Indie publishing, digital publishing, and POD resources'
Processes to understand if you self-publish
(printing vs. publishing, offset printing, print-on-demand (POD), traditional publishing, self-publishing, indie publishing, subsidy publishing, and even hybrid publishing)
This world of "indie publishing" is full of new opportunities and possible problems, and requires much effort, so do your homework, see the long-range picture, pay attention to rights you must know about, and do things right the first time to avoid expensive mistakes! This page of links should save you the time it has taken me to learn what's what! Many of the processes explained on this page also apply in traditional book publishing; they're here because you should understand them if you are self-publishing, to be successful and to avoid making mistakes.
Understand: Printing is not publishing. Self-publishing (a.k.a. "self publishing" with no hyphen) is NOT the same as "print-on-demand" (POD) publishing. Printing is only one aspect of publishing). It is also not the same as subsidy publishing (a new name for vanity publishing, in which the publisher's primary customer is the author, not the target book buyer). It is important to understand the differences between them, even if you have money to burn, because there are issues of control and ownership, as well as economics. Do not, for the sake of temporary convenience, give up rights you are entitled to and may want in the longer term.
Print-on-demand is a digital printing process with which you can print as few books as you want--one at a time (as they are ordered and paid for). A traditional publisher like Random House can use POD technology. So can a self-publisher (someone who publishes independently). They can print one book at a time or a few at a time. But a self-publisher can also use the same offset printers the regular publishers use, if printing in sufficient quantity (typically 500 copies and above). There are pros and cons to POD, but it is rapidly becoming more popular.
Publishing is the broader process that includes printing as well as editing, typesetting, design, production, publicity, marketing, and distribution. A commercial publisher (say, Doubleday) handles all of these steps and publishes the book under its own imprint, "licensing" rights from an author (often through an agent), covering the costs of production, and paying the author a royalty. A subsidy publisher also publishes under its own imprint, but expects the author or organization to cover the costs of production. (Mind you, sometimes commercial publishers effectively do the same thing, agreeing to publish a book, or a special edition of a book, if the author/organization promises to purchase a sizable number of copies, enough to cover basic costs.) The subsidy publisher owns rights to the book and authors receive royalties, but any author expecting sizable royalties in this set-up is delusional. A hybrid publisher also expects the author to cover many of the costs, but in return the author gets a larger share of income than traditional royalties would provide. (As well in most cases as fewer sales.)
Self-publishing means paying for all the costs of publication and managing publication yourself. Organizations often self-publish, typically creating an imprint just for that purpose. The biggest problem with self-publishing (apart from learning how to handle production) is distribution. The big advantage is that you have more control over the whole process, keep more of the revenues from sales, and can get copies of the physical book in your hands fast (as fast as you can handle all the processes yourself).
What makes self-publishing more acceptable these days than vanity publishing is partly that the major publishers are not buying as many books (with big advances) as they used to. Instead of spending moderate amounts on lots of authors they are putting big money behind a much smaller group of what they presumably hope will be blockbuster bestsellers. So some authors are deciding they are better off investing in themselves and turning out a book relatively quickly than they are taking a lot of time finding and selling yourself to a traditional publisher, hoping that that publisher does a good job, and being disappointed. Hybrid publishing is a notch above self-publishing, the promise being that you won't have to supervise all aspects of production yourself, but it is expensive.
This site can help you select which services to use: Best and Worst Self-Publishing Services Reviewed & Rated by the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi, Alliance of Independent Authors) See also Choosing A Self-Publishing Service. The Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) Guide. ALLi's Watchdog Desk maintains this extremely useful multi-page list of ratings. (Report your good and bad experiences to them.)
Steps you pay attention to:
Choosing a good printer
Getting an ISBN number from Bowker
Getting copyright forms and registering with the Library of Congress (and getting the Cataloging in Publication form from the Library of Congress early so you list the right CIP data on the copyright page if you want your book in libraries)
Getting a bar code for the cover (for scanning price, etc., in bookstores)
Making sure all the right pages are in the right (standard) place and order (copyright page, preface, etc.)
Arranging for and supervising the book's cover design (an important investment--don't do an amateur cover)
Arranging for endorsements and testimonials (blurbs) to go on the cover or inside first page
Developing and following a marketing plan
Arranging for publicity (free coverage as opposed to paid-for advertisements and commercials)
Arranging for radio and TV appearances, book signings and other public appearances
Making sure you're listed in all the right online places, and so on.
Marketing a book can take almost as much effort as writing it. You're not done when the manuscript is completed! But this is also true when you are published by a regular publisher; you can't expect them to do much for you, and whether they want to publish you will depend partly on how good they think you are at marketing yourself.
This is a world full of new opportunities, new problems, and lots of effort, so do your homework, see the big, long-range picture, pay attention to rights, do the work, and don't expect miracles.
Links to practical explanations on this site:
Scroll all the way down--some of the best bits are toward the middle or end.
• Printing is not publishing. Publishers don't own printing presses.
• Self-publishing 101: Basics of self-publishing
• Self-publishing and print-on-demand services
• Publishing scams, bad deals, vanity/subsidy publishing and presses, and author mills
• Secrets of success for indie authors
• Self-publishing (a basic booklist)
• Blogs about self-publishing
• Key submissions and self-publishing services
• Pros and cons of self-publishing
• Self-publishing success stories
• Hall of Fame of self-published authors
• A few books that were self-published
• Hybrid publishing
• Hybrid authors
• Subsidy publishing
• Self-publishing and print-on-demand services
The differences between Ingram Spark, Lightning Source, Kindle/KDP, Draft2Digital, Apple Books, Lulu, etc.
(knowing that CreateSpace and KDP merged, etc.)
• Printers and printing
• Kickstarting your indie publication
• The truth about print-on-demand (POD) publishing
• Ebooks and self-publishing (ins and outs, pros and cons)
• Self-publishing children's books
• Book design and production
• The essential parts of a book
• Standard order of parts of a book
• Acknowledgments page
• Copyright page--what it should contain
• Book printing and binding, explained and illustrated
• Why you should get your self-published book edited
• Editing, design, and production (overview of the process)
• Mastering InDesign (book design software)
• Books on how to design books
• Book formatting
• Footnotes and endnotes (InDesign)
• Fonts and typography--the basics
• Book distribution and fulfillment
(Wholesalers and distributors)
• Firms that distribute self-published print and ebooks
• Getting reviews and promotion for self-published books
• Marketing and selling your self-published book
• Selling your book to bookstores, schools, and libraries How, when, and where to register copyright
• ISBNs, LCCNs, CIP, PCNs, BISAC, WorldCat, barcodes, and other product identifiers
• Copyright, work for hire, and other rights issues
See also
Secrets of successful book covers and titles
Great covers sell books, but what makes for a great cover?
The rising star of audio books
For editors and publishing professionals
Style, grammar, and word choice (for editors and copyeditors)
Editing and revising fiction
Want to self-publish eBooks? To read up on digital publishing (eBooks and the like), see sections on
eBook publishing
Publishing and ePublishing,
eBook Basics and Beyond,
Ebook devices and platforms
E-book rights, developments, conflicts, pricing, and struggles for market.
Ebook formatting vendors