Indie publishing / Another Winter

[The Blue Avenger]

So!

Over the past few years I've been working on writing a book called Another Winter, and right now I'm looking for publishers. I decided, while I get that sorted out, to see what independent publishing held for me.

Amazon had a very good set up. Assuming you don't mind being bound to them for three months, you keep all your rights, get to set your price, and you can get back 70% of sales, which (admittedly to my uneducated mind) sounds pretty good.

So, down to the meat of this topic: does anyone here have experience with being published? If so, have you worked at all with independent publishing? How well did it work for you?

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

When I was 13 years old, I sent two comics drawn by myself to one publisher. They sent them back about 10 years later. Yes, you read right.

Now I guess I'll never be published that way, but fortunately there's the internet. It's a lot more effective way to be known, for instance people don't have to pay to see your work.

But good luck Hypotenuse Man!

[The Blue Avenger]

10 years later? No kidding? Well, I suppose it's good that they looked at them *and* had the decency to send them back, although that turnaround time is kind of scary.

[Mikachu Yukitatsu]

I still have the letter I got from them:

Hyvä Mikael Tanska,
Dear Mikael Tanska,

käydessämme hiljattain läpi arkistojamme löysimme ilmeisesti vuoden 1997 tienoilla luettavaksemme lähettämäsi sarjakuvakäsikirjoituksen, jonka palautan ohessa.
when going through our archives recently we found a comic script you apparently had sent for us to read around 1997, and I return this alongside.

Pahoittelemme, että aineiston palauttaminen on jostain syystä aikoinaan jäänyt, ja toivomme, ettei siitä koitunut suurta harmia.
We apologize that returning the material delayed for some reason back there, and we wish that it didn't result in great harm.

Well I had no copies of the two comic albums back there, so at least I was happy to get them back eventually.

[The Blue Avenger]

That's pretty fantastic. XD The guy writing the letter sounds just as surprised as you were.

[Gavin Luper]

First of all, congrats on finishing and publishing a book. Huge achievement. Well done!

I only have limited experience with publishing, and not with anything book-length, just a short story and a few journalistic articles.

In terms of a publisher, I would always suggest shooting for something bigger first, if you think your work is strong enough, because the bigger publishers have actual marketing budgets, and that's what you'll need to get sales.

Of course, just getting published is a massive feat in itself, and if that's your end, then independent publishing would probably work fine. That said, I'd recommend making sure you do keep your rights to the material and that you aren't locked into anything terrible, and keep in mind that anything that sounds too good to be true probably is.

If you're wanting sales and exposure, on the other hand, you'd want to get published with a bigger publisher who can promote your book for you. Hope this helps.

[Samchu]

I've heard a lot of good things about Amazon's assisted publishing. There's been a fair bit of coverage over here in the UK because a few people who used them managed to hit the million pound mark. It's good set-up but my biggest concern with it is that they don't market you, which means even though the book's on marketplace, not a lot of people are going to come across it. If the abomination has taught us anything it's that if you advertise a product, people will buy it, regardless of whether or not it is terrible. If you get published through the established route they will take care of that side of things: arranging book signings in store, adverts on radio, etc etc.

That said, if you're willing to take the risk or have the means to self-promote, I would go for Amazon. It's only a 3-month deal and at the end of the three months you can take that book to a publisher and say look, I put it out there for three months and this is how it sold, which will probably increase your chances of them taking it on.

[The Blue Avenger]

It's only a 3-month deal and at the end of the three months you can take that book to a publisher and say look, I put it out there for three months and this is how it sold, which will probably increase your chances of them taking it on.

That was my logic on it, but then a friend of mine brought up the point that self-publishing could work against me in the same way, if it didn't sell well or if it got too much exposure already. Not knowing a thing about publishing, that concerned me. XD

[Samchu]

Yeah that's always a worry. My advice would be to try and go through normal channels first (i.e. get an agent then a publisher) and if it doesn't work out then self-publish and try again.