Seeking opinions of authors who've used subsidy (sometimes called POD) publishers - CrimeSpace2024-03-28T21:03:58Zhttp://crimespace.ning.com/forum/topics/537324:Topic:126136?commentId=537324%3AComment%3A126463&feed=yes&xn_auth=noI have posted on my blog toda…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-03-06:537324:Comment:1287082008-03-06T21:53:28.959ZLynn Osterkamphttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/LynnOsterkamp
I have posted on my blog today the results of my survey of authors who've used subsidy (sometimes called POD) publishers. Go to <a href="http://www.thepopulistpublisher">www.thepopulistpublisher</a> to read the results. At the end of the post I also have a link to a pdf of a more detailed report of the results that you can download. Many thanks to all the authors who filled out the survey. I think the results are interesting. I hope you agree.<br />
<br />
Lynn Osterkamp<br />
The Populist Publisher…
I have posted on my blog today the results of my survey of authors who've used subsidy (sometimes called POD) publishers. Go to <a href="http://www.thepopulistpublisher">www.thepopulistpublisher</a> to read the results. At the end of the post I also have a link to a pdf of a more detailed report of the results that you can download. Many thanks to all the authors who filled out the survey. I think the results are interesting. I hope you agree.<br />
<br />
Lynn Osterkamp<br />
The Populist Publisher<br />
<a href="http://www.thepopulistpublisher.com">www.thepopulistpublisher.com</a><br />
PMI Books<br />
<a href="http://www.pmibooks.com">www.pmibooks.com</a> My first book was a self-publ…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-02-27:537324:Comment:1268342008-02-27T18:52:18.285ZNeil Whitehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/NeilWhite
My first book was a self-published book, although it wasn't vanity pubishing. I organised the cover designer, I organised the printer, I set the whole book out, I did the marketing, and it was satisfying. That self-published book got me an agent, and ultimately a publishing deal.<br />
<br />
Looking back, it is filled with typos and grammatical errors, but it all worked out okay. If you start on the basis that all the vanity publisher is doing is sorting out the printing, cover and ISBN, then you won't be…
My first book was a self-published book, although it wasn't vanity pubishing. I organised the cover designer, I organised the printer, I set the whole book out, I did the marketing, and it was satisfying. That self-published book got me an agent, and ultimately a publishing deal.<br />
<br />
Looking back, it is filled with typos and grammatical errors, but it all worked out okay. If you start on the basis that all the vanity publisher is doing is sorting out the printing, cover and ISBN, then you won't be disappointed. If you expect it to be edited and marketed properly, then you will be disappointed. No-one will stock it, and you will lose money. But if you want to write for fun and sell copies to your friends and family, then do it.<br />
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Optimistic self-publishing is the problem. I had a thousand copies printed. They line my loft at the moment, although without it, I wouldn't have ended up with a publishing deal.<br />
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There is a very good book called How to Self-Publish by Peter Finch that tells you how to set out a book so that it doesn't look self-published. If you do that, why not organise your own cover designer (there are plenty on the internet) and printer? At least all of it will then be your own work. The point of the degree is to…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-02-26:537324:Comment:1266472008-02-26T21:24:46.013ZLynn Osterkamphttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/LynnOsterkamp
The point of the degree is to show that I know how to do research. And I don't have an agenda because this is research--which if done right asks questions and looks for answers.<br />
<br />
Lynn
The point of the degree is to show that I know how to do research. And I don't have an agenda because this is research--which if done right asks questions and looks for answers.<br />
<br />
Lynn It seems like this is somethi…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-02-26:537324:Comment:1266312008-02-26T18:51:45.564ZJohn McFetridgehttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/JohnMcF
It seems like this is something that's changing every day.<br />
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A guy named Jim Munro has a lot of info on his site. He published his first book with HarperCollins and then went to indie, or self-publishing, and he gives a lot of the details. It's called <a href="http://nomediakings.org/">No Media Kings</a>.
It seems like this is something that's changing every day.<br />
<br />
A guy named Jim Munro has a lot of info on his site. He published his first book with HarperCollins and then went to indie, or self-publishing, and he gives a lot of the details. It's called <a href="http://nomediakings.org/">No Media Kings</a>. How can you not have an agend…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-02-26:537324:Comment:1265882008-02-26T14:27:00.511ZI. J. Parkerhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Ingpark
How can you not have an agenda since you are in the business?<br />
And what's the point of the degree after your name?
How can you not have an agenda since you are in the business?<br />
And what's the point of the degree after your name? Sandra,
I have an agenda for…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-02-26:537324:Comment:1265102008-02-26T02:39:46.228ZLynn Osterkamphttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/LynnOsterkamp
Sandra,<br />
<br />
I have an agenda for my blog, which is to promote equal opportunity for authors so that their books will be judged by thier merit, not on the basis of who publishes them. I have my own publishing company. We have a stress-management book that we first published in the 1980s, is now in its 4th edition and has sold over 50,000 copies. My mystery novel, TOO NEAR THE EDGE, published in 2006, won an IPPY award, is returnable, is offered at standard discount and is carried by two local…
Sandra,<br />
<br />
I have an agenda for my blog, which is to promote equal opportunity for authors so that their books will be judged by thier merit, not on the basis of who publishes them. I have my own publishing company. We have a stress-management book that we first published in the 1980s, is now in its 4th edition and has sold over 50,000 copies. My mystery novel, TOO NEAR THE EDGE, published in 2006, won an IPPY award, is returnable, is offered at standard discount and is carried by two local independent bookstores as well as Barnes & Noble. I agree that there is prejudice at conferences and with reviewers. Read my blog.<br />
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I don't have an agenda for the survey. I've been a researcher for 30+ years and I know better than to have an agenda for a survey. I just want to find out what these authors have to say. It seems that the experts tell us what happens to subsidy-published authors but no one asks the authors. Stay tuned.<br />
<br />
Lynn Osterkamp, Ph.D.<br />
<a href="http://www.thepopulistpublisher.com">www.thepopulistpublisher.com</a><br />
<a href="http://www.lynnosterkamp.com">www.lynnosterkamp.com</a> I believe the only way to cha…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-02-26:537324:Comment:1264982008-02-26T01:44:34.554ZJohn Dishonhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/whiteskwirl
I believe the only way to change perception is to have a few break out self-published books. Eragon kind of sort of counts, but even if you do count that one, you still need more. But publishing as I understand it is much like America's two-party system: it's set up to exclude third parties, and the publishing industry is organized/set up in such a way as to exclude self-published books. So, unfortunately, at least for now, self-published books are the Ralph Nader of publishing.
I believe the only way to change perception is to have a few break out self-published books. Eragon kind of sort of counts, but even if you do count that one, you still need more. But publishing as I understand it is much like America's two-party system: it's set up to exclude third parties, and the publishing industry is organized/set up in such a way as to exclude self-published books. So, unfortunately, at least for now, self-published books are the Ralph Nader of publishing. You're a weather balloon that…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-02-26:537324:Comment:1264902008-02-26T00:49:14.994ZSandra Ruttanhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/Sandramre
You're a weather balloon that thinks it can stop a hurricane. If you want individual judgment per book you have to find a way to get books assessed individually.<br />
<br />
I already explained some of the reviewing obstacles. I'm also in agreement that newspapers serve a specific community and obviously aren't going to focus on reviewing books that their readers can't easily buy. Almost 90% of book sales still occur in stores, not online. Being on amazon isn't enough.<br />
<br />
Surveying authors who've used those…
You're a weather balloon that thinks it can stop a hurricane. If you want individual judgment per book you have to find a way to get books assessed individually.<br />
<br />
I already explained some of the reviewing obstacles. I'm also in agreement that newspapers serve a specific community and obviously aren't going to focus on reviewing books that their readers can't easily buy. Almost 90% of book sales still occur in stores, not online. Being on amazon isn't enough.<br />
<br />
Surveying authors who've used those services isn't going to change perception. Beyond reviews, most self published books are not eligible for any industry awards. Those writers aren't even eligible to join the writing groups as authors. Most conventions will not put self published authors on panels. And there's no consistency of quality in those books. Unless you've gone the POD route (using Dave's definitions below) and then moved on to a traditional publisher - as Dave and I both have - you have no idea what the differences are in terms of editing, marketing, in-house support, distribution.<br />
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Surveying these writers isn't going to change the established views and policies of the industry at large. It does seem you have an agenda, but a survey falls far short of effecting any change in perception.<br />
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Sandra Lynn:
In my response I used…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-02-25:537324:Comment:1264732008-02-25T21:13:09.595ZDave Zeltsermanhttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/DaveZeltserman
Lynn:<br />
<br />
In my response I used subsidy press to refer to self-publishing (i.e, iUniverse, etc.) , small POD publisher to refer to a small publishing house that primarily uses POD technology, traditional publishers to refer to houses that use offset printing, have a sales force and a business model on how they sell their book. I'm sure there are exceptions, but I see small POD publishers usually falling into one of two groups:<br />
<br />
1) well-intentioned but grossly under capitalized<br />
2) one or more…
Lynn:<br />
<br />
In my response I used subsidy press to refer to self-publishing (i.e, iUniverse, etc.) , small POD publisher to refer to a small publishing house that primarily uses POD technology, traditional publishers to refer to houses that use offset printing, have a sales force and a business model on how they sell their book. I'm sure there are exceptions, but I see small POD publishers usually falling into one of two groups:<br />
<br />
1) well-intentioned but grossly under capitalized<br />
2) one or more authors trying to hide that they're self-publishing by starting their own press and adding other authors<br />
<br />
For (1) above, as well intentioned as someone might be, if you don't have enough capital to distribute, market and sell your authors' books, it's not a good situation for an author to get involved in--ESPECIALLY for a first book. The industry pays special attention to debut books--and the worst thing for an author is to miss that by publishing with someone that the industry doesn't hold as credible (or doesn't qualify for awards, such as Edgar for best first novel). I'd strongly suggest any author, especially first time authors, only go with publishers who 1) get their books reviewed by the trades 2) get their books into bookstores. For (2) to happen, the publisher has to have a sales force, has to offer the standard 40-55% discount, take returns, have a distributer, and be paid attention to by the industry. Sarah,
Thanks for your respon…tag:crimespace.ning.com,2008-02-25:537324:Comment:1264682008-02-25T20:16:31.444ZLynn Osterkamphttp://crimespace.ning.com/profile/LynnOsterkamp
Sarah,<br />
Thanks for your response. You wrote "And without ever self-publishing, I've been tarred with the same 'lack of credibility' brush... " Self-published books, especially those from small independent presses, vary quite a lot. I'm hoping that eventually they will be judged individually rather than being tarred with the same brush.<br />
Lynn Osterkamp<br />
The Populist Publisher<br />
<a href="http://www.thepopulistpublisher.com">www.thepopulistpublisher.com</a>
Sarah,<br />
Thanks for your response. You wrote "And without ever self-publishing, I've been tarred with the same 'lack of credibility' brush... " Self-published books, especially those from small independent presses, vary quite a lot. I'm hoping that eventually they will be judged individually rather than being tarred with the same brush.<br />
Lynn Osterkamp<br />
The Populist Publisher<br />
<a href="http://www.thepopulistpublisher.com">www.thepopulistpublisher.com</a>