Self Publishing Advice?

[keiko]

So I was looking at my short stories- the only writings I ever manage to finish (fucking novel!)- and I have about half a dozen now and it occurred to me to maybe have them published. Obvsly I'll never get them published by some one else, I'll have to publish my depravity myself. I was just wondering if any of the other authors on the boards had any advice to give a budding author about the publishing process and/or the hassles of self publishing. I'm not going to give it any serious thought until I have some serious info to build on. Basics, details, horror stories, suggestions, gimme! I need more input!

~K

[One Eyed Cat]

So I was looking at my short stories- the only writings I ever manage to finish (fucking novel!)- and I have about half a dozen now and it occurred to me to maybe have them published. Obvsly I'll never get them published by some one else, I'll have to publish my depravity myself. I was just wondering if any of the other authors on the boards had any advice to give a budding author about the publishing process and/or the hassles of self publishing. I'm not going to give it any serious thought until I have some serious info to build on. Basics, details, horror stories, suggestions, gimme! I need more input!

~K

http://www.iuniverse.com

JT

[seeker]

Thanks for the info JT

[Mr Karl]

self publishings easy, if you know someone in the industry, mainly the bindery trade. They'll be able to tell you how to set it up so it can be made into a book, just stuff like how to fold and cut everything to make the book and a lot of smaller binderies work for cash(that business is hurting) from there you find someone with a printing press who will know how to get your stuff on to a flat piece of paper which then goes to the bindery and from there you see if you actually need a graphic artist to layout etc.
just watch out for the brokers who get it all done for you, they really aren't doing that much work , they just move around paper, and charge way to much money

[Mindgames]

iUniverse is not the way to go if you're a first-timer with no plans to sell in bulk, as their up-front pricing is huge - they charge for all the layout, proofing and stuff that I guess you can do yourself for free (being a geeklette).

www.lulu.com will allow you to create a printed book and sell it online with no advance charges (you can buy copies at cost and sell via their site for free but there's apparently a fee for putting it on Amazon n stuff if you want that). One of my studio engineers used them and said it was great - she wanted a bunch of photo books for guys on a tour and did it all inside a day. I'm looking at a copy now and it's decent quality.

[keiko]

*hugs* Thanks mG. I was looking at iUniverse and it just didn't seem to be what I was looking for. I'm looking at a really limited edition kind of deal, like under a 100 prints. (unless everyone wants an autographed copy of my short stories, which i doubt.) When my interwebs stop running in the special olympics (omg this thing is slow right now- downloading how ot speak czech and german) I'll definitely look into lulu.

~K

[One Eyed Cat]

iUniverse is not the way to go if you're a first-timer with no plans to sell in bulk, as their up-front pricing is huge - they charge for all the layout, proofing and stuff that I guess you can do yourself for free (being a geeklette).

www.lulu.com will allow you to create a printed book and sell it online with no advance charges (you can buy copies at cost and sell via their site for free but there's apparently a fee for putting it on Amazon n stuff if you want that). One of my studio engineers used them and said it was great - she wanted a bunch of photo books for guys on a tour and did it all inside a day. I'm looking at a copy now and it's decent quality.

That's clearly a better deal if you're not looking for distro. Iuniverse is more like simplicity + distro.

JT

[evilstonermonkey]

or if you bought a bundle of notebooks and pens you could have special hand-copied editions that would cost you only like $100... and a few months of non-stop writing and several serious wrist disorders...

[One Eyed Cat]

I was kind of amazed recently. A chick on a local forum I use occasionally brought up making a 'zine. I thought she meant a webzine. She posted a bunch of specs including trips to Kinko's.

JT

[Mindgames]

...downloading how ot speak czech and german...

This universal phrase works in a hotel and on a porn shoot just the same:-

"Ich bin amerikanisch. Mir Bier und Wurst geben."

or for Eastern Europe:-

"Ich habe einen amerikanischen Dollar. Mich verkaufen dein Dorf."

[One Eyed Cat]

This universal phrase works in a hotel and on a porn shoot just the same:-

"Ich bin amerikanisch. Mir Bier und Wurst geben."

or for Eastern Europe:-

"Ich habe einen amerikanischen Dollar. Mich verkaufen dein Dorf."

It's kinda scary what's gaining on the USD these days. You have countries that artificially devalue their currency for exports having to fire up the press not to gain. (It does still work though. The USD has the rep from the 90s still)

JT

[One Eyed Cat]

*hugs* Thanks mG. I was looking at iUniverse and it just didn't seem to be what I was looking for. I'm looking at a really limited edition kind of deal, like under a 100 prints. (unless everyone wants an autographed copy of my short stories, which i doubt.) When my interwebs stop running in the special olympics (omg this thing is slow right now- downloading how ot speak czech and german) I'll definitely look into lulu.

~K

Czech is a very unique language. In Praha, you can get by in english. They do appreciate folks giving it a go though.

JT

[VoldtaEngler]

I use Rosetta Stone. I have the full 27 languages that im trying to learn.
I always wanted to really be multilingual, but never had the time really. But more and more of my customers are coming from different countries and writing to me in their native toungue that I almost have to learn them now.

I stopped relying on online translators because they seem to not be that accurate. I wrote something in english, translated it to say, german..then from that german translation re-translated it back to english and it wasnt even remotely what I wrote. So im beginning to think if im telling my customers sometimes where the nearest bathroom is.

[One Eyed Cat]

I use Rosetta Stone. I have the full 27 languages that im trying to learn.
I always wanted to really be multilingual, but never had the time really. But more and more of my customers are coming from different countries and writing to me in their native toungue that I almost have to learn them now.

I stopped relying on online translators because they seem to not be that accurate. I wrote something in english, translated it to say, german..then from that german translation re-translated it back to english and it wasnt even remotely what I wrote. So im beginning to think if im telling my customers sometimes where the nearest bathroom is.

If it's a slavic language, don't even bother with the online translators. It's fucking ridiculous what they throw at you. Some guy babblefished me some russian, it was truly babble.

JT

[aXa]

the woman from the band Otep has published a book or two of her poetry and other writings through the lulu.com site. that's how i found out about that site. im thinking of trying it out myself. id like to publish a bunch of my poetry somehow.

[keiko]

I always try to know at least 5 phrases in the language of the country I'm visiting

-- please, thank you,
-- I'm sorry, excuse me
-- Do you speak english
-- where's the nearest restroom?
-- Hi, My name is K
-- Call the police/a doctor!

Just to be polite.

LuLu is looking promising. Now if only I could get the next five stories outta my head!

~K

[Mr Karl]

This universal phrase works in a hotel and on a porn shoot just the same:-

"Ich bin amerikanisch. Mir Bier und Wurst geben."

or for Eastern Europe:-

"Ich habe einen amerikanischen Dollar. Mich verkaufen dein Dorf."

Ach du lieber Himmel, so ein grausammer Deutsch

[Buster Friendly]

K, from one unpublished (in my case read:lazy) writer to another, please don't go the self pub route too soon.

i've got alot of friends in publishing and they deffinitly want, and need more good manuscripts to publish. there are roughly 3,000 publishers in the US right now, and i'm sure there are a few out there who would love to publish your stories, high quality erotica being something of a niche, but a needed one.

i thought your story on the other board was good, my dorky comment aside. i'm pretty sure you could get an editor, and publisher with medium effort. plus you've got stuff going in your favor, i've seen a bunch of female written erotica lately, and i'm sure that it wouldn't hurt that you're a pornstar to boot. several sex writers bill themselves as 'former sex workers'... that stuff aside i like your writing in general, and would love to see you in print, and getting paid.

believe me, even if i'm totally off base about the rest of it, having enough contacts in the publishing field, you should see some of the stuff that DOES get published... you've got a decent chance, i mean it.

[keiko]

*sniff* oh buster thats so sweet! *hugs*

TBH I wasn't really looking to self publish the Dirty Shorts. I was looking at self publishing my OTHER book- my life story and all of the totally fucked up nonsense that has taken place in my 25 years on this planet. I want an official bound copy of that to send to the Elf. (long story- soon to be in print!) Though publishing my dirty shorts sounds like a good idea. Prolly wait till i get to EU for that htough.

~K

[Buster Friendly]

well, there maybe just might be a publisher for that one too, you don't never know till you try...

[Extempus]

So I was looking at my short stories- the only writings I ever manage to finish (fucking novel!)- and I have about half a dozen now and it occurred to me to maybe have them published. Obvsly I'll never get them published by some one else, I'll have to publish my depravity myself. I was just wondering if any of the other authors on the boards had any advice to give a budding author about the publishing process and/or the hassles of self publishing. I'm not going to give it any serious thought until I have some serious info to build on. Basics, details, horror stories, suggestions, gimme! I need more input!

~K

Try lulu.com... it's publish-on-demand, and you can apparently get listed on amazon.com as well (for a fee, of course). A buddy of mine did that some months back, and he was grateful, knowing it would otherwise have taken at least two years before his book would even be on the shelves (if it was accepted by a publisher at all! He's unknown, and was having no luck). I don't know how many copies he's sold, but he mentioned sales were brisk, and the best part is... lulu.com does everything for you! You just have to design your book the way you want to, and they print a copy whenever anyone orders one...

[Mr Karl]

quick question...how many pages is it? and I'm guessing you want it in hardcover? any colour pictures?

[keiko]

Mr Karl~ The short stories all told- with the 5 already finished and the five in my head we're looking at maybe 30 pages printed from the printer in 12 pt Verdana. No pictures that I can think of (unless I can get license fro the frost demon pictures etc etc) and slim paper back seems appropriate.

The Big Book, as I've taken to calling it, is prolly going to be 800+ pages. I'm debating the idea of including about a dozen pictures/diagrams. I'd like it to be hard back but i'm fluid on the hard v. paperback options.

I'm just kinda dicking around with ideas right now (and wishing i could take painkillers for my tooth). I haven't got anything even on paper, let alone in stone as far as ideas for final prints yet.

~K

[Mr Karl]

that's getting big...800 pages, so if you go 32 pages a sheet that's about 24 sections plus the color section, hmm lot of paper....needs perfect binding for the cover, not too difficult that, the putting the ink on pretty easy if it's laid out right the first time(you be suprised how much paper goes to waste just cause of mistakes like that..of course all in the price) the hard parts folding all that
if your seriously thinking about self publishing what you do is get say a thousand printed and folding and then store them and every so often put a bunch of sections together and get them bound as you go. it'll save a lot of money and thats what all the publishers do anyway, they just warehouse unfinished stuff until they know it'll make them something

as for the other a little 30 page book is no problem for a small shop and there are lot's of them out there,