posted
I've written thousands of poetry lines by now. Most of them by now competet and revised many times over. I've got enough text to publish a little book (~90 pages sized 13x18 CENTIMETRES) of my 2004-2005 poetry (I started writing in what, September 2004?) and release my thoughts and creativity to the publc. This thing can be benefitial in three ways: (a) some extra income, even though financially I am doing well; (b) more people knowing my name, having myself recognised for more than the person who mysteriously pops-up in surprising places; (c) having achieved something official in my life before reaching 18, I don't want my biography to start from adulthood.
Now, all I need is for a publisher to want to publish me, right? Now, let's think again, what publisher, exactly, would want to spend money on a 15 year old little sod writting his pishacks wording? Nobody. Not unless I pay for it myself and self-publish my book.
Which is why I want your opinion regarding this issue. How do I self puublish? Do I do it in Israel where I *am* or go for a wider English-speaking environment where I have no direct contact with the publisher? What do I watch out for? How do I find marketers, especially when I know NOTHING about finances?
I asked some authors I know, but they all published normally. Where do I start and how do I proceed?
posted
There are a few ways I've seen that you can do.
For example, CafePress is kind of nice. You don't have to pay anything unless you set up a premium shop.
How they work is you design your products for your store and set a price on them, they have a minimum price on all items, for example with your book. If it were 90 pages at perfect binding, its cost would be at least $9.70. You would then have to jack it up a bit to make profit, so if you set it at $12.00, you would get a profit of $2.30 per book sold.
The downsides are that at 15 you'd need to have your store under someone who is 18 or older. A parent would work. Another is there's a lack of advertising on the book unless you go out online and point people at your store.
There is another website that I've heard of that does roughly the same thing, I'll need to double check, but with them if you pay them something, I think they'll get you book listed at Amazon.com.
The thing about self-publishing is you need to publish in bulk. A retail store would very rarely buy a book if there were only about 100 copies made, they'd want more than that. Then you'd have to worry about warehousing costs for holding your thousands of copies you'd have to make.
Honestly my best bet for you would be to go with another publisher, go for online under someone else, or wait until you're 18 to try publishing. That's what I'm doing. I've waited two years and can wait two more.
Posts: 1831 | Registered: Jan 2003
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posted
You might try Author house. They're based in Bloomington, my home town. I know someone who has published several books with them and been very happy. Here's what they say about themselves:
quote: Since 1997, AuthorHouse, the leading self-publishing company in the world, has helped authors achieve their book publishing goals with over 27,000 books in print. Choosing a reputable book publisher, among the many book publishing companies and book publishers available, is a very critical step towards the publishing process. Publishing a book with AuthorHouse means you'll be guided by author advocates who are serious about writing and publishing. They will help you choose the best book publishing options and the most effective marketing tools.
Unlike some book publishers, AuthorHouse authors retain all rights and control decisions around the publishing and marketing of their book. You determine how many and when copies of your published book are printed and you select your own royalty schedule. When your book is finished, it's available for order at more than 25,000 retail outlets worldwide, on the Internet at Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, and through the AuthorHouse online publishing company book store.
Join over 25,000 self-published authors who have trusted AuthorHouse to be their book publisher of choice. Publishing a Book is a great adventure! Let AuthorHouse be your guide.
posted
Publish online. Charge a little bit, say less than 50c, for each download of it (no one's going to mind reading in computer format if only reading one poem at a time).My friends, who are under eighteen and plan to have a production company when their older (or at least the guy who made the site is) are starting up a site where they release screenplays for a tiny cost, and let the readers help determine what happens in some stories. Their community is growing rapidly.
I'm writing novels (critiqued and reworked before they get published) to be put online for a small price to download too. (on a different site) The idea is that if you make enough sales you'll make more or less the same kind of profits you would from print publishing. (minus the value of an advance) If you want to do that, you can put it on my site, or else just my friends site and mine will each have a link to it. Or you could just do it yourself. Either way, all the profits would be 100% yours. And if it sells well enough (like Matthew Reilly's Hover Car Racer did) it will no doubt be published in print one day anyway.
That's one option. Give yourself a little more time to consider your options before you decide how you'll be having it published. Good luck.
[ December 24, 2005, 08:07 PM: Message edited by: cheiros do ender ]
Posts: 1138 | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
I'm sixteen by the way, seventeen as of April. Email me if you'd like to explore this option any further on cheiros_do_ender@hotmail.com
Posts: 1138 | Registered: Nov 2005
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posted
My advice is to NOT self publish at all. Not to be harsh at all but
quote:, what publisher, exactly, would want to spend money on a 15 year old little sod writting his pishacks wording? Nobody.
is not exactly a sterling review of one's literary talents. Change the word 'publisher' to 'reader in the first sentence, and you have the REASON publishers won't buy you.
If you're going to self publish, approach your work like a publisher. Publishers will buy work that they think will sell. If your work is indicative of a 15 year old little sod, then most likely it will not sell beyond your immediate circle of friends and family.
And it won't gain you anything, but may loose you a great deal.
Posts: 14554 | Registered: Dec 1999
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posted
Jon, don't self-publish. If it's worth publishing, a publication house will pay for it. If it isn't, there's no point in publishing it at your expense.
Posts: 37449 | Registered: May 1999
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posted
If it's any good, then no publishing house will give a hoot how old you are. If it's crap, no publishing house will give a hoot how old you are.
Posts: 8355 | Registered: Apr 2003
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