Independent Publishing Done Right, Now on to the Marketing

by Sarah Butland
(Moncton, New Brunswick, Canada)

AdventuresOfSammy.com was born from the devastating reality of childhood obesity statistics being high and on the rise. It also disturbed me that the literacy rates are on the decline so I thought I'd use my passion to begin my career with Sending You Sammy.

With the cooperation and belief of my husband's company I was able to publish a book I feel strongly about. With the assistance of my husband, Paul, we hired an illustrator through the internet and had great success with said illustrator. Once we had the pictures Paul took on the incredible task of matching words to pages and placing them in their best locations. With the tremendous input from friends and family we eventually were able to get the book to the level we wanted it to be.

ProSpec Industries Inc then researched the benefits and drawbacks of printing Sending You Sammy with a local printing company or setting it up as a Print On Demand book. Upon pricing the possibilities and quality of options, ProSpec decided to go with Print On Demand. The company chosen made the book available through Amazon and Barnes and Nobel which are two vital connections that small companies may not have.

With the task of publishing independently I am now faced with the task of marketing the book through ProSpec Industries Inc and not through the typical distributors/methods. Although it seems challenging I will be publishing with an independent company again and would recommend it to anyone wanting to publish a book. Publishing through a local company gives me the freedom to consult on my book and not have to follow the strict rules some publishing companies have their authors abide by.

There are pros and cons to self/independent publishing as there is with being accepted by a major publisher but every author has to remember that their work is their own.

Visit Sarah's website.