Self Publishing vs Vanity Publishing

Thanks to the tremendous advanced in technology over the past 10 years, we now live in a world where it is becoming increasingly easy for an author to self publish. There are many reasons one may wish to do this:

1) Because they have had no luck find an agent / publisher for their work
2) Because they want to give it a go, just for fun.
3) Their only real goal with their book was to see it in print (tick that box and the like)
4) Their work is so niche that they would never get a publisher anyway

It surprises me then that, with Print on Demand gaining in popularity with each passing month and the cost of self publishing and e-publishing cheaper than they ever were, people are still willing to turn over thousands of pounds to the vanity presses.

If you're not sure about whether you're using a vanity press, instead of a self publisher, then there is a simple test you can apply: a vanity press will demand money up front, do all the dirty work, and return the result (however bad) back to you. A self publisher will demand no such fees, with the possible exception of purchasing an ISBN, which would always cost you money any way.

Additionally, a self publishing firm will allow you to control near every single aspect of the process along the way - the cover, the type setting, the layout, the binding, etc. without charging you a penny.

Comparing two popular publishers,

Lulu charges nothing to create an account or upload a file to them. The only time you will ever part with money with Lulu is when you order a copy of your book, at which point you will be charged the printing fee and postage and packaging.

Xlibris, by comparison, offers a number of publishing "packages" for their customers to choose from, and charges a whopping £1,599 for a service that still doesn't quite meet the flexibility of Lulu's complete DIY solution. Okay, so Xilbris also sends you 10 paperback and 5 hardback copies, as well as a load of postcards, posters, etc. However, for the money one would spend here, they could hire a good editor and designer of their own, and still have cash left to spend down the pub.

So, just keep in mind that self publishing means self; you. You're the one in charge, you're the one doing everything.

If you want to see the results of a self published book, where the author has done near everything themselves, then check out HONOUR OF THE KNIGHTS.

Copies Signed - 11

I've just nipped out of work to sign some copies of HONOUR OF THE KNIGHTS over at Waterstone's Piccadilly (hey, I work around the corner, may as well!).

Total copies signed is now 11, with the number of Waterstone's store stocking it now 4. Greenwich will probably get their allocation next week.

So, it looks like my post about the Gardner's stock being is a problem... isn't.

The Current Problem

Whilst THE HONOUR OF THE KNIGHTS is enjoying good sales and favourable turnovers in Waterstone's (as well as Amazon and Book Depository), there is one tiny, little problem (click the image to enlarge),


The above is a screen capture of HONOUR OF THE KNIGHTS' stock over at Gardners, the supplier to most UK book stores. It says zero, nip, none, less than 1. What does that mean? It basically means that once the allocations have sold out in stores and online retailers (which it is doing quite often), there is no more supply until more copies are printed; and that could be 4 - 6 weeks' time!

Some would say that this is good because it means the book is selling out. What it means to me is that people are unable to get their hands on my book and have to just stick with the sample chapters until more copies turn up.

So, once the current stock in Waterstone's, etc. is exhausted, that'll be it for a while. It means that the Waterstone's in Greenwich and Piccadilly won't be getting their copies for a while either. A royal pain in the arse and completely out of my hands. Ah well.

I'll keep tabs on what's happening and get into the shops to sign the copies once they arrive.

Interview

I recently did an interview with a London docklands newspaper, The Docklands. If you are in the area then you should be able to find a copy easily. It's a free newspaper and will remain available for the next 7 days.

If you're not in the area, then you can still read the interview here,

http://edition.pagesuite-professional.co.uk/Launch.aspx?referral=other&refresh=9x1BbJ70W51a&PBID=bb916b26-4fa8-45e6-aea2-e5d68445333e&skip=

You'll find it on page 12.

More Progress

Short one today - I signed some more copies of HONOUR OF THE KNIGHTS for Waterstone's Brighton today. It was quite pleasing to hear that the book is selling well there - the store is continuing to replenish their stock on a regular basis, as the copies sell out. That's all very encouraging.

Waterstone's (again)

Today, I decided to approach the Waterstone's in Greenwich, East London, to see if they would also stock copies of HONOUR OF THE KNIGHTS. I went there on Saturday, but unfortunately the manager was not around. The staff, however, told me to give him a call during the week instead.

Aside from being a little put out that I had called (understandably, they prefer people not to cold call them), he was, as usual, very willing to stock the book. We had a short chat about the novel and he even offered me some advice as to what I should do going forward.

That brings the total number of Waterstone's stores up to 5: Brighton, Canary Wharf (both), Piccadilly Circus, and now Greenwich. I think I know where I will be exclusively shopping for books in the future now...

I'll be continuing to sign copies of the novels as they arrive in stores. Keep an eye on the BATTLE FOR THE SOLAR SYSTEM website for updates on such things.

Distribution Progress

Those who visit www.battleforthesolarsystem.com will be aware by now that I have been enjoying some great success in getting branches of Waterstone's to stock THE HONOUR OF THE KNIGHTS.

In case you're not aware, I recently decided that it would be both an interesting experiment and experience in finding out whether Waterstone's support local and/or self published authors. So, I ventured into a few branches and asked. To my surprise, they said yes, and promptly ordered in a batch.

Wow. I half expected a shake of the head and then to be frogmarched from the premises. The fact that the staff and the stores are so very accommodating is very warming indeed. There were, of course, a few requisites - They would prefer that I come back into the store when they were in stock, and sign the copies. Fair enough, that's not exactly asking a lot (and it makes sense too - signed copies of books are more attractive to buyers and those who are just browsing the shelves).

As of today, HOTK is now available in 4 different branches of Waterstone's. I will be contacting another branch on Monday (they told me I'd have to call back, since the person in charge was not available on weekends), to see if they will stock it too.

All in all, I was very impressed with how nicely I was treated in the store.

Were there any bad experiences? Yes, but not with branches of Waterstone's. I approached a few other major bookstores, to find out if they would be interested, and they tended to um and er about it a bit. Fair enough, but one of them flat out refused. The manager was actually quite rude, both to me and about those who would be my potential customers (won't repeat it here). So, it's not all rainbows. I will approach them again at a later day and see if they are more willing to entertain me then.

Something else that I was happy to see was how the online stores compete against one another, all to the benefit of the customer. HONOUR OF THE KNIGHTS carries an RRP of £9.95, but both Amazon and the Book Depository have begun slashing prices, in a bid to... out bid one another. This, of course, is a common practice, but when The Book Depository is slashing £1 off the price and selling it for £8.95, with Free Delivery World Wide (so, European and American readers can get a good deal too), I can only smile as the price becomes increasingly more attractive.

Here's to hoping that the year continues to bring good things for my first novel.