I published my first book in 1993. It cost me $15,000. I did all the writing, layout, cover, etc. The book went to the publishers in ready-to-print form. I had to order 3,000 copies and distribute them myself. I ended up with sales of over 1000, a return of $200, and boxes of books in my garage. I swore I would never publish again.
In the late ’90s I heard about publishing-on-demand. Wow! Books would only be printed when ordered. Fewer trees killed. No boxes of books to store. I searched around and discovered several vanity presses. I think their motto was: “Garbage in, garbage out, that’s what we do.” As a serious writer dealing with important subjects, I did not write for vanity or glory. I talked to agents and booksellers. The few agents I could locate informed me, without ever seeing my work, that I hadn’t published enough in professional journals and magazines, and that my name was not known; I was not famous. In addition, my genera was not profitable enough to merit an agent and publisher taking a risk. “If you want to be published, use a print-on-demand house.” I found a print-on-demand company that handled more than vanity publications. What I sent to them was ‘print ready.’ They had to check for pagination and other final details. I paid them well. The book looked great, was ready on demand, and I could order any number to sell on my own. They placed the book on their web site and readers could buy it there. Over the next ten years I had them publish 10 books, even though I knew there was no way I could sell them and receive a fair return on my time and investment. I thought it was all about marketing and that I was doing something wrong. No matter what I did, only the print-on-demand company and marketers like Amazon made money from my books. I had put in years of time writing and crafting my works. I paid up-front for all of the costs associated with getting them into print. Yet there was no way I could profit from the sale of my books. Others profited when my books were purchased, but not me.
Here’s how their game is played: First, regardless of how you market your book, the publishing price-point – the amount the printer charges for each book you buy, even at the special rate for authors, is too high to make the book competitive in any market. Even if you buy their marketing packages, even if you sell hundreds of books, you can not make a fair return on your investment because the publisher sets the price-point high to make money from your work, not because they earned that add-on, but because they can rip you off.
As an example of why this is a rip off, consider that every book signing at bookstores which must add 40% to 60% to the price of your book, costs you more than the book can sell for, and that loss does not include your gas and time. When the publisher price-point is so high that it makes your $9.95 (market retail based on average sales for similar paperback works) book sell for over $18.00, people won’t buy it.
What happens? The publish-on-demand house got you to pay for the publishing, of the book and all related costs, maybe sold you a marketing package, and then takes an enormous profit on every book you buy from them or sell through them. After a sale they may send you a check for $ .65. A book with a price point of $13.95, sells for over $21.00 plus S&H. If your book sells through sites like Amazon, you may get a check for $1.65. How much did Amazon make off of your work? How much did the publisher make from your labors? Enough net profit to ensure that exploiting the creators of literary works is an extremely profitable business. What they haven’t yet considered is that if your books are priced too high to sell, they don’t make anything either.
Even if you get an advance from some big publishing house, it is only given if they feel your work will make them money. They control every aspect of publishing and distribution. The few larger houses even want to decide what should be published. Try to contact an outfit like The Penguin Group, a major bookseller in the US. First, their web site tells you they only accept submissions from agents. There is no list of agents they work with. That is the first clue that they have no interest in you or what you have written. Next, go the sites that advertise agents. Agents for Penguin or who have access to Penguin? None. If you could find one you will, if lucky, get a reply that says they can no longer afford the cost of preparing ‘press ready’ works for the publishers. They do not want to see your work – well, maybe if you are a bestselling author. Not one to give up, you compose a great letter to the lady who heads the Penguin Group USA. You explain what your work is about and why it is leading edge, or whatever, and ask for direction. Penguin USA doesn’t even have the courtesy to reply. That tells us all something quite offensive. The big publishers want to control what is written and have their financial hooks in the author of their choice who writes it. You? Just someone out there on the lines who has critical information to share? As the English are fond of saying, “Sod off!” It is bad. The whole industry is in deep trouble. We are seeing the end of these systems that thrive by stealing from creators of literary works. The majority of the industry is a tar baby that you better not touch if you want to succeed.
What do you do? Let’s assume you have a well crafted work that has gone through a thorough editing process. A book ready for the market, from cover to back, something you are proud of and your confidants have read and approved. Let’s assume you have tried to find an agent or a publisher and had no luck and few responses. Not rejections. That would mean someone actually peeked at the first page of your book. Maybe the spacing was wrong or the type of the paper was incorrect for such submittals so it was rejected. No response means it was canned before it was even viewed by a dull and disinterested, but very powerful person at a publishing house whose job is to deal with unwanted submissions.
The eAuthorNet Concept
If you have a marketable book that is ready to publish, you must work with other authors and readers to go underneath all these degenerating systems. You must use the internet and social media to get your book to those who will benefit from your information. Be it fiction or complex science, you must tap into the social networks of those who buy your kind of work. That does not mean you sell it to bookstores. That does not mean it is mentioned in newsletters or Books In Print, or a paid review in some newspaper, or a notice to libraries. It means that you write, publish, market and sell your book with the help of other authors and readers. It means that you do not pay others for these services. It means your investment of time and hard work is enough. You do not need to buy services that let others profit from your work.
What happens is that someone who has read your book recommends it to others through their social networks. Your eBook book sells through the [Author-Reader] free site. It is priced based upon what people will pay for downloads – most at $9.95 – $12.95. It is downloaded in the format requested by the buyer (Kindle, ePUB, PDF, etc.). You do not pay for this service. You are guaranteed 50% or the net proceeds of each sale. No rip-off, no games. This is marketing that works for you. It does require that you help other authors market their works through your social networks. Authors help authors. Readers help readers. Books are purchased because they are target marketed to those who buy books like yours.
How do I market and sell my book through social networking?
Please reference the following resources:
How To Use Facebook For Business
How To Use LinkedIn For Business
How To Use Google Plus For Business
How To Use Twitter For Business
How To Use Pinterest For Business
How do I get started with eAuthorNet
Simply visit the Join eAuthorNet page on this website. Fill out the form (contract). eAuthorNet will contact you to help you get started.
Follow Us!