Ok, so I've been thinking about maybe self-publishing my novel I have out, as I think I've probably exhausted the publishers/agents which I've applied to. Came up with two ideas, IUniverse and Createspace. Anyone heard of these services? Which one do you think would be the best one to go for? Or is there an easier way to self publish do you think?

It's just a thought at the moment, but any advice I can get will be well recieved as I've never really tried these companies before. Thanks.

Which one do you think would be the best one to go for?

Define 'best'.




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Serious question: What do you want to get out of the exercise?

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CreateSpace is fine - probably better than many of the others since it's linked to Amazon.
It will provide you with PoD (Print on Demand) copies for friends and family to buy via Amazon.
It doesn't count as publication as far as Agents & publishers are concerned, so not something you can mention in a covering letter, unless you manage to sell thousands of copies and show there's a readership for it.

- NaomiM

That's a good point, I guess I could have made it clearer. What I guess I mean is, which one has the better reputation? I've tried publishers like lulu before and wasn't happy with the print style. I've heard some good stuff about IUniverse, but their prices seem a little too steep. Whereas Createspace look a little better.

Really I just want something that I can have my book published. The rest I can (attempt) to do. But I've been doing a bit of research into this and got a couple of contacts which I could explore. I just wonder which would be the best in terms of printing. I guess what I really want is a nice, attractice looking book which I can sell to people.

I added something to my last post.
PoD copies tend to be twice as expensive as normal paperbacks. Plus they are printed one at a time so if you want a stack of them it'll be expensive because oyu have to pay up front, plus postage. You won't get them into bookshops, because they only take books on a sale-or-return basis, and expect a 40% discount on cover price.

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It's fine, though, for Christmas and birthday presents.

Sorry if I'm sounding a bit negative, but I've been through all this myself.
Self-publishers often have a number of add-on services, which can cost ££s (for ISBN numbers) to £££s (for marketting) to ££££s (for editing). You are unlikely to sell more than a couple of dozen, (to family and friends), so you have to ask yourself if it's worth the extra cost over and above getting the basic book printed.

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Those funny little symbols should be pound signs.

No, that's not sounding negative at all. Indeed, I have heard similar stories to the effect of what you have just said. Hence why I also asked the question as to whether there are better options to self publish that POD services.
My dad actually had a friend who self-published, which he did himself. Apparently the way he did it was that he set up his own publishing company, so that when he took it to book shops they were more likely to accept it. I heard he did actually have some success with it - then again his books were all historical novels based on WW2 and mine is a fiction novel. So there is that downside.
Of course, in an ideal world, I'd be able to get a publisher and have the book published that way. Though I've found out it's not as easy as that.

The best option is to write the next novel, and the next, and the next, until you manage to get published, and then oyu can pull all these earlier mss out of the bottom drawer and offer them to the publisher - like Jim Butcher, author of The Dresden Files, who's recently got his old series Codex Alera published off the back of his success.

Self-publishing does have it's uses - such as for your father's friend, memoirs, historical non-fiction, short story collections, specialist non-fiction, poetry, gay and Christian/Religion genres - but not fiction that is already adequately catered for via traditional publishing houses. Have you ever bought a self-published novel, that wasn't written by a friend or family member?
Even if oyu set up your own imprint, agents and publishers will still not take the novel seriously (unless oyu prove it's got a large readership) so you can never mention it in a covering letter. Also bookshops will be reluctant to stock copies so you would be relying on selling it direct via local craft fairs, giving talks at your local library, attending SF conventions (assuming it's SF) etc.

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You are unlikely to generate sales off your own website, and you will have few, if any sales, of other online websites.
However, you may get a following if you set up a Facebook page andl ink in to other SF fansites.

You could publish it all on the internet as a PDF file/ebook, assuming you wanted to save money on printing costs and had no expectations of making money from it.

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You can also put it up on Authonomy.

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You don't have to have an ISBN number if you are selling direct to readers off your own website or face to face.

You could take a PDF file down to your local high street printers - although they wouldn't do 'perfect bound' like a typical paperback.

While I kinda agree with Naomi that writing something else is the best way forward, I thought I'd mention a friend who has self published three of her own novels and made an impressive sum for a certain charity in the process.

This is not for the faint hearted.

What she did was;
1. Wrote a novel.
2. Got 3-4000 copies printed.
3. Drove up and down the country visiting small bookshops, asking them to take half dozen
4. Went on radio etc to talk about a) her book b) the charity it's for
5. Returned to the bookshops and collected any unsold copies to sell elsewhere
6. Repeat steps 3. to 5. until all books sold
7. Go back to step 1.

A 3000 book print run is enough to make costs competitive, and she made some worthwhile cash, but... as I say, not for the faint of heart, weak of will or low of motivation.

G

She would have lost money if she'd factored in her petrol @10p per mile.

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And, while Bookshops can probably be talked into taking half a doz copies to sell for charity, you'll be lucky to persuade them to take 1-2 copies if you're selling just for yourself.

Petrol is a factor, true, but Ireland is not so big and you can fit a lot of places in on a one day drive around. She also attended events where she would set up shop and do signings as well as sell books. She is also impressively aware of the requirements of the particular niche she sells to and writes accordingly.
Don't get me wrong, I know a conventional job is an easier way to earn cash, but no matter how you do the sums, she is firmly in the black from these three projects... Though, to be clear, she still has the day job...
G

I like the info you gave about your friend self-publishing. And you are right, that doesn't sound like it would be for the faint hearted. I did actually think of donating the money for charity myself. Mainly because I have a day job and earn money with the band I'm in, I would just self-publish with the intention of letting others read my work. So that's giving me something to chew on. Thanks.

Lulu.com has been very good for me.

Yeah, I've tried Lulu before. It's ok, but I'm just not very happy with the way the books are printed. Plus they don't seem to adapt the right sizes properly. Still, it's good for what it is.

You might consider putting it out as an ebook through Smashwords. Apparently it has good through traffic of readers because some established authors are using it for their back issues.


- NaomiM


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Although some of the uploads are pretty dire:
http://www.smashwords.com/books/category/875

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...dying to know what are 'fashionable owls'

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...and they have a 'prude filter'.