More on Self-Publishing and Ghostwriting

After our last discussion, Steve wrote to ask, "So is there anyone making money at self-publishing?"

Absolutely. I have successfully self-published books in the past. If you're planning to self-pub, you need to (1) write a great book, (2) use a professional editor, (3) pay for a great cover design, and (4) work with a quality printer. However, creating the book is only the first part of the process. You also have to (5) know how to market the book, (6) spend a lot of time and money marketing it, and (7) have a plan for selling copies. The fact is, most self-published books lose the author money because he or she had no plan for selling books.

There was a lot of discussion after my last post from people who wanted to defend self-publishing, and I found it completely off-topic. Of course you can find a good printer who will do a quality job. And you can certainly find ways to keep it inexpensive. But the facts are that most people lose money on the deal. I think self-pubbing is great, assuming you know what to do once you have the books in hand. Most people don't. So if you self-pub, you need to have a workable plan for selling quantities of your book.

Donna wrote to say, "You've often said every author should take charge of their own marketing. After having paid your dues and learned all those valuable lessons while publishing your book, why not self-publish from then on? If you have to do all your own marketing anyway, why not just sell your books yourself and make ten bucks per book instead of the dollar per book you'd get in royalties?"

You know, some people decide to do exactly that. They figure out how to sell books, who their readers are, and how to reach them. There are plenty of ministries and companies who self-publish and make more money than if they had sold the books through a regular, royalty-paying publishing house. But there are three caveats to what you're suggesting. First, you've got to warehouse and ship your own books. For some people, that's a pain -- warehousing may not be worth the hassle. Second, your book won't make it onto store shelves if it's self-pubbed. There's money to be made for a good self-publisher, but there's little fame or glory. Your book won't reach beyond the people you can talk to, unless you study and figure out how to sell books via ads and the internet. So don't expect to impress your friends with your self-published title. And third, you've got to market and sell ALL the books. There's no waiting for someone else to come through -- it's all on you, as the publisher. If you're not into that type of responsibility, there's no way you'll enjoy self-pubbing. Again, the chief reason self-pubbed books fail is because the author doesn't know how to SELL her own books. She might know how to write them, maybe how to edit them, and possibly how to talk about them. But she doesn't know how to sell books to prospective buyers. If you don't know how to do that, you should learn before you make any publishing decisions.

Janice wrote to ask, "How much can a ghost writer expect to get for his or her first book? And if the writer gets his/her name on the book, what percentage of the profits should he/she ask for?"

There are a number of variables at play -- How much time do you think will it take you? How big is the project? Did the author give you any materials, or are you creating it from scratch? Is the author a pain in the rear? All of those have to factor into your decision. Every year Writer's Digest issues a report on how much money free-lance writers and editors make. They generally break it down to how much per project and how much per hour, and they typically offer a high, a low, and an average amount. They noted that last year the low was about $1500, the high was $75,000, and the average fee to ghost a book for someone was $22,000.

That's a big chunk of change. Most authors start small -- it wouldn't surprise me if you were paid somewhere in the neighborhood of $2500-to-$4000 for your first ghosted project. If this is your Great Aunt Edna, who wants you to write her life story as "Garden Queen of Dubuque," or the Rev. Ernest Angree, who wants you to write up the notes from his sermon series entitled "How to Be Holy As Me," you're not going to see much green. So ask some questions: What are their expectations? What do they want you to create? How long do they want it to be? People who aren't writers and have never created a book generally don't have a frame of reference, consequently they don't realize how hard it is to create 100 pages filled with words. You may want to offer to start on an hourly basis (say $25-to-$35 per hour), or to write up the first two chapters for a flat fee of $300, just to test the waters. Of course, asking for a flat fee up front is the plan all freelance writers come to eventually. When I was making my living as a collaborative writer, I quickly figured out I much preferred sure cash to potential cash.

Walter asked, "If I decide to ghostwrite a book for a friend, what should the key contract points look like?' 

I'd say the key points to clarify are (1) an overall description of the project, (2) word count, (3) due date, (4) compensation, (5) who covers expenses, (6) copyright, (7) what credit you'll get, (8) the fact that this is a binding contract when signed, (9) the fact that if there is a disagreement you'll go to arbitration rather than hiring lawyers, (10) the fact that the contract is under the laws of your state, and (11) a warranty in which you promise not to plagiarize any material or slander anyone. That about covers it.

Margaret asked me, "Do you get the sense that CBA publishers are becoming more receptive to Catholic authors? If not, will they ever?" 

Yeah, I do. I think Baker, Zondervan, Thomas Nelson, and other publishers are becoming more receptive to Catholic authors. And, of course, I now expect to get letters from nutcases who will want to explain to me why the Pope is the Antichrist, and how saying anything nice about the people we share historical Christianity with is compromising my faith, etc. And I've got to tell you, I am SICK TO DEATH of so-called believers wanting to explain why nobody else is ever quite "Christian" enough for them, so that their religious club consists of a handful of true believers holding onto the faith that the rest of us must have abandoned.

Bernice aksed, "What do you do when your writing friends and critique partners are not experienced enough to help you get to the next level? I guess the obvious answers are to study the craft, go to conferences, meet more writers...is there anything else?"

Lots of writers are in that situation, Bernice. I'm a huge fan of critique groups, I encourage people to attend conferences, and I think hanging out with other writers is great for your career. But the BEST thing you can do is find a mentor -- somebody with some good experience, who can help you improve your writing. That individual doesn't have to be perfect. He or she just needs to be a bit further down the path than yourself.

One last note: Carol saw the "worst titles" note that I mentioned in a previous post, and she tells me she found this book for sale on amazon: "How to Good-Bye Depression: If You Constrict Anus 100 Times Everyday. Malarkey? Or Effective Way?" I didn't believe her, so I looked it up. Turns out she's telling the truth. That is a title you can buy on amazon for $14.39. Grab your credit card and go visit -- looks like a huge winner to me!

Comments

[John Robinson]

One last note: Carol saw the "worst titles" note that I mentioned in a previous post, and she tells me she found this book for sale on amazon: "How to Good-Bye Depression: If You Constrict Anus 100 Times Everyday. Malarkey? Or Effective Way?" I didn't believe her, so I looked it up. Turns out she's telling the truth. That is a title you can buy on amazon for $14.39. Grab your credit card and go visit -- looks like a huge winner to me!

Nah, Chip, I disagree. Constricting one's anus one hundred times to solve depression? What if you get a cramp? And it lasted for like six days?? What then, huh? You'd be one depressed writer then, I'll be bound. Sounds to me like a recipe for failure.

In the end.

[Timothy Fish]

Whatever you think of the theory, this guy is selling books. It is currently ranked #41,755. Any publicity is good publicity.

[Pam Halter]

"How to Good-Bye Depression: If You Constrict Anus 100 Times Everyday. Malarkey? Or Effective Way?"

So, if someone really tried this, would they have the nerve to TELL anyone??

[Ashley Weis]

Wow, I can't believe someone puts that title in their resume. Hahahaha... Just wow.

[Julie]

Talk about a book signing nightmare.

Ewwwww.

But hey, thanks, Chip for bringing yet another thrilling book to our attention.

[Rob Sargeant]

It isn't malarkey. I feel better already!

[J. Jones]

Read the reviews on the book--just as funny. AND the recommendation Amazon gives for other books of interest like: Golden Fountain : The Complete Guide to Urine Therapy.

[Shelley Lieber]

How interesting that with all the valuable information in this blog post, the only item that gets reaction is the anus book. Just goes to prove the saying that humor is the best way to reach an audience. Or is it a commentary on the importance of a book's title?

[sally apokeda]

The butt clenching book is hysterical. I loved the customer reviews.

But I have a serious question.

When you say you won't get your self-pubbed book on the store shelves, do you mean you have to hire a distributer or do you mean that even with a distributer the stores won't stock self-pubbed books?

[chipster]

I mean you won't get your book onto store shelves. A distributor means that a bookstore can order it from a warehouse somewhere. But Borders and B&N aren't going to be ordering your self-pubbed books, and the independents aren't even going to hear about it. So you, as the author, have to sell every copy.

[Timothy Fish]

B&N won't order self-pub books, even if you hand them the money. B&N does make some exceptions, but the exceptions don't apply to many iUniverse books. That is ironic, since iUniverse is a B&N partner. On the bright side, Amazon.com will sell nearly anything and the whole site is designed to encourage the sale of books that fall in the long tail.

[Deb K]

My experience shows that B&N is not terribly thrilled to order small press books, either. When I went in to ask about my first release (2 months out, if I recall correctly), their response was, "Oh, sorry, we can't get that book, it's out of print."

When I updated their information and showed them how, it still didn't happen. You don't have to be pubbed with iUniverse or (gasp) PA to get the cold shoulder from these bookstore chains.

[sally apokedak]

I can understand the bookstores' reluctance. When I was doing reviews for my little blog I wouldn't do self-pubbed books and I did almost no small press books. The reason? With the ease of publishing these days anyone can publish and most probably shouldn't. I didn't have time to read through all the dreck looking for the one gem.

But I have often played with the idea of starting a small press. I'd like to think that it's possible to publish something beautiful--with a great cover and nice paper and font and a gripping story edited well--and sell it. And get some awards for it. To do that you'd need a bunch of money and time and energy. I think you'd have to publish someone else's book, not your own because I don't believe we can judge our own work properly. (I've seen too many writers who think they're great when they really stink to think that any of us see our faults clearly.) I mostly think you can't go the POD route. POD books are too expensive--not a good value for the consumer.

[chip]

Actually, there are hundreds of small publishers in this country, some of them doing wonderful books. You may not realize this, but Beyond Words (the company that has sold a couple million copies of "The Secret") started out as a mom & pop operation in a garage in Hillsboro, Oregon (um...I graduated from Hillsboro High School). They built the business, and with this one breakout book they are suddenly players. There are plenty of good books out there with small presses.

[Timothy Fish]

Sally Apokedak stated, "I don't believe we can judge our own work properly."

Isn't an author's ability to judge his own work what sets a good writer apart from a bad writer? It seems to me that the author who can recognize the flaws in her own work has a much better chance of shaping it into something powerful and moving than those authors who are trying to follow the suggestions of a competent editor without really understanding why their writing is flawed.

[sally apokedak]

If we could recognize the flaws why would we put them in, in the first place?

I do think we can learn to recognize many flaws (at both the line by line and the content levels, though the latter takes a long time, in my opinion).

But we never outgrow the need for an editor. Because we don't see our writing clearly any more than we see ourselves clearly. God gave us others in the body to gently rebuke us when we fall into sin and he gave us editors to point out flaws in our writing.

So why not just hire an editor and self publish?

The problem I see with that road is that when you are paying someone to edit you they don't have to love your work. They will take anything. Then they will work to make it the best they can make it, but that doesn't mean it will be worthy of publication.

An acquisitions editor, on the other hand, will say, "Not right for our house," or some such thing. But what he means is, "You didn't reach out and grab me and hold on so I couldn't put the book down."

That's assuming you've done your homework and sent your spy novel to houses looking for spy novels. If they're looking and they look at yours and pass it by...well, what's that mean? You might not have been as ready as you thought you were.

The truth is that editors buy a lot of books I hate. And they pass up some books I love. They look at things besides quality of writing. They look at names and platforms, for instance. So having them pass your manuscript up doesn't necessarily mean you stink and having them buy your stuff doesn't necessarily mean you can write well.

It's not a perfect system.

But it's better than nothing, I think.

[Timothy Fish]

I see great value in editors and others who work to help author improve their writing. My thought is simply that before a manuscript is ever accepted or rejected by an agent there is nothing except an author and a keyboard. It is the author’s ability to judge his own work properly that will determine whether it gets out of the slush pile rather than the ability of an editor, who has never seen it, to offer good suggestions for improving the work.

[sally apokedak]

Well, at the risk of really ticking Chip off because we've hijacked this thread...

I think I was not clear in my original comment. Sorry. I didn't mean we shouldn't read and judge our work and revise it. I didn't mean we can't recognize any flaws in our writing and correct them. I didn't mean we can't improve our writing. I simply meant that authors often think they are ready for publication before they are.

One agent, I wish I could remember his name and give you a link, suggests you send your manuscript to a friend and have him give it to ten people who don't know you for critique. I'd love to find someone willing to do that for me. I don't know what ten people would be willing to slog through strangers' manuscripts--it's hard enough to do it for friends. It's a huge time investment. But I think it would be great to even get them to tell you at which page, or paragraph, they stopped reading. It would be worth knowing.

sally