Self-publishing your book: Some Advice

Part1

1.  Self-publishing with Crink is easier than it looks.

Register online and gain access to our publishing wizard. The wizard has 12 easy-to-follow steps that will help you to get your files print-ready!

2.  Quality has improved.

Print-on-demand technology has become solid. The printed copies can compare with other books in the market, the only giveaway that you would be dealing with is if the layout and cover design was managed poorly.

3.  Some of our best selling titles are non-fiction.

If you visit our "best selling books" link, then you will see that 9 out of the 10 titles are non-fiction. It seems that fiction faces a lot more international competition and this acts as a barrier to sales for self-published authors.

4.  Best Sellers are few and far between

Because the barrier to entry is so low, there are a majority of books that are pretty bad. A tiny percentage will make it big, but every now and then you will hear about an author who's managed the process successfully.

5.  The average sales

The average self-published book sells about 30 - 80 copies and that is when the author has made some attempt at marketing. It is also good to keep in mind that a South African best seller is about 3 000 copies. This puts a lot of things in perspective.

6.  Creating a "professional" book calls for investment.

There are few things in life that are free, even if you have a couple of friends that can help you out. If you really want a professional book it requires some capital investment. Traditional books take 9 months to produce and that is because they go through the publishing value chain that includes editing, layout, design and proofreading. A self-publisher should also consider investing his time and money in order to create a professional book.

Later this week I will raise more points that self-publishers should look at when planning their publication.