The Week from Heaven and Hell, shown here on the left, is a self-published book. Or is it? Here is its history. In 2003, Hot House Press, a small traditional publishing house published my second novel, Agent for Justice. In 2005, I submitted The Week from Heaven and Hell to them for publishing consideration. At that time, they did not feel that it fit into their plans. However, they agreed to assist me with its publication through Lightning Source and Ingram. I paid only for the books which I purchased . In 2010, after Hot House Press had closed its doors, I approached Wheatmark Publishing here in Tucson since I could no longer obtain the books through Lightning Source without Hot House Press sponsorship. I paid Wheatmark for handling the new interior and exterior design and the new edition of the book became available as a publish-on-demand product. So, is this a self-published book? Next in this brief series will be a look at A Favor Returned and its status as either self-published. (or not)
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Duke, there used to be a stigma about self-publishing, but no more. What gave self-pub a bad name (and might still, in some cases) has been the glut of books that weren’t professionally edited and/or designed before they were released.
My definition of self-published is if an author pays for services (formatting, design, sometimes editing, arranging for the distribution, etc.), as opposed to a publisher taking it on and bearing all of the upfront costs, and the associated risks. And then the publisher gets their cut of each book sold (i.e. their share of the royalties). When you self-publish, you pay upfront for these services, but get to keep all of your royalties. Hopefully break even and then make more.
The only reason I avoided self-pub for my memoir (my only books so far) was that it was so very personal, I didn’t feel like I had a realistic view if it was ready, good enough. I needed a pro to say, yes, this is worth publishing. That process took me eight years, but brought me the confidence I needed to let the world read it. If I write another book, I won’t hesitate to self-pub, spend the money and collect all the rewards from its sales.
Maybe Chris O’Bryne will enlighten us on the difference when he speaks to our SSA Chapter in October.
Duke,
I agree somewhat with Denise’s comments re: self-publishing vs. traditional, but POD is different. In my case with “Swimming Upstream: A Memoir,” I paid the publisher, Wheatmark, upfront costs of formatting, obtaining the ISDN, getting it ready for print-on-demand (POD). Wheatmark receives a major amount of each book sold, while I only receive $3.00.
In Duke’s example, it might be called a hybrid partnership (trad/POD).
duke it seems to me that because ofthe way in which your book was published is so convoluted that it would be impossible to make a call one way or the other,sorry no help.
My first book, Thinking of Miller Place, was with iUniverse – they referred to their co. as a POD Print on Demand. Now it seems many like iUniverse are referred to as publishing service companies which I kind of like. I’m using Wheatmark for my second book, and have been more than pleased so far with their professionalism, awareness of the market, and that they are geographically convenient.
Self-pub, POD, traditional. Writers have to do their homework with all. Know what you want. Know your target audience. Know your ‘soft market.’ Have a platform. I love writing with a passion. And yet the business of writing is part of what gets the book out.
I’m putting the Oct. SSA date on my calendar.