Peggy: That's super, Carmen! Carmen: I have actually made about $40,000 over 3 years. Not getting rich, but it's not costing me anything. And now of course I have a reputation for when the next one comes out June 15. WTYates: Did you ever get the art work for the current book? Peggy: It's weird. you know, for a newbie writer to see all this and realize everything that's involved! Carmen: Hopefully a ready slate of buyers too Peggy: Scary, even Carmen: Yes, Bill I did. The USPS FORGOT TO PUT THE POSTAGE ON AND IT CAME BACK AFTER THREE WEEKS!! Boy was I mad. Yes, it is scary Carmen: I try to scare as many people as I can so they don't get burned by bad practices. Peggy: Good idea WTYates: It's the real world out there. Carmen: Lots of people want to have published a book, but they aren't willing to do the editing and spend the money and of course market. Every sales is a hard fought victory. I hate these easy as pie self publishing seminars. Usually they are done by someone who wants to sell you something. I have nothing to sell, but I want you to know everything going in. I actually prefer self publishing because I have control. But I also have a marketing background and choose niche markets. Peggy: I can understand that... Carmen: Any other questions? Carmen: It's also a great way to follow God's will. Peggy: True Carmen: With Rosey, she felt God telling her she HAD to do this. And look at the nomination. What a validation! Does that mean she'll actually make any money or even get out of debt? No promise of that, but she knows she has done well. WTYates: Is the Dan Poynter book from WD? Carmen: No, Dan self published his book. It's the 14th edition now WTYates: Naturally. Carmen: he is the guru of self publishing and also endorsed my book WriterSpeaker.com. I was honored and he was quite flattering Peggy: I've seen T. Suzanne Eller's 'Marketing 101' or something such... WTYates: You did a good job. Carmen: Thanks, Bill. I think I did Carmen: Suzie's book is an electronic book on CD and also as a download. Carmen: It's a VERY basic beginner's book to get started in publishing Peggy: I checked it out today but didn't bite... yet :) Carmen: She is trying to fill a niche. But people really do prefer real books I find. Peggy: I know I do... Carmen: Peggy, I personally think you are beyond that book. You know more than you think you do. WTYates: You can't curl up in bed with a computer. Carmen: Or soak in the bath or go to the beach. WTYates: Well, I suppose you could... :) Peggy: Carmen, thank you... Carmen: Certain books are great electronically. Computer books, how to stuff. Carmen: But mostly people want the paper kind. WTYates: I can't think of them ever becoming obsolete. Peggy: Yes, me be one of those.. Carmen: You're welcome Carmen: I can't either. Publishing is not rocket science there are a certain set of rules. Same as self publishing WTYates: One of the great inventions of mankind. Peggy: Can you imagine reading Exodus via PDF? Carmen: No matter how you slice it, it's work. Hard, hard work. Carmen: LOL Nope! Carmen: Cat, you never answered my question. Who would you sell your book of essays to? Or would you give them away? Sometimes that's what people want to do. Just give them away diagocat: I wasn't thinking so much as selling as giving to friends & relatives. Carmen: Your best bet is to typeset and take them to Kinko's. They have lots of bindings to choose from. And if you don't want to sell them, you don't need an ISBN. diagocat: I may do that. I used to have a lot of stuff on Themestream. Today a friend said she went in to read some and was shocked to find Themestream gone. Carmen: You can also do everything yourself at home with a good printer. Carmen: Yes, there are many people who were shocked. diagocat: I have a comb binder. Carmen: Then that would work, cat. WTYates: That will work fine. diagocat: I am still shocked. I miss my daily Themestream fix. Carmen: Mainly you need to figure out your format. WTYates: The stream dried up. Carmen: I never once went to the Themestream site Carmen: Have you submitted and tried to sell them, Cat? There are a ton of markets out there. Peggy: I did for a while ... one of my friends used to write there... Kay Pluta (KZee, remember, Bill?) but she pulled out early when they started playing games with their pay program. diagocat: It was really great. I have sold some. I also did some writing for Write4Cash but they buy all rights and I don't like to do that. Carmen: Any other questions? Carmen: You shouldn't like that, Cat. diagocat: What is your 3rd book called? You only mentioned 2, I think. Carmen: But there are more places and you sell enough, you start building credits and it grows and grows. Faces of Huntington's and Pinches of Salt, Prisms of Light came out in 1998, 1999. Both self published. Pinches sold out very quickly and we are now trying to sell it to a publisher as a series. WriterSpeaker.com came out last year as a royalty book from Shaw Books. Portraits of Huntington's comes out June 15. diagocat: What is Pinches about? Carmen: It's a Christian Chicken Soup type of book. All about being salt and light in the world. We were shocked at how quickly it sold out WTYates: Officially time is up! diagocat: Could you give us your website again. I tried to go there and couldn't get in. Carmen: We should have ordered 5,000 instead of 2,000, but i didn't have enough money WTYates: But you guys carry on as long as you like. I've got to run! diagocat: Carry on???? Carmen: http://www.writerspeaker.com WTYates: Thanks, Carmen!! Carmen: I need to run too and pack diagocat: Good night Bill. Thanks Carmen. Peggy: Thanks, Carmen... really appreciate your time tonight! Carmen: I'm going to Hawaii tomorrow and I still have a ton of other work to do. WTYates: Night, all!! Carmen: You are all welcome! Carmen: bye Bill. Log file closed at: 5/15/01 20:00:57 |
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