Self-Publication

[Klucky]

Are any authors here self-publicated? I really, really think it's time that I start publicizing myself. (I have tons of crap in my head. :D) I have novels, essays (some scholarly, some more fun-based), and movie scripts. I have also saved up a decent amount of money. (I'd rather not share the amount here based on silly security purposes.)

I guess I'm wondering how much it costs on average to self-publicate one book. I'm sure it depends on its length, cover style, etc., so how about the average cost of the...average book. :lol:

Also, any particular tips I should keep handy? I have a few tricks up my feathers, but more would always be welcome. :)

-Klucky

[Lolair]

Hi Klucky, I'd check out Lulu.com (http://www.lulu.com/) for self-publishing, they are kind of a cafe-press for books and I've only heard a few minor complaints about them.

Slainte!

[Klucky]

Thanks! :)

-Klucky

[Ben Gruagach]

Lulu.com is definitely the one to go with. The competitors don't really offer anything better, and they charge much more than what you pay at Lulu.com.

Lulu.com is running a time-limited offer at the moment where their "Published by You" distribution package (available to people in the US) is only $50. It's usually $150. The package gives your book an ISBN, listings in Books in Print and a couple of major distributor's catalogues (Ingram's in the US, I can't remember who in the UK.) Books that go through this package generally appear for sale on all the Amazon sites (Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Amazon.ca, Amazon.de, Amazon.jp, Amazon.fr) as well as BooksAMillion, Powells, Barnes & Noble, etc. In the "Published By You" deal you are listed as the publisher (or with whatever publishing company name you want to make for yourself). Their other distribution package, "Published By Lulu" is the same but lists Lulu as the official publisher.

If you don't want to purchase a distribution package, it costs nothing to have your book made available through Lulu. Other print-on-demand companies charge a setup fee. You can also obtain your own ISBN for your book on your own and assign it to a Lulu book but would have to work out getting your book listed in Books In Print and other places on your own -- but it is possible.

If you want your book to appear in regular brick-and-mortar stores you'll need to negotiate that yourself. And apart from having your book on the Lulu.com website, Lulu does no promotion or advertising -- that's up to you.

I strongly recommend you read books on self-publishing such as "The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing" by Tom & Marilyn Ross, and "Aiming At Amazon" by Aaron Shepard for a solid explanation of the whole self-publishing process. There's a lot to getting a book out and making it successful which these books can prepare you for.

[Klucky]

Yeah, I looked through their entire website and it looks great! Thanks for telling me about that $50 offer. I didn't see it on their site at all. It's still going on, right? It'd be great to knock off that extra $100. :)

How would it work to get that deal, exactly? Could I just "sign up" and say that I want it? Or do I have to have a certain book specifically ready?

Then again, there's nothing wrong with selling books out of the trunk of your car. That's how "Celestine Prophecy" started out. :)

-Klucky

[Zibblsnrt]

The most important thing about Lulu is that you don't sign over any of your rights to your materials, at all, when you do business with them.

A lot of other self-publishers - and almost all vanity publishers - sneak that little clause into their contracts and TOSes, resulting in people who get scammed by them finding themselves forbidden to use, sell, distribute or copy their own writing.

[Wolf O Volos]

I recently was directed to Airleaf.com myself for this sort of venture... has anybody heard of them, or have a decent oppinion on what they offer as compared to LuLu?

[Zibblsnrt]

I recently was directed to Airleaf.com myself for this sort of venture... has anybody heard of them, or have a decent oppinion on what they offer as compared to LuLu?

Looking at the "author services" section, that sounds ripoffish. Especially stuff like $500 fees to get radio interviews and whatnot.

[Zibblsnrt]

And a bit of Googling says that they are not to be trusted (http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/008232.html). Run far and fast.

[Wolf O Volos]

Ok, GOOD! LOL. I was worried that I was being paranoid when I was looking them over and though they were a bit... off.

Off to look at Lulu now! Could be something very useful, from the sounds of it here.

[SilverClaw]

A friend of mine who is a member here is going through the process of getting her first poetry book published and Lulu is who she goes through.


As for me I am between Cafe Press or Lulu... still have not decided.

[Zibblsnrt]

Ok, GOOD! LOL. I was worried that I was being paranoid when I was looking them over and though they were a bit... off.

Yeah. Ever heard of 'Yog's Law?' It simply says that "money flows towards the writer." Any publisher whose advertising consists mainly of fees is one you should stay away from, and you never never never never pay for the publication itself outside of specific things like academic journals. You are selling something, not purchasing services.


As for me I am between Cafe Press and Lulu...

Cafepress makes you sign over rights to your stuff. Read their TOS and IP policies.

[SilverClaw]

Cafepress makes you sign over rights to your stuff. Read their TOS and IP policies.hmmm ok I have read over it awhile ago and must have missed it, thanks I will go check again.

ETA: are you refering to this ?

4.3 Licensing Your Content to CafePress.com. You will retain ownership of the Content that you upload to the Website. You hereby grant to CafePress.com a royalty-free, worldwide, transferable, nonexclusive, right and license to use such Content, in all media existing now or created in the future, as CafePress.com deems necessary to enable you to use the Create & Buy Service to create, produce and purchase Products. CafePress.com may sublicense the rights that you grant it in this Section to a third party subcontractor only for purposes of providing the CafePress.com Service, processing your order, and producing and shipping your Products.

[Zibblsnrt]

ETA: are you refering to this ?

Yep.

[Tanya]

IMHO....I agree with zibblsnrt, if you spend enough time shopping the publishers, finding the market for what you write, and what you write is of good quality, you don't need to self publish.

it took me about 1 1/2 years to find a book publisher who believedd in my work enough to put his money behind my words, but its about personal pride, I deserve to be paid, not pay for my intellectual property to go out there into the world, and though I'm content that what I write doesn't pay much, its a principle thing to me.

[Wolf O Volos]

Zibblsnrt... I would like to thank you for the information. Reading that information thread you linked opened my eyes to a lot of things I was somehow overlooking. Very informative. And very interesting how these companies operate.

[Zibblsnrt]

Zibblsnrt... I would like to thank you for the information. Reading that information thread you linked opened my eyes to a lot of things I was somehow overlooking. Very informative. And very interesting how these companies operate.

No problem.

Making Light is a fantastic blog for getting a feel of the publishing (and, in the case of things like Airleaf, "publishing") industry. It's run by a husband-and-wife couple who are both editors for Tor Books.

[SilverClaw]

Thanks Zibblsnrt i do recall reading that before ... good thing I have yet to put anything up there .

[Ben Gruagach]

Those interested in the Lulu distribution packages (including details about the $50 time-limited special offer) will find info on it at this FAQ page at Lulu.com (http://www.lulu.com/help/index.php?fSymbol=distribution_faq).

Regarding CafePress versus Lulu, I've found the quality of books produced through Lulu are just like what you find in regular bookstores. They do hardcover as well as paperback using good quality paper and the quality of the printing is good. I've purchased one or two books from CafePress and the quality is not quite as good. (CafePress' other stuff is good quality but the books are not quite as good it seems.)

CafePress also does not have anything to do with ISBN assignments or getting your book listed in Books In Print or distributed to places like Amazon, which Lulu handles through their distribution packages.

If you've already got a CafePress store set up and sell other things through them and you don't care about trying to make your book available through Amazon or other stores, then I'd say CafePress will probably do fine (unless you are concerned about retaining the rights to your work, as CafePress reserves the right to do whatever they want with your stuff forever after you've published through them.) If you want to sell your book through other stores then go with Lulu and either purchase a distribution package (the most expensive one being $150 when they aren't running time-limited deals) or else go with Lulu and then arrange the ISBN and distribution deals yourself. And with Lulu you always retain the exclusive rights to your work.

[Morr]

So if I do not sign up for the distribution package on Lulu, my book will only be available for purchase or download through Lulu? Can I then get it somewhere else for sale, say Amazon?

Or is that, technically, the "catch"?

You must pay to get the distribution package and have your book available for purchase around many websites, or get the free publishing deal but be published ONLY on Lulu?

[ValD]

So if I do not sign up for the distribution package on Lulu, my book will only be available for purchase or download through Lulu? Can I then get it somewhere else for sale, say Amazon?

Or is that, technically, the "catch"?

You must pay to get the distribution package and have your book available for purchase around many websites, or get the free publishing deal but be published ONLY on Lulu?According to LuLu's FAQs, the copyright stays your own; so you're free to publish it elsewhere as well, if you want.

[Klucky]

Yeah, I've now read lulu.com's entire website and I really can't see anything wrong with it. :)

-Klucky

[Morr]

Interesting...

[Klucky]

Interesting...

*points* Oooohhhh...I see wheels turning! :D

-Klucky

[Morr]

Heheheh...

[Ben Gruagach]

So if I do not sign up for the distribution package on Lulu, my book will only be available for purchase or download through Lulu? Can I then get it somewhere else for sale, say Amazon?

Or is that, technically, the "catch"?

You must pay to get the distribution package and have your book available for purchase around many websites, or get the free publishing deal but be published ONLY on Lulu?

No catch -- you can avoid paying for the Lulu distribution packages if you want to do everything yourself (which is possible.)

To get your book available on other sites you need to do the following:

1. Obtain an ISBN for your book. Few stores (Amazon or otherwise) are willing to carry books that do not have an ISBN. In the US you can purchase an ISBN (which are only sold in blocks of 10 from what I hear) through this website (http://www.isbn.org/standards/home/index.asp). (If you're outside the US you need to Google the ISBN authority for your country in order to get that all-important book ID number. In Canada they are available through http://www.collectionscanada.ca/isbn/index-e.html

**Note too that you'll need to provide information for your ISBN application which lists you as the publisher of your book. You can use your own name or make up a publishing company name that you want to use.

2. Once you have an ISBN you can add that to your book on Lulu (there's a place to put that in on the book's project page.)

3. Start contacting places like Amazon or where-ever you want to sell your book to see if they will carry it. Note that most bookstores expect a discount on the retail price in order to carry it (sometimes as high as 50% of the retail price!) so be sure you've chosen a realistic retail price for your book, taking into account how much profit you want even after selling your book at deep discounts to bookstores. (They have a lot of excellent info in the Lulu forums at http://www.lulu.com/forums/ about all this stuff by the way.)

As part of this you'll also need to figure out whether stores should be ordering directly from Lulu (which means they won't get any discounts you've negotiated as they're considered to be just any old customer) or if you're going to buy copies from Lulu using your author discount (authors always pay just the manufacturing cost on their own books) and then sell directly to stores and customers. Another thing to consider in the mix is how you will handle returns from stores. Some stores won't carry books unless they can return unsold copies to the publisher for a refund.

4. Market, promote, and publicize! Your book won't sell, even if it's in the stores, if no one knows it exists.

Another helpful website is Aaron Shepard's site (http://www.aaronshep.com/publishing/index.html). Shepard is the author of "Aiming At Amazon" which is all about self-publishing and working with the Amazon market.

[Klucky]

Sounds good!

-Klucky

[Morr]

So basically -- Don't pay and do all the work yourself... Or pay and Lulu does all the work for ya.

Hmmm...

[Klucky]

So basically -- Don't pay and do all the work yourself... Or pay and Lulu does all the work for ya.

Hmmm...

But you get to keep the rights. :uhhuhuh:

I can see where you're coming from, but their policy just makes sense to me. :)

-Klucky

[Morr]

Oh, I am liking Lulu -- Don't get me wrong!

I just want to get all the details and the full complete picture before I make any decisions and invest any money.

[Klucky]

Can't blame you for that! :lol: Yeah, it looks really good to me, but I'm also biding my time. Looking at it very, very carefully.

-Klucky

[Ben Gruagach]

So basically -- Don't pay and do all the work yourself... Or pay and Lulu does all the work for ya.

Hmmm...

It's not quite that simple. Even when you purchase a distribution package you still have to do all the promotion, publicity, and advertising yourself. Distribution packages just make it easier because Lulu does the ISBN, listing in Books In Print, and a couple of key distribution deals so that stores can order your book more easily. It's still up to you to do the work (make contacts, negotiate, etc.) if you want your book in physical stores.

And Lulu does not retain rights to any of your work no matter whether you purchase a distribution package or not. Authors are always able to terminate their book's availability through Lulu and have it published elsewhere if they choose. It doesn't cost anything to terminate. (Note though that books that are no longer available through Lulu need to have a new ISBN assigned through whatever new publishing option you pursue. A new ISBN is required according to how the ISBN rules work for each time a new "edition" is produced, even if all that is different is the publisher.)

This forum thread at Lulu explains the issue of rights to your work. (http://www.lulu.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=24001)

[Morr]

That makes sense, Ben.

Publicity and promotion are fun, though ;) LOL for me anyways.

When I said "Lulu does all the work for you", I kinda meant the whole ISBN and initial distribution stuff. It makes sense that anything beyond that, if I want my book to expand beyond the distributers Lulu works with, is all my job and doing. Which is cool.

Seems like Lulu lets you take the first step much more easily. Later, if you want to go beyond that, it is all your work and doing (and luck, I suppose).

Thank you so much!

[Ben Gruagach]

Even with a Lulu distribution package the advertising/promotion thing is really important to get the book into customers' hands. Many online bookstores like Amazon automatically list new books that show up in the Books In Print database. Having a book listed on Amazon is one thing though and having a book on Amazon that actually sells is something else. And the difference is due to promotion/publicity/advertising.

[SilverClaw]

CafePress also does not have anything to do with ISBN assignments or getting your book listed in Books In Print or distributed to places like Amazon, which Lulu handles through their distribution packages.
yep I knew that and had plans for my books on a local bases but now I am not going to bother with cafe press...


In Canada they are available through http://www.collectionscanada.ca/isbn/index-e.html Gee when I last looked online they did not have the ISBN forms available online tells you how long it has been since I last looked. And finally an explanation last to what the parts of the ISBN and what it refers to.

So if you use LuLus package and get the ISBN from them is it going to matter if you live in Canada or not?

[Zhr Morgana]

Ben knows what he's talking about. I am currently going through Lulu to publish my first book, which is a collection of poetry. The website is very easy to use, any questions I've had have been answered in their FAQ pages (and forums too), I've had no troubles with it at all. The shipping takes roughly 10 business days, but the book quality is absolutely fantastic. I chose hardcover format for my book with dust jacket. It looks amazing, just like what you would see in the bookstores.

The only thing that has taken me a while to get this going is getting my manuscript absolutely perfect. I've had to purchase a copy of my book (before the actual test copy...lol that was my bad) so I could actually see my words on paper and make the final edits that way.

Basically the only thing I don't like is having to purchase a test copy before finalizing the project, and the fact that I don't get any books for free, which I would if I went somewhere like iUniverse, the number depends on how much money I am willing to spend...but I am one of those who believe that you must spend money in order to make money, so it is not a bad thing for me. I am looking around to find local businesses and people who will promote my book and possibly purchase some stock for their store.


Bottom line...no matter where you go, you will have to work to get your book noticed. Whether it is looking for a publisher, or going the self-publishing route, or doing the legwork in promoting and advertising it...some effort will have to be made, and it will always cost you some money. You simply cannot get it accomplished totally for free...and by "totally" I mean getting the ISBN number, promoting, distributing, and advertising. Overall, Lulu is definitely the best value imo...and no matter what, your work is always copyrighted under your name. They can't use it elsewhere and you don't have to sign over your rights to it.

I hope I helped some.

[Ben Gruagach]

yep I knew that and had plans for my books on a local bases but now I am not going to bother with cafe press...

Gee when I last looked online they did not have the ISBN forms available online tells you how long it has been since I last looked. And finally an explanation last to what the parts of the ISBN and what it refers to.

So if you use LuLus package and get the ISBN from them is it going to matter if you live in Canada or not?

Lulu's "Published By You" is only available to people who live in the US because they go through the US ISBN agency. Their other distribution package, "Published by Lulu" costs $100 US (I think) and because it lists Lulu as the publisher in the ISBN application the author can be anywhere in the world. But if you want to be listed as the official publisher in Books In Print you would have to either be a US resident or else do the ISBN application yourself and skip the Lulu distribution packages anyways.

Oh, and iUniverse doesn't give an author copies of their book for free. Their cheapest package costs $299 just to have your book listed with them, and you can be sure part of that price you pay covers the "free" copies they might send to you as the author. Lulu on the other hand charges nothing to authors who list books with them if none of the distribution plans are purchased -- the only thing the author pays for is the manufacturing and shipping cost of whatever copies of their own book they order. For instance, a 6 inch by 9 inch paperback with black and white content, 256 pages costs all of $9.65 plus shipping. That's a whole lot less than $299.

Lulu is great but it's not the only option out there of course. Another option, which requires a lot more advanced knowledge on the part of the author/publisher, is to deal directly with the printing company that Lulu actually uses -- they are called LSI (Lightning Source International) (https://www.lightningsource.com/). There's an excellent comparison of Lulu versus LSI in this Lulu forum thread (http://www.lulu.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=63926).

The big difference is that Lulu is user-friendly and helps authors who don't know the publishing business to get their stuff in print. LSI on the other hand deals with publishing companies so individual authors who deal with them have to be prepared for a whole other level of acting professional as a publisher, complete with a clear understanding of how to get published. LSI doesn't hand-hold or really guide authors in any way -- they just provide publishing services.

The price difference between Lulu and LSI are so slight that I think Lulu really is the much better deal in many ways -- the help in getting things published that they provide to newbies is definitely worth the couple of dollars more you might pay.

[Phoenix Blue]

Ben, I'm glad to see your insight on the whole self-publishing thing. It sounds like you've done a lot of research.

I have a related question: How would you weigh the pros and cons of self-publishing versus going through an established publishing house?

[Ben Gruagach]

Ben, I'm glad to see your insight on the whole self-publishing thing. It sounds like you've done a lot of research.

I have a related question: How would you weigh the pros and cons of self-publishing versus going through an established publishing house?

Traditional publishing has a much better reputation overall than self-publishing has in the past (although I suspect this is changing.) At least some self-publishers use self-publishing as a way to "test the waters" with their books and when they get sufficient attention from traditional publishers they switch over to that method of getting their books in print.

Traditional publishers have advertising budgets and departments, know-how and established reputations in publishing, existing distribution deals to get their books in stores. Authors who work with traditional publishing houses still need to do promotion (book signings, etc.) but overall they are able to focus more on just writing when compared with self-publishers. Self-publishers have to really do everything themselves and have to learn the business as they go along.

[SilverClaw]

Thank you Ben :)

[Zhr Morgana]

I wanted to buy the "Published By You" option since it was on sale...but figured that since my work is under a non-exclusive distribution to Lulu, and I am able to publish anywhere else with no problem, I went ahead and got the "Published By Lulu" package anyway. It seemed to be an easier option for me, since there was no forms to fill out to get the ISBN number and it was assigned right away. I am currently waiting for my test copy to arrive in the mail, and when it comes, most likely I will be finalizing the book and releasing it to the public.

Now...a question for Ben if he is around...when tax time comes around, what exactly needs to be done?

[Ben Gruagach]

I wanted to buy the "Published By You" option since it was on sale...but figured that since my work is under a non-exclusive distribution to Lulu, and I am able to publish anywhere else with no problem, I went ahead and got the "Published By Lulu" package anyway. It seemed to be an easier option for me, since there was no forms to fill out to get the ISBN number and it was assigned right away. I am currently waiting for my test copy to arrive in the mail, and when it comes, most likely I will be finalizing the book and releasing it to the public.

Now...a question for Ben if he is around...when tax time comes around, what exactly needs to be done?

I'm not an American (I'm Canadian) so I don't know how the taxes are handled there. Here's what Lulu says in their agreement for the Published By Lulu distribution package:

14. You accept that Lulu.com as the publisher is legally obligated to report any royalties that you earn through this ISBN to the United States IRS under the following conditions: For domestic US individuals or business entities, ALL royalties that you earn through this ISBN regardless of their ship-to address or final destination must be reported. For Non-Resident Alien individuals or business entities any royalties that you earn through this ISBN which are shipped to a US address will be considered US Sourced Income and must be reported.
You agree to provide Lulu.com with your complete tax information to facilitate the tax reporting mentioned in point 10 of this agreement. You also agree that if you do not provide this completed tax documentation, the royalties that you earn through this ISBN will be subject to backup withholding. Specifically:

Domestic US individuals or entities must provide a completed, signed W-9 form with a valid Social Security Number (SSN) or Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) or Employer Identification Number (EIN for businesses). If a domestic US individual or entity has a valid W-9 form on file with Lulu then there will be no withholding tax deducted from the royalties that you earn through this ISBN. If a domestic US individual or entity does NOT have a valid W-9 form on file with Lulu then the royalties that you earn through this ISBN will be subject to the default backup withholding rate for domestic entities (currently 28%).

Non-Resident Alien individuals or entities must provide a completed, signed W-8BEN form with a valid Individual Taxpayer Identification Number (ITIN) or Employer Identification Number (EIN for businesses). If a Non-Resident Alien individual or entity has a valid W-8BEN form on file with Lulu then US Sourced royalties that you earn through this ISBN will be subject to the withholding tax rate specified in the taxation treaty between the US and the country you specify on line 9A of your W-8BEN form, if such a treaty exists. If a Non-Resident Alien individual or entity does NOT have a valid W-8BEN form on file with Lulu then the US Sourced royalties that you earn through this ISBN will be subject to the default backup withholding rate for Non-Resident Alien entities (currently 30%). Any US taxation treaty that specifically addresses, is documented, and directly conflicts with this structure will supersede these general rules.

The info is on http://www.lulu.com/help/index.php?fSymbol=pbl_agreement

Lulu's forums are at http://www.lulu.com/forums/ -- I'd recommend asking questions in either the ISBNs, Plus Distribution, and Other Services forum or the Pricing, Royalties, and Storefronts one.

[SilverClaw]

I'm not an American (I'm Canadian) so I don't know how the taxes are handled there. Ok so as a Canadian how would they be done?? :D

[Ben Gruagach]

Ok so as a Canadian how would they be done?? :D

Lulu pays you the full amount you are owed and as a Canadian it's your responsibility to set aside any that you would owe in taxes, and then report and submit it in your annual taxes. (It's basically what anyone who is self-employed or who runs their own business would do.)

There's info on Canadian small businesses and taxes at http://sbinfocanada.about.com/cs/taxinfo/a/incometaxfaq.htm (I'm sure there's more out there if you do a search for it.)

Edited to add: I believe Lulu pays non-Americans the full amount you are owed when you use Published By Lulu -- if you are able to arrange to use a US address and use the Published By You distribution package I don't think Lulu withholds any of the taxes as part of the deal, American or not. Published By You assumes you are your own publishing house so taxes are your responsibility.

[SilverClaw]

Thanks Ben :D

[Ben Gruagach]

I just got a book in the mail that I ordered from a self-published author. I'm not going to mention the author's name or the book title to protect the guilty.

If you're considering self-publishing, please please please be sure to have your book proofread by someone who knows how to spell and use correct grammar! I don't expect every book to be perfect (typos have a way of slipping by the proofreading process) but it makes an author look really bad when they consistently misuse apostrophes and homonyms like their, they're, and there.

Misused apostrophes are even more glaring when they are in titles -- not used (correctly) in some plurals, and then added (incorrectly) in other plurals in the same title.

Sloppy editing and proofreading tends to get in the way of the message of a book. Make sure the message of your book isn't being lost on your intended audience due to avoidable mistakes!

[Klucky]

It's good that you mentioned that. I thought such a thing was obvious, but apparently not. ;) Yeah, poor spelling and/or grammar can look terribly unprofessional. Heck, I get angry enough just trying to read a poorly written e-mail! :lol:

-Klucky

[SilverClaw]

If you're considering self-publishing, please please please be sure to have your book proofread by someone who knows how to spell and use correct grammar! Ya that is a given and in my case I am lucky I have my husband who is a professional editor :D

[Rowana]

I am not self published, but I have a friend who is, and has learned about it the hard way. DO NOT go with Publish America. I work at B&N, and we do not order their books, because if they don't sell, we're stuck with them. Other publishers let us send books back to be redistributed. Also, Publish America is one of many scam self-publishers. The cash should flow towards the writer, not away, and if they want a lot of money to publish, and you get only a little back with sales, that's a scam. Be cautious in who you use(Barnes and Noble actually has its own publishing company, and I am quite sure you can self-publish through them and your books will be at our stores. I looked into it once, and it seemed like a good deal). You don't want to get stuck! I'd advise trying to submit things to someone like TOR, or another publisher of books in your genre first. If you don't have any luck, self-publishing is more of a last resort.

Good luck!

[Ben Gruagach]

Thanks for that post, Rowana.

You are right that one of the big issues regarding getting a book in physical stores is whether the stores are allowed to return unsold copies to the publisher. With self-published authors you need to handle returns yourself, or else work with a distributor who will handle it for you.

Many of the print-on-demand companies do not routinely take returns. This means that many stores won't put those books on their shelves (although most stores are always happy to special-order a book that a customer requests.)

Online stores are another matter as returns are not necessarily a problem there. Many online stores like Amazon.com and even BarnesAndNoble.com list print-on-demand books on their webstores from self-published authors, even when those same books are not carried in the physical stores because of the no-returns problem.

Self-published really does mean that you are doing it all yourself. When you work with an established publisher they handle all these sorts of things for the author. If you're uncomfortable with doing it all yourself you would be much better seeking out a traditional publisher than going the self-published route.

[Ben Gruagach]

The self-publishing market just got a lot more interesting...

Amazon.com had started up its own print-on-demand service but like so many of these services they charged a fee just to list a book (unlike Lulu.com, which provides that for free and only charges for distribution packages that include an ISBN which make your book available to vendors outside the Lulu site.)

It seems that Lulu's success has put some pressure on Amazon and Amazon has followed Lulu's lead. Now you can set up a print-on-demand product such as a book, CD, or DVD through an Amazon spinoff company without having to pay a fee just to set up the project. And since it's a spinoff company of Amazon, you can opt to have your product listed on the Amazon website for free (you can also choose to not list your product on Amazon -- but why refuse that freebie?) And to top it off, if you are producing a book you can also get an ISBN through the Amazon POD site for free. If you obtain an ISBN on your own, and therefore list yourself as the publisher, you can use your ISBN with the Amazon system as well. You're not required to get your ISBN through Amazon although they do provide that free service (although I suspect that the Amazon company is then listed as the publisher rather than you.)

Check it all out at http://www.createspace.com/

Most of the details about how it all works are found in the FAQ files at http://www.createspace.com/Help/Index.jsp

I hope this works out as having more than one choice for a reasonably-priced print on demand service is good for authors!

[Klucky]

Cool! Thanks for the update!

-Klucky