i am thinking about publishing my book........?

Question

i am thinking about putting my book into thin binders, and publishing them like that, with the pages inside. i might also put teasers of upcoming books inside, and possibly a few other things (i also design custom t-shirts, so maybe a little promotion for them?.) my question, is should i place my book in small binders and sell them like that?

thanks

Answer 1

Why would you do that, I don't see that it would sell very well unless it was an on going story that could be added to every 6 months or so, but what do I know. Congratulation on completion of your book.

Answer 2

Hi,

as you are no doubt aware, the traditional ways of getting your work published is very difficult to achieve and is strewn with disappointment.

The BEST way is to find a publisher who likes your book so much that he is willing to pay all the production costs, give you a pre-payment and then pay for the publicity to get your book 'noticed'. However, that is (very) rare.

Self-publishing, as you are suggesting, is an alternative.

What I would suggest is for you to produce the very best looking book you can, make it look as near to a professionally produced book as possible.

A scruffy, amateur folder of papers is hardly likely to impress people and will not lead to large sales.

Spend whatever money you can on binding equipment...if possible get a binder that will 'perfect bind' up to the maximum thickness of your book (you suggest it is 'thin' so this should not cost too much. In England and Spain binders are available for not much more than 150 Euros (around $200) (up to 100 pages)

A binder like this will give you a flat spine book, glued, which will compare well to professionally produced books.

I assume you are proposing printing on your computer, and good results can be made with modern DTP programs (I use Microsoft Publisher, which does just about everything I need)

A good idea is to get a glossy or semi-glossy card for the outside cover of your book, it looks more professional and gives a better first impression.

You didn't say what your book was about, but a good idea is to arrange a 'lecture tour' to, say, women's groups (like the W.I. in England) who are always glad to have people along to give a 'talk' and who will pay you for the talk. These are always good opportunities to sell your book. Though the quantities are not vast I used to sell between 20 and 50 each time I gave my talks.

Made it worth while and I eventually sold all copies of my book (more than 2,000 in total)

Hope you are successful,

Cheers,

BobSpain

Answer 3

*rubs eyes*

OK, ask yourself this question. How many books have you purchased in your life that were in thin binders "with the pages inside"? (and additional question...where else would the pages be?)

Or a more important question: How many books do you buy...period? If you were an avid reader, you would know that this is NOT how books should be produced.

One thing too many would-be writers forget. Readers are not obligated to buy your book just because you think they should give you a chance. The obligation is on you as the writer to produce a work that they WANT to read. Publishing is not about ego charity. It is about producing a work that has value to the reader. Nobody cares that you want to see your name in print. Nobody cares that you really, really, really want to be a writer. Nobody care about ANYTHING except whether or not you can produce something they want to read.