For a non-fiction, I'm with ChickenFreak on this - go with a traditional publisher. Anyone can self-publish a book and they can big themselves up to sound like they know a lot. As someone who doesn't know the subject and might wanna read up on it, how will I know if you know what you're talking about? I honestly don't. I have to trust some other expert who can tell me, "Yes, this guy knows his stuff." However, another big reason I'd go with a traditional publisher is this: you want to supplement the book with about 100 photos. A publisher would be able to give you a high quality glossy finish on those images, whereas you won't have that kinda budget if you self-published. At best you'd be able to include them in your e-version, but think about how big the average Kindle screen is - heck, a lot of people read on their touch phones. Think of how tiny those screens are. And with these kinds of photos, I imagine the readers might want a large image they can appreciate rather than a little thumbnail on their screens. Bear in mind also some people still have the older generation of Kindles - like myself - which only sees things in black and white. If you're including these images in a self-pubbed book, formatting is probably gonna be a nightmare, and coloured printing of any quality will cost you an arm and a leg - even via Create Space with print on demand, you wouldn't be able to set it at a price that would mean any sales. My own self-pubbed novel - with only the cover and back as coloured and the rest black and white - must be priced at $11+ for the US Amazon and £10+ for UK Amazon - and that's just to cover printing costs. The site won't let you price it any lower. Now imagine if you're including 100 coloured photos in the book. Also, I don't see why you can't split your book up into 4 even if you went with a traditional publisher.
Hello Mckk, I appreciate the feedback. Contemplating the self publishing route is merely my plan B in the event the traditional publishing doesn't pan out. As far as the e-readers are concerned... I am completely clueless. I have researched the pros and cons of e-publishing and am prepared to give it a go if need be. I have calibre installed for formatting and file conversion. If I bog down, I'll pass it on to someone else to properly format. We've never had an e-reader nor a cell phone so I can't comment on image quality other than I can imagine a set of binoculars might come in handy for anyone trying to view my images on a small screen. As you point out, images will likely be problematic. It's all pretty confusing. I really can't see me doing a POD and only envision doing an e-version. I have no idea whether 100 images in my book is practical or not. I have included that detail in my formal proposal but have no feedback yet. That many images may end up being a pipe dream, even for the kindle version. I am at a huge disadvantage without having some personal experience with e-readers. I appreciate all the feedback. Publishing is not my strong suit and I take all the feedback to heart. Thanks.
Hi Bushman, I don't know what TV is like in the US/Canada about survival shows, but here in the UK they do seem to be flavour of the month. However, the people they put on it are usually divots with minimal survival skills and, really, little interest other than in being on TV. None of those guys is going to finish the programme and start looking for a homestead!
Shadowfax, Over here in the US/Canada, those wilderness reality shows have been going strong for several years. They are tapering off thankfully. We get a kick out of them. It's so obvious they are overly dramatized, and the nuttier the character, the better. This will probably come as a shock to the readers of this thread but, we don't have death defying events we have to deal with daily. Although we are far removed from civilization, life is pretty laid back for us. Usually! I haven't heard the term "divots" Funny. Dufus would be a comparable term.
For nonfiction, yes, they are looking at more than just the writing - they don't want the crap to hit the fan when readers realize the author barely knows the basics of what they're supposedly an expert on. I'm not sure what you mean by "the popularity of a fad", particularly since living off the grid has been a big topic for many, many years. To the OP, just bear in mind you don't have to convince us of your quaifications - you do have to convince the readers. And frankly, someone interested in living off the grid is more likely to be browsing bookstores than the internet - and that means trade publishers.
Problematic on Amazon, because they give you two options for self-published ebooks: 1. 35% royalties. 2. 70% royalties for books from $2.99-9.99, but they subtract a delivery charge from that based on the size of the ebook file. More and/or larger images == $$$$$. It's not that hard, unless you want colour images. Unlike traditionally printed books, I'm not aware of any PoD printer who will let you include a few colour pages in a black-and-white book. The only option is colour throughout, and that dramatically increases the cost. And, as Shadowwalker mentioned, someone living off the grid may well want a print book rather than an ebook.
OK Gingercoffee, I'm giving this quote system a try. Thanks for cluing me in on it. The topic of living off grid for many, many years as you note, could really be phrased "in decades". Certainly no fad. Just look at the solar and small wind turbine industries. Big business. I've heard people talk of power bills, but I don't know what they are. No problem on convincing the board of qualifications. I take it as generic that what I really need to do is convince my readers which is good advice.
Hello Edward, Thanks for your input. I had my first inquiry on when this book will be available from my website. I need to get this figured out. I did come across that Amazon download information but forgot about the cost to download larger files. I spent all day and last night educating myself on inserting images and about epub/mobi formats. Amazon has a good reference pdf I came across and am using. I do understand that traditional publishing is likely the best solution. I'm overwhelmed with choices. I have a commitment from a publisher to start with an ebook later this year and if it sells, go to print. I have another publisher that is booked this year and might print next year. Another has a formal proposal from me and I need to wait for a decision. Those three are currently what I have interested. Regardless of publisher, it seems that any ebook or print version wouldn't happen until 2016 if I stuck with the traditional publishing. I'm thinking if I do the e-book myself, it can get to market quicker, give me an opportunity to further prove the concept to the publisher and I'll be ahead in the game overall. (maybe the publisher won't touch it if it has gone to e-book?? ) I will be patient until early July to see how things play out. But in the meantime, I don't want to waste this time. I'd really like to get a file ready to ship out that is a complete e-book for Amazon etc in epub and mobi. Then I can look at POD. I have to study pricing but I'm starting to think I'm shooting myself in the foot with all these photos. I'll price out a book with B/W and color images. Being an unknown entity, I can't imagine people wanting to spend $15 to $20 or more on a printed book. And yet, I feel the book will be far more interesting if people can relate to the story via some pictures. I'll keep plugging. I'm going to start a new thread on inserting images instead of lengthening this thread to death. Thanks for the opportunity to bounce ideas around.
I have a commitment from a publisher to start with an ebook later this year and if it sells, go to print. if they're charging you for that privilege i'd give em a miss.
If you've published it, first publication rights are gone. That makes the book less valuable to publishers. And I doubt that a traditional publisher will accept an e-book that you've prepared; they're going to want that work done by their people. If someone claiming to be a traditional publisher accepted the author's work in preparing an e-book, I would suspect that they're actually a vanity publisher.
Hello rincewind31, I fully understand your concern. No money goes to the publisher. The publisher will take my manuscript, edit it, publish it to various e-book venues and take 50% net. It would be available on the publishers website, facebook as well as amazon etc. If the book sells some magic quantity of ebooks, then a print version would be done. That's my understanding. On a separate note... I like the part about the chocolate cake. I have several mentions in the book about my chocolate tendencies. A 50 pound sack of cocoa powder in inventory insures I stay fully chocolate powered.
Thanks Chickenfreak. I wasn't sure how a publisher would view an ebook on the market. All the more reason to bide my time, be patient and see how this all plays out. But still utilize this waiting period to prepare for plan B if nothing materializes. A couple more months and maybe I'll have a better sense of direction.
Bushman, it's unlikely anybody will buy it from their own website, and 50% is a big cut. Will you have any imput over pricing?
I don't like this. I don't have the expertise to say for sure that it sounds nervous-making, but I don't like it. I would do a lot of research on this publisher, on all the usual "is this publisher a scam?" websites. (The only one I know of is Preditors & Editors, but I think there are others.)
I'm with ChickenFreak on this - that doesn't sound so great. I don't see why you'd need to give them 50% for that sorta work - you could easily do it yourself and keep all the profits. What else are they offering that makes it worth it to publish through them? Who is this publisher, may I ask? I'd definitely advise you to check the publisher out via Predators & Editors, and check out any testimonies of authors who've been published by that publisher. (and not testimonies posted on their own website lol - find an unbiased source)
Mckk, Quick question. If I click on your profile link, a pop up window displays a little info about you and I have an option to "start a new conversation" Is that basically the same as a personal, direct message? Thanks
Yep - that's basically sending a private message to the member You have the option of inviting more people to the conversation once it's started if you wish.
Hi Chickenfreak, I appreciate your concern. There is nothing that I've found that would be negative on this publisher. I've checked as best I can. They have over 100 books e-published. Granted, some of the books are the publishers own and many authors have a series of their own books. It appears that 11 of those books sold well enough that they became paperback versions. However, as Mckk pointed out, 50% doesn't get me excited and is a primary reason I continue to at least pursue an ebook as a parallel strategy. I sincerely appreciate your honest feedback on things.
So you've never seen an incompetent non-fiction book on the bookstore shelf? As for more likely to browse a bookstore than the Net, the author in question is here on the Net isn't he?
Of course. That doesn't make that the rule, however. Akin to saying some trade published novels were badly edited so trade publishers in general are bad at editing. As I noted - "more likely". Again, exceptions, rules...
I've spent $15-20 many times on books by unknown--to me--entities. That's a pretty normal price range for a trade paperback around here, or in the UK.
Edward, I appreciate the encouragement. BayView sent an awesome link and for the last couple days, I have been fully immersed in formatting. I should have text all formatted today and will tackle inserting images next. Once I have an ebook formatted, I'll take a look at the POD side of things. It should be an easy matter to price out my cost. Thanks.
If you are considering publishing an e-book then why don't you try Amazon. The platform is popular and you can get quick sale.
