self-publishing

Self-publishing as Meaningful Work

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There is a passage in Malcolm Gladwell’s amazing book Outliers that, at its heart, speaks volumes about why writers should self-publish.

[T]hree things—autonomy, complexity, and a connection between effort and reward—are, most people agree, the three qualities that work has to have if it is to be satisfying. It is not how much money we make that ultimately makes us happy between nine and five. It’s whether our works fulfills us. …Work that fulfills those three criteria is meaningful.

Over and over again on websites and in personal correspondence, I hear writers who have chosen to self-publish talk about how energized (or re-energized) they are. While there’s the inevitable grousing about low-sales numbers or promotions gone haywire, rarely are there complaints about the work itself. I know I find myself ready to write every day, eager to get to the page and get my latest words down.

That’s because, according to Gladwell’s definition, self-publishing is meaningful work.

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Correcting Mistakes with Errnet

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One of the challenges facing indie writers is how to recreate the editorial support that a traditionally published author receives (or is supposed to receive). If you take your writing seriously, having a handful of volunteer readers isn’t enough; you need true editorial help.

There are many types of editors, however: substantive editing, line editing, copy-editing, proofreading. All of these steps and stages are important, but in my own case, I felt that there was no substitute for substantive editing since it requires a high degree of experience, knowledge of the genre I was writing in (crime fiction), and a kind of understanding of the whole project, not just individual pieces. Consequently, I hired my own at considerable cost and it was worth it.

Since I don’t live under a money-tree, however, I hoped to cut a few corners by looking for proofreading alternatives. This is still an important step, but one I hoped I could look for a more automated solution.

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Printing Your Book With CreateSpace: Part III

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This is Part III of a three-part series on my attempt to print my short story collection, one bad twelve, using Amazon’s CreateSpace method. Part I covered many of the basics; Part II covered the “short list” of tips and tricks that helped me get my title to CreateSpace.

In many ways, this is the easiest part of the CreateSpace process and is more about reporting than tips or tricks. Once I’d been through the formatting and artwork (cover) stages of my book, much of the “creative” process was over. There are still a few issues that might be of interest to writers new to the print format, however.

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one bad twelve available in print!

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I’m excited to announce that my crime fiction short story collection one bad twelve is now available in print at both my CreateSpace store and Amazon.com for $11.99. (If you’re interested in buying it, I’d appreciate it if you did so at my CreateSpace store…Amazon takes 50% more royalties when selling from their site!)

The volume is 226 pages and consists of 13 original stories as well as a Story Notes section where I talk about the inspiration and background for the stories. There’s also an excerpt from my forth-coming debut detective novel, A Reason to Live.

The process to go from ebook to print was much easier than I’d anticipated. CreateSpace–a division of Amazon–has the process down pat and guides the would-be print author through every step of the way. If you’re interested, I talk about my experiences and provide some tips and expected pitfalls here (Part I) and here (Part II). I’ll be posting a Part III of the experience soon.

Quick FAQ

Why did you go with CreateSpace?
CS is owned by Amazon and the seamless connection between creating an ebook and a print book–and linking the two in their sales channels–was too good to pass up. Also, like their system for uploading ebooks, the interface for creating a print book is exceedingly easy to use and the help they provide through the process is thorough.

Is it safe to order from CreateSpace?
Yep. CreateSpace is a wholly owned division of Amazon, although your credit card statement will show CREATESPACE as the merchant.

What’s the difference in ordering from CreateSpace vs. Amazon?
For the buyer, very little. The price is exactly the same. However, because CS is the printer rather than the distributor, they take less in royalties…50% less. So, the author (that’s me) makes much more from orders through CS than Amazon without any increase in price to the buyer.

The one consideration for a buyer is that CS does not offer free shipping for Prime members. Amazon does.

Why $11.99? The ebook is only $2.99!
There are overhead costs–salaries, printing, warehousing, and paying for the electronic costs of the store–that drive the cost of a print version up. Also, I elected to go through an “expanded distribution” network that allows me to place one bad twelve in libraries and independent bookstores, who take much deeper cuts of the overall price.

Because of that deeper cut, I make just $1 per copy sold in those channels; $11.99 is the lowest price I could set and still make any money on my book. 🙂 I make correspondingly more through Amazon.com and even more if you buy through my CreateSpace store.

one bad twelve – $11.99
CreateSpace  – https://www.createspace.com/3826415
Amazon – http://www.amazon.com/one-bad-twelve-Matthew-Iden/dp/147504500X/ref=tmm_pap_title_0