POD Self Publishing FAQs Room
Why choose to self publish with a POD company?
There a couple of good reasons to go this route. It is easier to get your books on the shelves of Amazon by going this route then trying to get a traditional offset publisher to publish your book. Their margins are eroding and they can't afford to publish people who are not already published or already famous. There is also the financial aspect of your being able to earn a lot more money this way but let's not assume your first published book is going to be a bestseller right out of the gate. There can be cost in going with a POD company. But if you use these resources on my website then your costs could be zero. If you choose not use this sites information then the old Vanity publishers is a way you can go but you have to pay them in order to get your book published.
Why am I currently recommending Lulu of all the POD companies out there?
For me the answer is simple. Cost. I can get Lulu to print and publish my book for just $100. The only reason it costs $100 is in order to purchase the distribution package to get your book listed on Amazon and Barnes Nobles websites for sale. There is one other site Createspace.com which is a subsidiary of Amazon where if know how to create your book one piece cover, then they would in fact be the cheapest as your costs could be nothing. More on the comparison between Lulu and Createspace later in this FAQ. There are others that will do it for slightly less than Lulu but then they own your words and make any money that they can produce. The other POD companies I have found to date to be much more expensive. They may, and I really mean may, do some of the tasks that you will have to do in order to get your book published by Lulu but they charge you for anything they do for you and in many cases charge for things that Lulu will do for nothing for you. The other reason I chose Lulu instead of other POD companies is that by only spending $100, even if the book is a total bust, I am only out a couple of bucks. However you can publish with Lulu for nothing and offer your book for sale on their website or setup your own storefront on their site as well.
Comparison between Createspace and Lulu as POD publishers.
Createspace's cost for getting your book published is free. All the way to Amazon for nothing. However in order to do this you must be able to create a one piece book cover which is not easy if you have never done this before. Of course you book will only be for sale on Amazon which is not a bad thing as they are the world's largest bookseller. The cost of each book sold and royalties are different as well between Lulu and Createspace. The cost per page for a black and white interior is currently identical (2 cents per page). The setup fee to print each is book is essentially $3 and change so again very similar. Where they diverge is in the profit for the books. Both companies add a third cost to each book which is the cut they get for selling your book. It is currently 20% but Lulu takes that 20% from the profit of the book whereas Createspace calculates that 20% from the retail price which is much higher than just the profits. This would typically translate into a cost difference of around $2 for average 200 page black and white interior book. Createspace charges less (12 cents vs 15 cents per page) for color paged books. Finally you have to do more work if you publish using Lulu to take advantage of all the marketing options which Amazon offers if you publish using Createspace. I intend to publish a book using both companies early next year and will add a comparison discussion for choosing either one. That comparsion will include the actual printed quality of both books as well.
I have heard that some people start their own self publishing companies instead of going with POD companies?
Yes there are some folks who do just that. If you really are convinced that you want to run your own self publishing company then you should buy some of the books out there on starting your own self publishing house. I recommend starting with Aaron Shepard as a first step if you go that route. For me however, I felt like I wanted to see what was involved before committing all the time and additional costs. That's why Lulu appealed to me. I felt like a $100 was pretty much just throw away money so why not see what this world is like on the cheap first.
Tell me a little more on the financial aspect of publishing with Lulu?
If you compare what Lulu charges to printing a book through an offset publisher, then yes your book will cost a little more to publish through Lulu (about $3). But going with an offset publisher requires you to pay for all of those books upfront and to store all of those books in order to make a print run pay. The cost difference for a 200 page 6x9 B&W book is around three dollars. So not that much more expensive. As for the royalties Lulu is just fine. You set the price of your own book and so you determine how much profit you will make on your book. Probably the best way you can in getting the best financial returns is to start your own self publishing house. But don't forget there are startup costs if you choose that route. So for me the previously unpublished author it seemed like the best of both worlds to go the Lulu route.
Does your site explain how a MAC user instead of a PC user can publish?
No I have never used a MAC and therefore have no way to write a how to for MAC users. You could still use the site to get an overview of the POD publishing process however.
What will I need to have in order to use all of your sites resources?
You will need a PC with Microsoft Word loaded on it. After that I will provide you with everything else. What I don't provide I will provide you with links and instructions on how to configure those tools and how to use them.
Does your site only have instructions for the book itself or instructions on the technology issues as well?
This website has a step by step set of instructions that addresses not only the books contents but all of the technologies that you will need to use in order to get your book published. It describes where to get them, how to install them and even how to configure them. Lulu is a great website but I couldn't find all the answers to my questions regarding specific configuration issues and that's one of the reasons why I put this all on the web. To save someone else the hassle and embarrassment of having to get those techie type questions answered.
More to follow as I encounter the issues as I go through the publishing process.
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