O.K. so you've been turned down and rejected by the mainstream publishers. What's next? Well you can publish your own
book and get it into print for a relatively small outlay. You may be surprised to know that many "Classic" authors had to
start out by publishing their own books. Amongst these are, Stephen King, Beatrix Potter, T S Eliot, and Virginia Woolf !
Now household names; but they started just like you. There are lots of electronic publishers who can now print books on a
"one off" basis. Because technology has advanced so much everywhere, including the print industry; there are now relatively
small machines that can download your book files, be loaded with paper and card, press a button, and out pops a complete book.
Just one book at a time, or many books. As this technology is now available, electronic publishers do not need to do minimum
print runs of 100 books or more. This of course means that you could have single copies of your book for £5 - £6 pounds !!
Plus initial setup fees. As with any publisher, the more books you have printed, the lower the individual cost. You could
bring that £5 - £6 per book down to £2 -£3 if you have 500 copies printed.
This is all well and good; but to make money, you need to sell your books. To do this you will need an ISBN
(International Standard Book Number) to have your book sold in bookshops. This can cost you about £100 for each number if
you do it yourself. You will need a different ISBN for each version of your book. i.e. One for case bound (hardback) and one
for paperback. Fortunately there are companies that will do all this for you as a complete package. This could range
from approximately £200 - £4000 depending on who you use, and how many of their services you use.
You may not be aware that you will need to have six copies printed at your own cost to supply to the following
Libraries under the regulations of The Legal Deposit Libraries Act 2003 :-
The British Library.
The Bodleian Library, Oxford.
University Library, Cambridge.
The National Library of Scotland.
The Library of Trinity College, Dublin.
The National Library of Wales.
How do you get your books sold in bookshops?
This will be difficult and daunting unless you are good at selling yourself.
Locate the bookshops in your area, and start with the smaller shops and not the big chains like W.H.
Smith and Waterstones. Find out who the owner or manager is, and send them a brief letter outlining your history as a local
author. Add that you would be prepared to supply a quantity of books, and be available for a book signing to launch your book.
Many will take you up on this offer because it costs them nothing except a little space in their shop. If you can get local
press or radio coverage as well that would be even better; and is more likely to encourage the bookshop to give you space.
Everyone loves free advertising, and a free way to promote sales.
If this venture is a success, then you could approach the local branch manager of a larger chain of stores,
explaining what you have done to date.
Please bear in mind that all this effort will not necessarily earn you any money. If your book is priced
at £9.99 the bookseller will require £5 of that. Add on your total publishing cost per unit (including setup fees, ISBN, carriage,
travelling expenses. Deduct all that from £9.99 and that is what you make. Not much.
Don't be put off by all of this because this is the start of your successful career as a published author.
All this effort will lead to other things where you will eventually start making money.
You may choose not to do any of this; but you will still have your great work in print for posterity.
