Self-Publishing...Can it be done?

Question

There's a company on a web-site I'm looking at. Does anyone have any opinions to offer on Trafford Publishing? Does self-publishing really work? Who would be a good Publisher that I could send my material to??

Answer 1

Hi Moonprincess.

Please accept that I'm not trying to offend; but I strongly urge you not to self publish. While there have been a few individuals over the years who've successfully self published (James Redfield, "The Celestine Prophesy"), the chances of success are extravagently small for a number of reasons.

1. The vast majority of people who self publish are not very talented. Hence the material they publish is not respected.

2. While many self-publishing companies will tell you they send out review copies to people in the media, what they do not tell you is that these books are thrown in the trash. There are too many books from legit publisher coming through daily -- no one has time to review this stuff.

3. Bookstores won't stock these books. There is limited shelf space, and stores do not waste their time on this material.

I urge you not to go down this route. Many first time authors have a hunger to see their names in print, and will spend big money to make sure they get it. But these works do not impress the publishing field -- and if, later on, you decide to get an agent, and list a self-published book as "prior publishing" you will lose that agent. So far as the publishing community is concerned, you may as well print a great big "L" on your forehead.

I strongly urge to hone your craft, pay your dues, and come up through the ranks like the rest of us did. It doesn't offer the instant gratification of self-publishing; but what it DOES offer is something real.

Cheers.

Answer 2

Lots of questions in one there Moon Princess. So, if you don't mind, I'll tackel the main ones.
Yes, you can self publish, but its expensive, and YOU must market the book yourself. I know someone who did it....the company they used wouldn't print less than 250 books at one time...and they still have 150 of the books years later.

There isn't a single "good" publisher to submit material to. What you need to do is to choose a publisher who actually markets the genre of book you've written.If you want to submit, you should know that unless you have an agent of some sort, the chances of your material actually getting loooked at above the most basic level are slim. Not to discourage you...honest...but a budding author has to be ready for a lot of denials.

Answer 3

It depends on what you mean, exactly, by self-publishing. If you want to just print one copy of your book just to say you have published a book, you can do it off your own printer at home. That is pretty easy and of course it works. But if you want to sell your book and/or have it printed by a self-publishing (also called vanity publishing) company that is a little harder and more expensive. To get a decent (per copy) price on a 300-page novel, for instance, you need to print 20,000 copies or more. Let me put it this way -- there is not much difference in the price (per copy) whether you print 100 copies or 1,000 copies. Depending on how fancy a copy you want, a 300-page novel with a hardcover will probably cost you around $10 to $30 per copy, if you print only a few copies. If you want to print only enough copies for your friends and family and it does not need to look professional, my suggestion is to print one copy off your PC at home and then photocopy as often as necessary and bind it using spiral binders.

Answer 4

I would say that self publishing can work. The author of Eragon and Eldest sefl published his work until he let another company buy the rights and publish it for him. Look at all he has gone though now!

Answer 5

Yes self-publishing can be done, but I don't know anything about sending it too a publishing company.