Should you Self-publish?

There is a certain stigma that comes with self-publishing, the term being branded as vanity publishing. However, a deeper understanding of how publishing works can help you know what truly is in store for you in terms of self-publishing.

Many aspiring authors who have grown tired of trying to get an agent, let alone get their book published. With so many authors, a mountain of manuscripts and limited shelf-space, these authors have taken things into their own hands, going en-route self-publishing.

According to Bowker, the agency that assigns ISBNs and publishes the Books in Print database, self-published books have outnumbered traditional titles in production last year.

Self-publishing, just like traditional publishing, is not for everyone. However, it can be right for you. If you find yourself in any of these situations, then self-publishing just might work to your advantage:

• You know that your book has real potential but find it difficult to get an agent or a publisher.

• You are a professional (business entrepreneur, public speaker, church leader, etc) who wants to publish a book that will cater to your prospective audience or target audience.

• You do not seek fame and fortune. You only want to have something special to give to your loved ones.

• You want to get full creative control of your book’s entire creative process. Since it is your book, you want to want to be in complete charge.

• You have given up on rejection letters and simply want to get your book published.

Publishing power does not all have to be in the hands of major publishers – it belongs to the author. Moreover, major publishers just cannot see the next bestseller when they see one.

Self-publishing provides an opportunity for aspiring authors to not just launch their writing careers, but truly fulfill their dream of getting published.

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Published book reveals Raunchiest Men in History

It has been said that the great men of history, whose contributions have enriched our lives today, were open and had brazen sexuality.

There was Diogenes, the famous philosopher who masturbated in the Athenian marketplace; Jean Jacques Rousseau, whose candid revelations in his book The Confessions earned him the title of being ‘the famous masturbator’.

Ernest Hemingway also bragged about his masturbation sessions on the Paris Left Bank while William Shakespeare’s sexual trysts was also intelligently mapped out in his sonnets as well.

Thomas Smith delves into this paradox in his self-published book, The Raunchiest Men in History. In this book, the author digs deep into the kinky lives of some of the world’s greatest men – from writers, poets, artists and even the clergy.

In The Raunchiest Men in History, Smith also reveals the rather shocking and scandalous sexual pathos among the clergy, some of which include Pius II, the great Vivaldi and Alexander VI. He also provides explanation behind this psychology in Freudian context. The book also recounts the author's sexually intense encounters as well.

The Raunchiest Men in History lets you in on shockingly steamy revelations from some of the world’s greatest men and provides a deeper understanding of the human psyche.

Do you have an interesting story to share? Publish it. Receive this FREE book publishing guide and start your journey to publication.

Pros and Cons of Book Publishing

image source: desktop.self-publishing.com

Publishing a book always has its highs and lows. Whether you want to take the traditional route of publishing or choose to self-publish, a better understanding of how the world of publishing works can help you decide which publishing route best fits your goals.

TRADITIONAL PUBLISHING:
Going the traditional way works well for a person with an established status or a huge following, say a celebrity or a TV-radio personality. The moment a traditional publisher says yes to your book, you no longer have control over it.

Traditional publishing does everything for your book – from editing, layout, to printing down to marketing. This may be a good thing, but a downside to it is that you don’t have creative control of your book. You may find that your already-edited manuscript has but strayed from your original work.

Traditional publishing pays you to get your book out. You will get an advance, although it may be modest for a first-time author. They determine how many books to print and your book makes it to the bookstore. However, if it doesn’t sell in 30 days, the publishing house will forget you. Putting out another book with them may take a lot of convincing for them as well. And yes, your books will be returned to you, too.

Unless you get a good lawyer to arrange ownership rights to your book once it gets shelved, you waive your rights away. In terms of royalties, traditional publishing houses now pay only 10% at most of wholesale. (they used to pay royalties at 10% of retail.)

SELF-PUBLISHING:
A downside of self-publishing is that you have to pay to get your book published. Depending on the package, you may have to pay a budget-savvy or a whoppingly high amount to publish your book with them. However, if you pick the right self-publishing company, they will give you a favorable return on your investment.

A great thing about self-publishing is that you get full creative control of your book – from the editing, cover art to marketing. You retain ownership rights to your book as well – after all, it is you who wrote your book.

Your book gets worldwide online distribution through Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Borders, etc. Marketing and Distribution are perhaps the biggest blocks of self-publishing. Only very few distributors are willing to deal with self-published authors.

This implies that getting your book to land in bookstores can be tough. This is because self-published books are non-returnable, unless you push for an aggressive book marketing campaign. So does getting your book evaluated by established book review institutions. Another good thing about self-publishing is that you don’t have to worry about inventory or a pile of unsold books collecting dust in your garage.

But perhaps the best thing about self-publishing is that there is no one else to convince about publishing a book but yourself.

Publish a book today and enjoy 50% off on publishing services this November. Receive this FREE book publishing guide and start your journey to publication.

When asked about Publishing

In an episode of the hit game show Jeopardy, Alex Trebek asks a question under Publishing category:

Question:Xlibris is a P.O.D. service. POD, a do-it-yourself method, stands for?

Answer: POD stands for Print-on-Demand.

Unfortunately, none of the players got the answer right. Wow, I surmise I could have been $1200 richer with that question. Who would have thought?

Interested to know more about POD? Read about it here.

Book publishing in NZ

Xlibris, the leading Print-on-Demand (POD) publishing services provider based in Bloomington, IN has now expanded its operations in New Zealand.

A self-publishing company, Xlibris believes in full author control of the entire book publishing process. Authors retain rights to their book as well. To date, Xlibris has been producing more than 25,000 titles for almost 20,000 book authors.

Xlibris has been a leader in the POD publishing industry and continues to lead the way. Now with its expansion in New Zealand, you can depend on quality publishing services to make a professional looking book that complements your taste.

To start your own publishing journey or to learn more about Xlibris's services, read here.