Category: Uncategorized

Uncategorized, Wendy Speaks

How Much Does It Cost to Self-Publish?

Many authors ask, “How much does it cost to self-publish?” The question should be “What should an author invest in their project based on their marketing goals?” Most authors self-publish in hopes of selling their book. While your book needs to be appealing and have good content, a solid marketing plan is essential to selling to your book.

I always recommend professional copyediting and a custom cover to all authors who are serious about sales. Authors are given approximately eight seconds for potential buyers to decide if they like the cover enough to consider purchasing the book. Therefore, the cover needs to be unique and eye-catching. In addition, nothing will “kill” a sale faster than a manuscript that is riddled with typographical errors or bad grammar. This is especially important for non-fiction books that are positioning the author as a credible expert.

Self-publishing should be looked at from a business perspective. I cannot imagine any business, new or old, not budgeting for advertising. When prospective authors ask me how much money they need to include in their self-publishing budget, I typically respond that $2500.00 is the average amount. In this estimate, I have allotted $1500.00 to the actual production of the book.  The additional $1000.00 should be used for marketing services. The cost for professional copyediting is not included in this amount, but I do recommend investing in professional copyediting.

 Although many people spend more or less than this amount, I believe this is a good estimate for self-publishing authors. However, it comes down to each individual’s goals for their book and their individual reason for publishing.

 

 

ABOUT WENDY STETINA: Wendy Stetina is a sales and marketing professional with over 30 years experience in the printing and publishing industry. Wendy works as the Director of Author Services for Outskirts Press. The Author Services Department is composed of knowledgeable customer service reps and publishing consultants; and together, they all focus on educating authors on the self-publishing process in order to help them publish the book of their dreams. Whether you are a professional looking to take your career to the next level with platform-driven non-fiction, or a novelist seeking fame, fortune, and/or personal fulfillment, Wendy Stetina can put you on the right path.

 

Uncategorized

How You Can Earn More Royalties By Publishing Your Book on the iPad/iPhone

You already know that eBook publishing is the wave of the future. You have already set your book up on Amazon Kindle and Barnes & Noble’s NOOK. You may have even gone the extra effort to publish to a few other eReaders along the way. You’ve seen a bit of success but maybe not enough to write home about. You’ve been following the advice of various book marketing gurus, but you still aren’t seeing the results you were hoping for. You’re not aiming to be the next Amanda Hocking, but you do want to at least earn enough to nicely supplement your income.

If you’ve stuck with publishing to eReaders, you may not be tapping your full potential. There’s actually an audience of eBook readers who don’t actually own an eReader – Apple iPad/iPhone owners. While there have been nearly 15 million iPads  (as of January 2011, according to Tablet PC Review) and 70 million iPhones (as of September 2010, according to OSX Daily) sold, this is a pretty exclusive group and a group that every self-publishing author should be “in the face” of.

So, why do you care about this market? I’ll tell you why…

  1. There are a lot of people in this “niche market”.
  2. Reading a book on an iPad/iPhone is much cooler than reading on any other device.
  3. Publishing on the iPad/iPhone is affordable. You can turn to sites like Smashwords to get your book out there at no cost to you. Or, if you’d prefer a more “hands off” approach, you can pay a professional to do it. Outskirts Press offers iPad/iPhone publishing at a very reasonable price.
Have you taken advantage of the opportunity to get your eBook in the hands of this exclusive market? What results have you seen?
Elise Connors ABOUT ELISE L. CONNORS:
Elise works as the Manager of Author Support of Outskirts Press.  She also contributes to the Outskirts Press blog at blog.outskirtspress.com. Elise and a group of talented book marketing experts assist not only published Outskirts Press authors, but also all authors and professionals who are interested in getting the best possible exposure for their book.
Uncategorized

Quick Poll: Why Did You Self-Publish Your Book?

Today, we’d like to take a quick poll of the Self Publishing Advisor readers — why did you decide to self-publish your book?

Authors do so for many reasons – we’d like to know yours. Is it because you wanted to maintain creative control? Or because you wanted to set your own price/royalty? How about because you were fed up with the process of searching for agent representation?

Let us know your thoughts.

 

 

 

 

Cheri Breeding ABOUT CHERI BREEDING:
Since 2005 Cheri Breeding has been working as the Director of Production for Outskirts Press. In that time, she has been an instrumental component of every aspect of the Production Department, performing the roles of an Author Representative, Book Designer, Customer Service Representative, Title Production Supervisor, Production Manager and, Director of Production. She brings all that experience and knowledge, along with an unparalleled customer-service focus, to help self-publishing authors reach high-quality book publication more efficiently, professionally, and affordably.
Uncategorized

How Much Do Self-Published Authors Make Per Year?

You want to become a self-published author, but you also have bills to pay and a lifestyle to maintain. So you pull up Google (or your search engine of choice), and search for “average income for book authors” or “average income for self-published authors”. You skim the results but can’t find any solid statistics. There’s a good reason why. Ready for it? Authors aren’t paid a salary. They earn royalties based on the sales of their book. These royalties are paid to them on a set schedule – usually provided that they meet the agreed upon “minimum earning threshold”.

So, will I be able to pay my bills if I become a self-published author? That’s an excellent question. Unfortunately, there is no “one size fits all” answer to it. When you publish a book, you are essentially taking a “gamble” on yourself. Many authors keep their day jobs until they are able to earn enough to support themselves on their book sales alone. One dedicated Outskirts Press author made $100,000 in only 180 days (6 months). However, there are some authors who don’t earn anywhere near this amount in a year. Furthermore, there are some authors who may not sell even one book over the course of a year.

How do you know where you fall? Self-publishing is all about investing in yourself. Given that successfully publishing a book involves 20% writing and 80% marketing, you should naturally spend most of your time/money on promoting the book after you write it. If you need help, you may consider enlisting the services of a book marketing consultant.

The income of a self-publishing author is 100% in their own hands. No one can “predict” how much you will earn as that is only a result of two things:  the quality of your book and substantial effort in marketing it to the right audience.

What level of success have you seen as a self-published (or traditionally-published) author? Have you been able to maintain your lifestyle on royalties alone? We’d love to hear from you in the comments below…