Are you one of the people who have written a book but don’t have any idea what to do next? Have you sent your manuscript out to publishing houses and received those rejection letters in return?
There is a solution, and not one that will cost you tons of money. Actually, publishing your book into paperback format and offering it for sale on Amazon as print on demand could cost you less than a week’s worth of coffee at Starbucks!
I had written a book for teachers and children based on a current trend and an agent told me that even if the book were accepted, it wouldn’t become available until 2009. Now why would I want to wait that long for a trendy-topic book?
As I lamented this fact, my friend, Daniel Hall, introduced me to a process called “Print on Demand” through a company, CreateSpace, where I could upload my finished inside book pages (in pdf format), upload a cover design, and after approving a proof copy, begin to sell my book personally and on Anazon! I’m sure there are other companies that do the same thing, but I just happen to use CreateSpace (and no, they aren’t paying me to say that!)
Are you thinking to yourself, “That sounds too easy, and my mom taught me that anything that sounds too good to be true, probably is?”
I am here to tell you that the print on demand process is easy. The hardest part is writing your book. You may need a little technical help formatting your book if you are scared of your computer. You can find a high-school student who can do that for you! After you put your book into production, all you do is check your account to see if you sold books while you were sleeping, while you were traveling, or spending time with your family. With print on demand publishing, every time someone purchases your book from Amazon, the company prints one and sends it to the buyer along with the other books purchased.
The other extremely important aspect of print on demand publishing is that you control the rights to your book. You also earn a much higher percentage of royalties than the traditional method; although print-on-demand companies won’t ever call you and offer you a million dollars to write your next book! (Or, if they do, I’ve missed that call. Maybe I should check my voice mail?) Then, at the end of the month, you receive the money from the previous month’s royalties deposited directly into your bank account.
In the olden days of self publishing you had to pay a large up-front fee and also agree to purchase thousands of copies of your book which you would peddle from the trunk of your car or store in your garage. And while I can still buy as many copies of my books as I’d like for a reduced price, I only purchase what I anticipate needing month by month.
You can do this!
If you need a few tips to get your book started so you can reach the point of being ready to publish, visit http://howtopublishonline.com and download the free tips sheet for starting your writing project.
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