» By: Charles Muller
When the manuscript of Australian author Filton Hebbard's novel Branigan was returned by a film company, the author asked for the reason and was told it was because the novel had "insufficient violence and overt sex"! Finally he had the novel published by a subsidy publisher. He paid over ten thousand pounds for a limited run of copies that never sold. I happened to buy a copy of the novel to sample novels published in this way. I chose Branigan since the length and content to some extent resembled one of my novels, Wheel of Fortune, where some of the action takes place in the Northern Territory of Australia. When Branigan arrived I settled down to read it, taking it to bed the first night. The opening pages were interesting, the style seductively easy to read, even if the story didn't at first appear to be gripping. I willingly picked it up the next day, thinking I might speed-read through it, to see just how good a piece of fiction it was. But I read every word of it. It had got me! It was my constant companion until the last line. It is one of the most absorbing, even moving, books I have read for a long time. Obviously the book should be a best seller. It has to be. And yet Filton informs me (yes, I wrote to him, to tell him what a great novel he had written!) that thus far very few copies have been sold. Filton, in short, was the victim of the Vanity Press, where a great sum of money is paid for a very limited print run. I suggested to Filton that he republish the book through the POD (Print on Demand) system, whereby the cost is just a small basic fee to have the book edited and placed on all the leading on-line bookstores like Amazon and Barnes and Noble. There is no wasted money on a print run and the book is only printed when it is ordered. Whereas the vanity press has the reputation of a pariah system that exploits the author who pays to have his book published because he cannot find a mainline publisher, self-publishing, ever since the days of William Blake, is respectable, and the POD system, whereby books are published digitally, is the most efficient and cost-effective way of self-publishing today. In the print-on-demand system there is no limited print run, as such. The author's book is never out of print, and copies can be ordered as and when he, or anyone else, wishes, from one to 50 or 100 or whatever! The books are normally produced in professional paperback format as well as in a hardback edition, and available to order in whatever numbers the author or bookstore or member of the public requires. The cover is usually in full-colour and designed in accordance with the author's wishes. The author can even submit his own cover design. In the POD system the author receives a generous 20% or more of royalties on sales of his or her book, paid direct by the publisher. The book is usually no less attractive or impressive than a book produced by a mainline publisher, being a professionally produced paperback or hardback edition with its own ISBN number. It normally takes less than two months to complete the production process, after which the book is available to order through on-line bookstores such as Amazon.com, Amazon.co.uk, Booksamillion, Borders and Barnes & Noble, the largest chain of bookstores in America. Promotion is generally in the author's hands, which is why the production costs are low. And as I said, because this is a print-on-demand system, the book is never out of print. A good digital (POD) publisher - and there are a good many nowadays - should offer the following comprehensive service: § Free books. Upon publication the author will normally receive a few free copies of the paperback book. This is in addition to any free hardback copies that the author should receive if he/she opted for the hardcover option. § Non-exclusive Contract: A non-exclusive publishing agreement should allow the author to pursue arrangements with traditional publishers while enjoying a generous 20% or more royalty--higher than industry standards. § Custom Cover: The book should have a custom-designed, four-colour cover, created with the author's input, by the publisher's professional book designers. The author should be able to submit his or her own ideas and/or pictures. § eBook setup: The author's manuscript should also be published in the Adobe Acrobat eBook Reader format and he/she should receive one free copy of the eBook. § Copy editing: Regardless of the amount of editing required or length of a book, the POD publisher may offer to check for errors and (if required) give the manuscript a finished polish with their copy-editing service. However, some POD publishers will charge an additional amount for this service, gearing the fee to the length of the manuscript. § Distribution: The trade paperback book should have a unique ISBN number, as well as benefit from inclusion in RR Bowker's Books in Print. This means that the book will appear on online retailers like Barnes & Noble and Amazon, and be available to order from over 25,000 traditional booksellers worldwide. § Discounts: The author should be offered generous volume discounts when purchasing his/her own books for personal distribution and sale. § Quick Availability: The book is normally ready for sale in just 90 days or less--months faster than industry standards. § Marketing Toolkit: In some cases the POD publisher will supply a Marketing Toolkit that will normally include a set of templates for the author to create his/her own press release, sell sheet, event sign, post card, bookmark, business card, poster and banner ad, etc. It's not surprising, perhaps, that digital (POD) publishers are gaining ground, and that the vanity press, as a result, is being forced out of the marketplace! Nevertheless, the author seeking to self-publish his novel, autobiography, or collection of poems, or whatever, still needs to be wary and needs to reassure himself that the publisher he has found is a reputable digital publisher and, indeed, not a member of the vanity press. If he or she is quoted a sum in excess of even one thousand pounds for the service, he/she would do well to tread carefully!