Hello, all, I never dreamed it would be this hard to write a book. Actually, writing it was easy, it's everything that comes after that will drive you bats. First the hassle of finding out everything has to be in PDF form. Of course, my whole book was written in Windows Works, which doesn't work with most PDF converters. I was finally able to work to iron the bugs out there, and tried to get a POD publisher. You have to sign up with them, and the new account sign-up link wouldn't work. I was finally able to jump that hurdle, and they sent me an email stating I would have to have a tax ID number. I went online to apply for one. I filled out all the information, you have to hit submit, and THEN they pop up the fees section. $150 for a tax ID!!! I have to pay the govt $150 to be able to pay them taxes!! I haven't sold ANYTHING yet, and will have to sell at least the first 20 books to pay the govt, not to mention the POD fees, and whatever shipping is involved, including the mailers. : ( Does everything have to be this hard? Man! Cherie
.. Just when you think all is well it hits you! Thats just too mean. You'll probably have a nicer day tomorrow. For every bad day, you have one of bliss
It certainly does give meaning to the phrase: "You have to spend money to make money" Especially when it seems that the gov's take, in my humble oppinion, more than enough already. It just goes to show that somebody is feathering their pockets.
first of all, why are you self-publishing your book instead of seeking an agent and paying publisher? secondly, which pod outfit are you dealing with?... the most reliable ones don't demand what you're describing, as far as i know...
I'm also wondering why you're self-publishing. If it's a carefully considered decision made after looking at all the options, well, OK, but I find myself worrying that maybe you aren't aware of the traditional publishing process, and don't know that it's an option? ChickenFreak
As for the PDF converter - you can download Open Office for free and import the Works file. You can export in PDF from "Writer"...
Tax Files Numbers are free and compulsory in Australia =P You might want to review your decision to self-publish if you're concerned about having to pay anything in advance.
I don't know much about the final steps of publishing, but as a graphic designer I know that PDF is the only way to deal with finialised work going to print. Any text in a microsoft package moves around from computer to computer, so a document you thought was 302 pages, could suddenly become 350 pages when it goes to print. Times that by your print run and WOW thats a lot of extra cost to you. So PDF is almost like a photograph of the document. Nothing moves around problem solved. It is important that it is a High Resolution PDF or a 'Print Quanlity' PDF you are creating, as the text may not look crisp if it is on a 'Web' or low quality setting. I don't understand why you can't copying and paste your text out of the programme you are having problems with and set in something that can handle the most common file used across the globe (the PDF). If you need any help on setting up, I can usually help with regards to dpi/quality/printers marks etc
Thank you all so much! Hello, all, Thank you so much for your responses! This forum really is like a family, with all helping each other! I will try to respond to each suggestion. Hi, minstrel, no they won't let you use your SS# to collect sales tax. It has to be a tax ID. Hi, AbbeyWilson, thanks for the encouragement! Egil1Eye: Amen! Hello, again, mammamala! And hi, ChickenFreak! I am new to this, the book is written and print ready, the POD outfits I have contacted are Lulu, CreateSpace, and LightningSource (who asks for a 1 time $105 charge and insists on a tax ID number before they will go any further). So I applied for the Indiana eax ID, and you have to submit all of your information before they allow you to go to the next page, which lists all the charges, and a place to put in your Mastercard or Visa information. I was shocked! They wanted $140 for the number, and $10 for sending it to you, for a total of $150! I would have to sell 15 books just to pay the government for the privilege of collecting money for them! Man! : ( I also tried to locate a publisher. I went online, and there is an outfit that gives you the names and information on publishers in print form (Vol. 1 & 2) for $400!! I checked the local library and they had a copy, so I rushed down to get it, and found it was Vol. 2, and the publishers are only listed in Vol. 1! Another bummer! I have gone to book stores, and while every book has a publisher, I found no books at all on my subject matter. Hello, cmcpress, thanks for the PDF info. I have downloaded the MS PDF converter add-on, Primo, and 2 others, but am having problems. I can convert a document to PDF, but the next document I convert replaces the first one every time. I am trying to convert chapters, and when I do chapter 2, it replaces chapter 1. I am a little worried too about doing the online ones, maybe I'm just paranoid, but I am a little hesitant to put my entire book online for conversion purposes. Can't it be seen and possibly copied by someone? To tco14417, g'day mate! Thanks for the Australia info! LOL Actually, I don't want to self-publish if I can get a publisher, but I am not having any luck finding one so far. The few agents I have been able to find online want $$$ just to find you a publisher, makiing them the middle man, who expects a cut, and I am having problems finding a publisher on my own too. Being this green, I don't know the ropes yet, but I am getting great information from the kind people on this site. And thanks, sprirj! You're absolutely right about moving around the MS text stuff! When I found that everything has to be in PDF form, and nearly all PDF converters won't work with MS Works, I tried to copy/paste a chapter from a works document to word, it changed everything, page numbers were in the center of the page with part of the next page on the bottom after the page number, etc. What a mess! Short of re-typing the entire book on word, and then converting to PDF, I'm dead in the water. I will probably be asking you a question or two in future about the settings you mentioned. Thanks again! And many thanks to all of you for your great responses! I am learning (thanks to you kindnesses) and hopefully I will end up going in the right direction. An old friend stopped by yesterday, I showed her my book, and she read the chapter on safety. She said she wished she had seen that information before, as she had been robbed 2 summers ago by doing exactly what I had warned against in my book. She asked me to let her buy 3 copies if it ever got into print for her daughters. She took some notes to pass on to them, and said she thought the book would really sell and needs to be out there. Now, I know she's a friend, and maybe that isn't the most objective source to evaluate a book's possible success, but it was encouraging! LOL Thanks again, everybody! Cherie
If you're finding agents that want money up front, before finding you a publisher, then I believe that you are not finding respectable agents. My understanding has always been that agents get paid part of what you get paid, so until you get paid, they don't either. My concern here is that by self-publishing this book, you are substantially reducing your chances of getting it published traditionally. While it's not un-heard-of for a publisher to pick up a self-published book, it's also not usual. So I fear that you're putting a lot of work and money into _eliminating_ your chance of getting this book properly published and actually making any money out of it. I understand that the book is written and you're in a hurry to get it published. I understand that spending months on researching the publishing process, and finding agents and publishers, and so on, probably seems like an insurmountable obstacle. But I really do think that self-publishing without a really long, thorough look at traditional publishing is a bad idea. I'd suggest spending a few weeks reading all of the various web sites giving advice to authors (am I allowed to name any here?) before committing yourself to an action that might make your book unpublishable by traditional means. ChickenFreak
You don't need a PDF convertor, only a PDF creator. Normally, you create a PDF file by printing from within the application (eg. MS-Works), and selecting the PDF creator instead of your real printer. That way, it doesn't matter what file format you're using. As long as it can be printed, it can be made into PDF. If your new chapters are replacing your old ones, I'm guessing you're choosing the same file name for them, and overwriting the file every time.
so, this a non-fiction book?... you don't seem to be going about finding publishers in the right way... i have several publishing house listings i'll be happy to send you if you email me, as well as good agent listings... before you start spending money on getting a book printed that you may not be able to sell well enough to just break even, you should really try to find an agent or publisher who'll take it so you'll get paid to have it put into print, instead of having to pay for it!... love and hugs, maia maia3maia@hotmail.com
