SELF PUBLISHING - ADVICE FROM A PUBLISHED AUTHOR TO PROSPECTIVE AUTHORS

These days one sees a lot of advertorial posts by self publishing companies asking prospective authors to come to them with their manuscripts. I am noting that the number of such publishers is increasing. Till two years back, there were only 2-3 such companies but now you see a new name every 2-3 months. They lure authors by attractive publishing packages and big promises.

I got a book published from one of such publishers. It was released last year in May. Here is my experience about self publishing which I want to share with friends. It might help them.

What is self publishing?

First of all let me tell about this process of self publishing. You give your manuscript to the publisher. Choose a publishing package. Sign a contract. He takes 50 per cent of amount at the time of signing the contract and rest after a few weeks when the book is in the final stages of production. During these days, the publisher designs the cover, completes the formalities regarding ISBN number etc. and will tell you the estimated cost price of the book. He will also suggest you the ideal sale price of your book and royalty you will be getting from the sale of book. After these matters are finalized, you are asked to pay the publishing cost. The book will then go for printing. You are also asked the number of copies that you would like to buy for your use. The entire process is quite swift and the publisher keeps a continuous contact with you. Soon you will receive your copies plus 3 free copies from the publisher.

My book published by Blue Rose Publishers

Advantages:

It is not easy to find a publisher for a book. Publisher is a businessman and is into publishing to make money. Therefore he has his own criteria of choosing a book for publication. In fact, every book that he undertakes to publish is a business project for him and naturally he does not want to be a looser. He will try to select only those books which have a sale potential. Moreover every publisher is afraid of “first time” authors. So by spending a few thousand rupees you find a publisher for your book and become a “published author”.
Usually these publishers have a good team of workers specializing in different fields of book production. They also offer to get the manuscripts edited. So, on the whole the quality of book is good, though there are few options to save money too.

Disadvantages:

These publishers do nothing to promote sales. This you will have to do yourself. The publisher will just get the book listed for sale at online bookstores like Amazon and Flipkart. The record of the sale, however, is kept meticulously by the publisher on his website. When a copy is sold, you are informed by email.
Though the publishers say that they do not charge any money except the actual production cost, but it does not seem to be true. There are hidden charges. The cover price of my book, दुनिया जैसी मैंने देखी – 43 किस्से मेरी विदेश यात्राओं से, which has been published by Blue Rose Publishers in May, 2019, is 170 rupees. The production cost of the book is Rs.76.16. Amazon and Flipkart also add 40 rupees for forwarding and therefore a buyer gets a copy for 210 rupees. For each book, I am paid a royalty of 23 rupees. If the book is sold by the Blue Rose (publishers), then the royalty amount is 90 rupees, but I have noticed that books are sold only by Amazon. From the list of titles published by Blue Rose, it seems to be quite experienced publisher.
Now let us come to economics. The price of my publication package was 19,045 in which they gave me 3 copies. I had ordered 100 copies for my use for which I was asked to pay 7700 plus 1550 for shipping. This way the whole package cost me 28,295 rupees for 103 copies.
If you want more copies later, the charge is different. Though the production cost for this book is only Rs.76.16 per copy, but there are many additions to it. Rs.17.70 is their handling charge per copy and the forwarding for a lot of 50 copies is Rs. 920.40. Thus I paid rupees 5613.40 for 50 copies which I had bought later, meaning that each copy costs me 112.27. So I pay Rs. 36.11 extra for each copy which is 47 per cent of the cost price.
For each copy sold online by Amazon and Flipkart, I am paid a royalty of 23 rupees.
Till today, 50 copies have been sold online. I have been promoting the book myself a lot on social media. I also sent copies for review to some magazines and newspapers but only Divya Himachal published a review and others have been keeping quiet though I had sent them the copies only after getting their nod.

Conclusion and advice:

Self publishing is a losing bargain as these publishers do not do anything for promoting the sale. Their profit lies in book production and they hardly do anything after that. Self publishing will suit only those, who have links in governments and can manage to get copies purchased for various state libraries. Such people usually price their book quite or even very high and then make money. Or it will suit those who just “want to be recognized” as author and are ready to spend money for it.
I would advise all prospective authors, especially the first time ones, to try to get their work published from established publishers, even if they ask for some money too. These people have their sales net work and mange to sell a few thousand copies to state and other libraries so that your work is able to reach atleast some people. I have written two more books besides this and I say it on the basis of my personal experience.
At the end, I would also advise the authors to read the book, “BOOK Publishing – PRINCIPLES & PRACTICES” by one of the senior publisher Dina N. Malhotra, who had founded Hind Pocket Books and owns very big publishing companies of India. This book gives a very good idea about the kind of manuscripts sought by publishers.

 

Dina N. Malhotra's book which in my opinion every prospective 

author must read before looking for a publisher.