One Last Word on Self Publishing

Jus to shave a bit off of my previous post. I do have one more thing IMPORTANT to share about self publishing.

You must know that retailers are not always keen about stocking books from print-on-demand services. The reason being is that most POD services sales are non-returnable. Stores don't like buying things they can't return incase they don't sell.

Also when I looked at Writer's Beware I saw mention of Amazon not selling POD books their Booksurge doesn't print. I haven't gotten to checking up on how things are now though, as that was news they revealed last year. I also don't see how they could get away with it for long before lawsuits being filed.

Now that I've mentioned that. I also want to not that Lightning Source does allow you to set your books as being returnable. I assume that means returns will be deducted from your royalties. On the upside it hopefully makes retailers more likely to stock your books.

I actually contated them about in regards to that as soon as I found that out.

I haven't had a chance yet, but I'm going to ask if retailers when ordering are able to see that your books can be returned or are more likely to carry LS printed books because they give publishers the option of making their books returnable.

As soon as I get word on that I'll post it here!

This Cartoonist's Road to Self Publishing Thus Far

Well, I decided to share a little on how things are going so far with self publishing. I'm not anywhere near as close as I thought I was to getting a book into print. Primarily because my chosen printer requires in their application process for you to provide at least one ISBN. They didn't mention that anywhere prior to that step.

A little "hey before you apply make sure you have your ISBN(s)" would have been nice.

Now I'm sure most have an inkling of what an ISBN is. Those are those serial numbers with the barcodes on your books.

What you might not know, I didn't, is that pretty much anyone looking to publish a book can buy them. Just go here. http://www.isbn.org R.R Bowker is the company that handles ISBNs in the US. You can find out more about the whole deal there.

The catch is that they sell ISBNs in groups of 10 and they're a few hundred bucks. However, you're pretty much a publisher at that point. And it's up to you to find a printer.

Also you will need to purchase a barcode as well if you're looking for retail distribution. Good news is Barcodes are only about $25. Again, more information on Bowker's site. I'll touch on that more later myself as there are more artisty designy things associated with that.

I do have to say I have stumbled across self-publishing information way easier than I thought I would. Or perhaps the universe decided to cut me a break. Not break enough to have the $275 for my ISBNs right now, but it's a start.

Now there are options out there that might save you a few bucks, but as usual there are catches to them. And I will get to those soon enough. Not right now because, well I've had a full day and this evening is getting long.

Gettin' Literary

Well a little idea that I had for a simple little alphabet book has taken me in an interesting direction. BOOKS!

Yes I need to get me a copy of Children's Writers Market simply to look toward more traditional publishing. However I am also looking into self/Print-on-Demand publishing.

There is much to learn and one day my head will be full of fun and generally useless facts once more. Also as things progress I'll begin touching upon the knowlege I've managed to aquire. Of course that will require readers. Although I have one comment further down, YES!

Guess I should go get creative and figure out some places to venture for promotion.