About self-publishing

by Rani Milne

Self-publishing your manuscript offers great scope and opportunity for many authors and there are any number of legitimate reasons for you to consider it:

• you want ultimate control over your final product
• you have a manuscript for a niche market and can't get the interest of a mainstream publishing house
• despite rejections, you believe your manuscript is worth publishing
• you have written a family history and want it printed as a book to keep for posterity.

But be warned: self-publishing is hard work and to take on the mantle of self-publisher is to add to the 'writer/artist' role those of project manager, marketing guru and financier. Not an easy task.

Some steps to consider along the publishing path are as follows:

Manuscript assessment

You have a manuscript that your friends and family say is fantastic; it might still be worth getting it assessed by a professional. You can get a ms assessment from a private individual or by arranging it through your local Writers' Centre. Based on a synopsis and three chapters – or the whole manuscript – the assessor will give you feedback and outline your best course forward: re-writing, editing, or straight to print (a rare occurance).

Editing

An outside eye can give your ms the polish that you lose the perspective to give it. When self-publishing, you do not want to see your final product with a typo on the first page.

As well as proofreading for grammar and spelling, an editor can follow up on the manuscript assessment and make sure the plot follows a logical path and that what the author knows is clear to the reader. When dealing with an editor, you need to define what service you want (proofread, copyedit, structural edit), and what you can afford – though prices are often negotiable for a passionate individual.

Graphic design

In the design department we have two elements: layout and cover design.

Layout

You can do this yourself, however a printer will not accept a word document as a 'laid out' file. They will charge you to convert it to a professional publishing package. These packages are available to purchase (though expensive) and there are courses that teach you the basics to do this yourself. Alternatively, you can provide your printer with print-quality pdfs (which are 300 dpi (dots per inch) or higher).

If you can afford to hire a graphic designer (as with editors, prices can be negotiable for individuals) they will lay out your word document into an appropriate program and can even liaise with the printer for you (saving you from the step below: printing).

Cover design

If you're lucky, you know an artist who will design a cover for you. It doesn't have to be an illustration, but it needs to look professional so it is competitive with publishing-house books. An idea is to approach local art classes and have a competition. A $100 prize and their chance to have their illustration on a cover will get most students interested and give you a choice of covers for your book. Give guidance in your competition outline so you get what you want.

Alternatively, hire a graphic designer. They do this for a living and will give you a slick and professional cover that is not necessarily expensive.

Printing

When you approach a printer for quotes, there are many choices you need to make that will affect the price. Some of these are colour, paper stock, binding, size of book and print runs. Basically there are two types of print runs: digital and offset.

Digital

Digital printing goes straight from the computer to print. This means that you can have any size print run at a static price: that is whether you have 10 or 1000 copies, the cost per unit will be the same. Also, the print-house can probably keep your manuscript on file and whip out another batch of copies as you need them. However, there are limitations to quality.

Offset

In offset printing your pages are made into plates, and for this there is an initial set up cost. However, the actual print run is very fast and the cost per unit gets smaller as the print run gets larger. (But if you do a large print run, where will you store the books?) If you want to publish a large number of units or have images that need quality reproduction this is a good alternative. Printing plates are generally disposed of once a run has finished and this means no reprints without the same initial set up costs.

Pricing

What price will you put on your book? You need to recoup your outlay and make a small profit. And remember that if you want to distribute through bookshops they will take a large share.

Marketing

To successfully market your book, you need to consider your audience and where they will be: in bookshops, at local markets or listening to local radio.

Sending copies to reviewers is a great idea, but call them first and see if they are interested, don't just send the book.

You can try for a celebrity review to print on your final book cover by sending early mock ups to likely candidates.

The launch: where will you hold it and who will pay for it? Which well-known local can will officially launch it?

Other promotional ideas include flyers, web pages and posters (a blow up of your cover is a fairly cheap option for a poster).

Bookshops will often stock your books on consignment, which means they will pay you when and if they sell them. This puts you in a position of having to follow up with bookshops, find out if they have sold any, ask for your money and then see if they want more copies.

Other details

You need to register for an ISBN: every book must have one.

You may want a barcode.

You must send off complimentary copies to your state and national libraries.

For tax purposes, you need to keep comprehensive records of costs and earnings, and pay the taxman as you earn!