Print On Demand

Recently, Indie Authors Scotland ran a survey to establish what people think about self-publishing. As part of the survey, the respondents were given the opportunity to ask questions of Kim and I. For the next few weeks I am going to respond to those questions through my blog. This week’s question is “How do I find an easy way to have books printed and distributed on a demand basis?”

Digital print on demand has revolutionised what is possible with self-published books. Low cost, short print runs now make it easy for anyone to produce high-quality books that don’t cost a fortune and don’t require you to buy and store a huge number of books.

There are a couple of simple routes to producing your own printed books. I printed my first three novels using an online company called CompletelyNovel.com. You can sign up with a monthly fee, and depending on the deal you opt for, you can have a certain number of titles produced with no setup fee. They also offer publishing services like typesetting for a reasonable extra cost. There are limitations, as there are only two sizes available and you are restricted with regards to choice of cover finish. It is a simple process, the folks at Completely Novel are very helpful and there is also a community of readers and writers associated with the site.

Amazon is now offering a similar service in the form of Createspace.com. There is a greater choice of sizes and cover finishes available and there are no set-up costs. It is a comprehensive service but there is a problem; as it is currently an American-based site, if you are an author in the U.K. you will have to pay shipping costs from the U.S. that will push up your expenditure on every book. It’s a great service and hopefully it will be offered in the U.K. before too long.

My route to print is now through Lightning Source. It offers a vast range of sizes, covers, papers and print styles that you can combine to produce the kind of book you want. There is an initial set up fee for each title, but it's reasonable at under fifty pounds. A 300-page standard paperback will cost you about £4 per copy to produce, leaving you a decent margin to sell the books directly to readers and make a good profit. I have been very impressed by the service and the quality of the finished product from Lightning Source.

The best advice I can give is for you to explore the websites in more detail and find the service that is best for you. As I do all of the technical work myself, Lighting Source offers me the service I need, but if you don’t have the technical know-how, you may find that one of the others are more appropriate. This area is developing at an incredible rate and I will do my best to keep you informed. 

We cover print-on-demand books in great detail in the Indie Authors Scotland Bookcamp training course.

How do I finance my self publishing project?

Recently, Indie Authors Scotland ran a survey to establish what people think about self-publishing. As part of the survey, the respondents were given the opportunity to ask questions of Kim and I. For the next few weeks I am going to respond to those questions through my blog. This week’s question is "How do I finance my project?"

This is obviously a very personal question that will result in a different answer for each individual, but I will try and offer some suggestions that may help.

My first recommendation is to decide how much of the process you would like to take control of. There are many companies out there who will produce your eBook and paperback for you, but they tend to be expensive. If you have money available and don’t want to spend time producing the book yourself, that may be the best route for you. The downside is that you’ll be spending that amount of money every time you want to produce a book. Alternatively, the training we offer at Indie Authors Scotland will teach you as much of the process as you would like to learn. Not only do we offer a comprehensive course called the ‘Bookcamp’ but also shorter, more specialised courses that might be more suitable to your budget. (Well, I had to plug the course somehow.) :-)

During the production cycle, the single most important area to spend money on is an editor. If you are on a tight budget, an editor should be your first priority. A well-edited book will be the key to retaining readers and helping you to grow sales beyond your first book.

With the formatting skills you have learned in our course and a well-edited manuscript you will be ready to submit your book to Amazon for sale on the Kindle. If your budget can stretch a little more, then you should get a professionally designed cover. Although we shouldn’t, everyone judges a book by its cover. It may not generate sales on its own merits, but I guarantee that an amateurish cover will put off some people from even reading the blurb.

The majority of online marketing tools and social media are either free or very low cost. Using them well in combination with good reviews will hopefully begin to generate some income for you, which you might want to invest in producing a paperback or in more training. If things go well you will have a virtuous circle where what you earn is re-invested back into book production and then into more traditional marketing and advertising.

The priority in your budget should be:

1. Editor
2. Cover design
3. Paperback production
4. Marketing
5. Advertising

To learn more about our list of  ‘How to Self Publish’ courses, visit the Indie Authors Scotland website.

New trailer

I'm slowly working my way through all my books and creating a video trailer for each of them. This is the latest for The Good Girl, the only book set outside the West Of Scotland.

Let me know what you think.

The first step to publishing your own book

Recently, Indie Authors Scotland ran a survey to establish what people think about self-publishing. As part of the survey, the respondents were given the opportunity to ask questions of Kim and I. For week two, I’m going to try to answer the tricky question of ‘Where do I Start?”

The obvious and slightly glib answer is to finish what you are writing. In a previous blog, I’ve written about the ways that writers prevaricate and prevent themselves from taking the next step.

That next step is to GET AN EDITOR. I cannot overstate the importance of producing a book that is well edited and proofread. The simple truth is that books from independent authors are judged more harshly than those from big publishers. There is still a bias against people who don’t have a publisher, despite the success that some independent authors have enjoyed. Readers almost want to find an error, just to prove that independent books can’t possibly be as good. I have read many books from large publishing houses that have typos or words that have been misspelled, but I would never think of reviewing it on that basis. If the book is self-published, a typo or grammatical error gives some readers justification to knock one or two stars off the review score. It’s a strange phenomenon that I hope will disappear over time, but it is something you have to be aware of.

My simple message to you is if you have a limited budget to produce your book, the one area you must spend the money on is editing. Next week I’ll look take a closer look at the costs associated with producing your book and explain how it’s maybe not as expensive as you may think.

You can get a 'Top Ten Tips For Self Publishing Success' free ebook and learn more about our ‘How to self publish’ courses on the Indie Authors Scotland website.

Guest Blog - IT’S A RESOUNDING ‘YES’ FOR SCOTLAND’S WRITERS

In this month's guest blog, I am joined by fellow Scot and Bishopbriggs resident, Paul Cuddihy. Paul's career as a journalist has taken him to a number of newspapers before joining the Celtic View where he is now the editor. He had the honour of writing the best-selling biography of the Celtic Football Club legend, Tommy Burns. Having written and published three novels through a traditional publisher, Paul has now joined the ranks of indie authors. I'll let him explain what his new book is all about.

‘I have never been able to resist a book about books.’ (Anne Fadiman)

At the beginning of 2013, I resolved to read more books. In the course of the year I managed to do just that. That was enjoyable in itself, but out of that has also come a new book in which I chart the whole experience – what books I read, how I came to choose them and what I thought about them, as well as writing about what else was going on in my life and in the world of literature.

‘Read All About It: My Year Of Falling In Love With Literature Again’ is also my first foray into the world of self-publishing, and I have to say that I found the whole experience to be an exhilarating one.

I had previously written a trilogy of historical novels, which had all been released through traditional publishers – Saints and Sinners (Black & White, 2010), The Hunted (Capercaillie 2011) and Land Beyond The Wave (Capercaille 2012). There was, of course, the thrill of publication, which, as every writer will tell you, can never be under-estimated.

However, it was also a frustrating experience at times – the absence (real or perceived) of any promotion, marketing or advertising of the books, the lack of control throughout the process; on one occasion I couldn’t agree with the publisher over the cover of the book, the debate eventually brought to a conclusion when I was told ‘Well, I’m paying for the design, so we’re going with the one I like!’ (I still hate the cover chosen, incidentally).

With Read All About It, I have had none of these frustrations. The cover, for example, was designed by a friend and so was done in a spirit of co-operation and partnership. The end result was superb, and I hope that you do judge this book by the cover!

I’ve published Read All About It as a paperback through Amazon’s CreateSpace, and as an ebook through their Kindle Direct Publishing platform.

It’s been an easy and enjoyable process, and a self-confessed lover of the physical book, I have to confess that the finished product from CreateSpace is very impressive.

Of course, it’s the content which people will ultimately judge any book on and that, dear reader, is up to you to decide.

I read a lot of books during 2013, and enjoyed very many of them. It would be hard for me to choose my favourites, so for the purposes of this guest blog, I’ve chosen five books I read last year, which would be classed as Scottish, either through subject matter, author or both.

Hopefully, you’ll rush out and buy these books – after getting my book, of course – but I hope it’s also just a gentle reminder of literary talent that Scotland has produced and continues to produce. Will that continue after September 18? Let’s hope the answer to that is a resounding ‘Yes!’

Laidlaw: William McIlvanney

I felt disappointed in myself as a reader, a writer, a Scot and a Glaswegian that I’d never read any of William McIlvanney’s books. I could have tried to justify it in one of my general rants about the fact Scottish literature is not taught as widely in our schools as it should be, and there is a lack of awareness of such books. I actually don’t know if that’s true any more. It was in my day, but it’s been a long time since I’ve been inside a classroom. I’m also forty-seven-years-old, so whatever I may or may not have been taught in the dim and distant past, there’s no excuse for not having rectified any gaps in my Scottish literary education in the intervening period.

Most importantly, there’s no excuse for having ignored what turned out to be a great book. Scottish crime writers are renowned the world over – think Ian Rankin, Denise Mina and Val McDermid, to name but three – and McIlvanney is often cited as the godfather of what is called ‘tartan noir’. Apparently he hates that title, although is probably more appreciative of McDermid’s description of him as ‘the Clark Gable of Scottish crime fiction’.

Laidlaw is a captivating character, and it was refreshing to read a book where I recognised the setting, even if it did involve a trip down memory lane to recall a Glasgow that doesn’t exist any more. I followed that up with the other two books in the Laidlaw trilogy – The Papers of Tony Veitch and Strange Loyalties – both of them equally as good.

Indeed, The Papers of Tony Veitch contains one of the best first lines I’ve ever read – ‘It was Glasgow on a Friday night, the city of the stare.’ Wow! That sentence takes my breath away. If that doesn’t make you run out and get the book, then I don’t know what’s wrong with you! If you’ve already read McIlvanney’s trilogy, you’ll know how good they are. If not, do so as a matter or urgency. You’ll thank me for it later.

You Have To Be Careful in the Land of the Free: James Kelman

Among the very many enjoyable aspects of my ‘Read All About It’ project was the fact that I finally managed to read (and enjoy) a James Kelman novel. Kelman is considered to be one of Scotland’s greatest ever novelists, but for some reason I have struggled in the past with his work. Emboldened by the fact I was reading a lot more last year, I decided to tackle You Have To Be Careful In The Land Of The Free.

In an ideal world, I would read Kelman’s novel in one sitting, since it is a stream of consciousness narrative taking place over a few hours. I can immediately appreciate the absolute skill involved in being able to tell a story in that style and, more importantly, keep the reader (me) engaged. Kelman’s novel is superb, absolutely captivating in its detail and very thought-provoking. It’s worth noting, given that it was written in 2004, how prescient it is now, nine years later, with America’s ongoing ‘war on terror’, an alarming increase in surveillance, both domestic and international, as well as an upsurge in general suspicion of the ‘stranger’ in our midst. Unfortunately, like many things which happen in the United States, this is mirrored in Britain. Kelman wrote a prophetic novel, which is both admirable and chilling.

Apparently the ongoing leaks from former CIA employee, Edward Snowden has prompted an upsurge in the number of people buying and reading George Orwell’s 1984. Everyone should read it, and then be very scared. They should read Kelman’s You Have To Be Careful In The Land Of The Free as well. It is a masterful novel.

Spain: The Inside Story of La Roja’s Historic Treble:  Graham Hunter

I mostly read novels throughout my ‘Read All About It’ project in 2013, but one of the few non-fiction books, and one of the few football books I read was Graham Hunter’s book, Spain: The Inside Story of La Roja’s Historic Treble, which tells the story of the Spanish national football team and their unique success in winning three consecutive football tournaments – the European Championship in 2008, the World Cup in 2010, and the Euros again in 2012.

Hunter, a Scottish journalist based in Barcelona, has enjoyed unique access to the Spanish squad, partly through his work with football’s two main governing bodies, UEFA and FIFA, and so is in a perfect position to tell this fantastic sporting story. That he achieves what he sets out to do is due in no small part to his talent as a writer. It is an utterly captivating book and it was with real reluctance whenever I had to put it down.

It helped, too, that I went to see him at an event in the Glasgow Film Theatre to launch the book. Hunter talks as well as he writes – he’s already written a best-selling book about FC Barcelona’s success – and the fact that over three hundred people turn up for the event is testimony to that.

I actually bumped into Graham Hunter in the press box of the Nou Camp before Celtic’s game against Barcelona and complimented him on his excellent book. I’d recommend reading it before this summer’s World Cup. It offers a brilliant insight into Spain’s football success.

Take Me Home: Daniela Sacerdoti

Daniela Sacerdoti was born in Italy but her home is now Scotland, which is also in her heart. And her second novel, Take Me Home, is based in the same fictional Highland village of Glen Avich as her previous novel, Watch Over Me, which was wonderful.

When I say her previous novel, I’m doing Daniela a disservice. Not only is she talented, but she has a prodigious output, having written books for children, young adults and adults – seven in total to date – and I remain very impressed by the quantity and quality of her writing, while slightly guilty at the paucity of mine.

I didn’t used my Kindle much in 2013, outwith the times I was away on holiday, but I made an exception to read Take Me Home. This was due to the fact that the e-book was released in December, while the physical version isn’t published until April 2014. It’s an unusual strategy from Black & White Publishing, and it will be interesting to find out what impact this has on sales of the physical book when it is released. Their decision may have something to do with the phenomenal e-book success of Daniela’s previous novel, Watch Over Me, which can boast of e-book sales approaching half a million. That is an incredible figure, and the publishers may simply be acknowledging that audience which has been created.

I would guess that both Watch Over Me and Take Me Home have a higher percentage of female readers, though I’m loathe to label either of them ‘chick lit’. It’s a lazy categorisation which might stop some of you reading the books, and while the elements of romance, drama and magic might seem, at a casual glance, to be aimed primarily at women, both novels are just extremely good stories.

Daniela writes beautifully, which I admit with much admiration and not a little envy, and Take Me Home, a story of love, loss and never forgetting who you are and where you come from, is a book I can’t put down, finishing it within three days of starting it.

The Walk Home: Rachel Seiffert

The last book I read in 2013 was one that isn’t published until April 2014. The novel in question is The Walk Home by Rachel Seiffert, and it was delivered to me at work along with a handwritten postcard. ‘Dear Paul Cuddihy – Rachel Seiffert requested me to send you a copy of her new novel, to be published in April, with her best wishes. Thanks, Zoe Hood.’

I was thrilled, delighted and not a little surprised. I had contact with Rachel a few years ago at a time when the Celtic View magazine, of which I am the editor, was publishing short stories every month from new and established writers. Rachel was very keen to write something for us but due to various reasons – work and family commitments – it never came to pass. So I was touched that she thought to send me her new novel, allowing me to read it months before everyone else.

The novel is set in Glasgow, and there is much about the story that is entrenched in the city of the past and the present, but it’s also a book which examines family life – the ties that bind, sometimes oppressively so, and what happens when those ties are undone.

I loved the book because it is about my city, and also because it’s so well-written. The characters are recognisable and real, some of them appealing and some of them less so, but still engaging nevertheless. If I’m being honest, part of the appeal of The Walk Home was feeling that I was in a privileged position of getting to read the preview copy so that I could bore people for a few months by telling them how good it is and that they should buy it when it’s published. This doesn’t happen to me very often – ever – so please indulge me in this instance.

I finished Rachel Seiffert’s book in the early hours of December 31, 2013 and woke up on Hogmanay with a (small) sense of achievement. I am the man of a million ideas, none of which ever seem to come to fruition, and so to have set myself this task and seen it through represented a breakthrough for me.

In writing about my literary journey throughout 2013, I wanted to celebrate the joy of reading and the beauty of books. I hope that Read All About It manages to achieve that.

You can get in touch with Paul through his Facebook page or on twitter @paulthehunted, and read more about him and his work at his website www.paulcuddihy.com.

‘Read All About It: My Year Of Falling In Love With Literature Again’ by Paul Cuddihy is out now as an ebook and paperback on Amazon.

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I'd like to thank Paul for contributing this brilliant piece. I hope it inspires you to read more books, starting with Paul's of course.