Do you think this is a good idea for getting my book published?

Question

I've tried everything to get my work published with no luck :-(

I found this self publish site on the net, but I'm not sure about it - What do you think? Is it genuine?

http://www.excaliburonlinepublishing.com/

Answer 1

Self publishing sites are going to make you pay for the priviledge and they are not going to distribute it or market it for you.
What kind of book? Fiction, non Fiction? Has a publisher even read it? Did they give you a clue as to why? Did they request changes? Have you tried for an agent in that field that can help you, give you advise, etc.
My opinion, if it is fiction, then no, don't go for self publishing.
If it is non fiction and you know your market, then it might be worth it, but you will have to push it yourself.

Answer 2

My husband self publish his book with authors online I think the website is www.authorsonline.com or something similar. He has been extremely sucessful with it. (The book is the locksmith's encyclopedia by Mick Friend available on amazon - in case you are interested).

The best way to check the credentials of the firm you are interested in using is have a look at other books they are responsible for printing and what advertising they do.

It's extremely easy and relatively cheap to self publish these days. The key to sucess is in the marketing. My husband self published because the market he was aiming at was extremely specialist and he felt he knew it better than any outside publisher. As it happened he deeply underestimated the market. Sold advertising to pay the initial production costs and expected to sell 300 to 500 copies in the UK. The book has sold internationally and we have lots count of the number of copies but 3 years after publication it's still going well. That is mainly because of the nature of the industry. You need to consider what assitance the printers will give you with marketing and how much you will do yourself. It is possible to sucessfuly self publish but it can take some work so make sure you know what's involved before you start.

Good luck, let me know when the books out.

Answer 3

I hate to say this but, as a professional editor of 25 years+ experience:

If nobody wants to publish your work (and you really have tried every avenue) then it probably isn't worth publishing. OR (and emphasise this) you haven't presented it professionally.

I know that sounds harsh but I have seen the most abominable things written by people who thought they were good.

Okay, I'm not touting for business but I've written a lot about creative writing and it's all on my website, you can read it here:

http://www.thewordsmith.net/page/create

The other thing you should do is join online critique groups .. if you're writing Science Fiction, Fantasy or Horror, you should go to http://www.critique.com/ which is the best and costs nothing. Otherwise search for one that does your genre, and get independent critiques from people who don't know you.

You can also pay to have critiques done by professionals, I do it, but there are plenty of other companies that do.

So what about self-publishing?

There is a place for it. A friend of mine is a sculptor, she was always being asked questions about sculpting, so in the end she wrote a book, had a thousand copies printed and whenever anyone asks she sells them the book. It's easier and quicker.

BUT self-publishing a novel is almost always a waste of money, especially if you think you've created something wonderful and nobody, except your friends and family agree. And their opinion is usually worthless, of course they're going to say it's good.

Most Vanity Publishers are just plain rip-offs, they'll tell you you're brilliant and take your money. Please don't waste your money if you're serious about writing.

Look, I know how to write but even I haven't had a fiction work published yet. I've been told (by agents and publishers) that I write really well (great dialogue, brilliant descriptions, real characters) but my stories don't make the grade yet.

So if I haven't done it yet, with all my experience, you really should consider the possibility that you're not good enough yet.

Don't waste your money on vanity publishing.

Answer 4

No.Without the promotion a proper publisher will do for a book it will sit there (all 18 copies)and do nothing.Find an agent,you won't get published otherwise.

Answer 5

I'm interested in writing myself and haven't completed my book yet. I've read books on 'How to write and get published', and they have advised that you dont do it yourself. They advise to keep sending your work out, and to ask publishers for areas you need to improve on if your not successful.
Also when you are sending your work out, make sure you send it to people who deal with literature in your genre, and give information about the literature and anything else you may be working on.

Answer 6

I would go for a well established company of printers. My mate Chris got his book "Are You Mad?" self-published a few years ago and the company went banrupt a few years later leaving him around a thousand pounds worse off.
If you think excaliburpublishing is a good company then go for it as at least there seems to be little financial risk.

Answer 7

There is a bigger and better self-publishing site than that one but I forgot the name! Something like MOJO or MOBO or JUJU or something...argh!

Oh, it's www.lulu.com! I don't know much about self-publishing, but I bought a book published on lulu.com from Amazon so it can't be that bad.

Answer 8

I think you may be best to keep trying. if you pay to have it published you may not sell any copys they wont put effort into advertising etc. its like paying for "modelling" its just photos for self indugence. they arnt going anywhere. i feel for you it must be frustrating when you are certain its of interest. good luck with it. whats it about?

Answer 9

try some thing al ittle better know like TOR or AVON or something. Most home pages of famous publishing companies tell you where to send your scripts and in what format they like it to be and all. Try something which is a little more known.

Answer 10

The page you linked has only 291 views, what do you think?

Thomas