[.ca] Making Self-Publishing Pay: Profiles of Successful Small ... (ISBN 0966469127)

Where Major Publishers Fear to Tread:
If you're an author who is tired of rejection letters, deadlines, and being at the mercy of editors who seem to fail to appreciate your creative genius, this book offers an alternative by inviting you to explore the trials and rewards of self-publishing. The first chapter of Thomas's book offers sage advice on entering self-publishing territory: "Anyone who plans to quit a job to start a publishing company should already have a completed manuscript as well as enough funds to print the book and cover living expenses for at least one year." Each subsequent chapter offers an in-depth profile of a successful self-publisher and provides informed opinions on the economics and logistics of self-publishing, as well as insight into what works and what doesn't. In a nutshell: Self-published books typically cost a lot of money to produce. Fiction usually takes longer than nonfiction to turn a profit, and producing multiple titles tends to increase the likelihood of making your self-publishing enterprise viable. When it comes to the bottom line, booksellers will want to pocket 40% of a book's retail price while wholesalers demand 50-55%, and self-publishers are not immune to the nemesis of traditional publishers - returns. Bookstores often return unsold books to the publisher for full credit, mostly in the form of scuffed or damaged books that are unfit for resale. You'll sell your books by direct mail, you say? Be prepared to launch a large campaign - response rates are generally in the 2% range. So you see, it can be a hard row to hoe, but the self-publisher testimonials in the book would seem to back up Thomas's assertion that, "although this business comes with its challenges, it can also provide an intensely satisfying way to make a living." Take, for example, self-publisher Gordon Miller (Quit Your Job Often and Get Big Raises). Although Doubleday paid six figures for his book after it did well in his hometown of Denver, Miller says he'd go it alone again: "I absolutely loved it. I would self-publish again purely for the experience." Each self-publisher's profile is unique and extensive, providing details on what led them to self-publishing (a need to organize information on a topic; discovering a market niche that hadn't been exploited; gaining complete control over the writing, publishing and promotion of one's work), how they produced their book(s), what their sales and profits have been each year, and the tactics they employed to achieve book sales. Cheri Thurston (Writing Your Life: An Easy-to-Follow Guide to Writing an Autobiography) has found shipping wholesalers only half the quantity of books they order has been an effective way of reducing returns. Rich & Sue Freeman (Take a Hike! Family Walks in the Rochester Area) capitalized on cooperative advertising and made their own display cases for bookstores to ensure their books were showcased. And Diane Pfeifer (For Popcorn Lovers Only) recommends you study the viability of self-publishing a book by asking yourself three questions: "Who is going to buy it? Where are they going to buy it? And can you get books to those places?" (Many of the self-publishers profiled have found bookstores are the least likely place to sell books.) The individuals and couples profiled in Thomas's book make self-publishing look good.

Make Money Self Publishing:
An excellent book for the person that is considering self publishing. This book covers the success stories of 14 seperate self publishers who have started from scratch and have shared their methods with Suzanne Thomas. Much valuable information can be gleaned by reading what others have done to achieve success. This book is a great confidence builder if you are doubtful that you have what it takes to self publish. By learning what techniques have worked well for others, you will definately shorten your learning curve and quite possibly fatten your bank account in the process.

Great resource for insider information!:
If you're looking to build a lucrative home-based business, this book offers tons of immediately useable advice. A compilation of wisdom from 14 successful small publishers, it is chock-full of strategies about what works -- and what doesn't -- in self-publishing.

Fourteen Real-world Examples.:
Despite the somewhat pedestrian title Make Money Self-Publishing has significant impact on the reader. Foutreen successful self-publishers tell us their stories--their failures as well as their successes--what worked and what didn't. For those interested in the self-publishing field this is fascinating reading. The stories are varied. One author updates and reissues a single title year after year; others have extensive backlists. Some publish only their own work, others have parlayed their success into publishing the work of others. The abiding lessons are: there is no single formula for success, rules are made to be broken, and often the key element for success is discovered by accident. Prefacing the fourteen tales is a chapter called "Self-Publishing 101" which outlines succinctly much of the material told in greater detail in the other books reviewed in this collection. Ironically it is the tale written by an E-book publsher that highlights the continuing need for paper books. Through that story we found an Ebook publisher well-suited to our needs. Internet searches had not come up with this information. We are very high on this book. Libraries should order one.

Don't read this book if you don't want to be discouraged!:
I thought this book was going to be inspirational with tips and Do's and Don't from other self-publishers. This book made me rethink me self-employment and self-publishing dreams. Almost every one didn't make any money for years and the book was depressing and boring. It show the reality of working for yourself, which will cause some people not to take risk. Read it and refund it.