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Publishing a book step by step
by Steve Richardson
Billy's Mountain
Here is how I created and published my picturebook step by step. If you follow these steps you won't have any problem creating your own book and taking it from an idea into reality: For reference here is my web site: Impossible Dreams! Step 2. If it's a picturebook you will need an illustrator. Find an illustrator whose style fits the book's content, writing style and energy. Here are places to find illustrators: childrensillustrators.com picture-book.com theispot.com Illustrations can cost from $300 to $600 or more per page. Most cost about $500 per page, however a detailed, tighter style is usually more expensive than an artist with a loose, impressionistic or simple style. Many illustrators will do the entire design of you book cover to cover and then submit everything directly to the printer over the net. Others like to only focus on the illustrations and don't want to mess with type setting. These are questions you should ask your illustrator at the beginning so you can determine if you will need to also hire a graphic designer. I prefer if the illustrator can do everything. My feeling is they will do a better job on the cover because they will choose a text style and look that blends and complements their illustrations. Step 3. Purchase a bar code / ISBN #. You will probably have to purchase several and it can be expensive. I think I paid $500 but got five or six bar codes. You will need to send your bar code to your artist or graphic designer, or whoever is doing your cover design. If you want to get into bookstores you must have a barcode and make sure you get the right kind! Here is where you get a barcode/ISBN #: bowker.com Step 4. Find a printer. Don't be afraid to deal with printers in China. They cost 1/3rd what US printers cost even with shipping. Just do a search for a printer on line in China and then ask for a quote. I would get several quotes and check their reputation. Make sure they communicate with you in perfect English. They will want to know the size of your book, dimensions, number of pages, and quantities. I would get several quotes with different quantities. Here is the printer I used and they were AWESOME!!!! Great service and communication. regalprinting.com.hk Your book cases may be delivered to a port in the L.A. area or transported to someplace in the Midwest for you to pick up. The printer and transport company will guide you through the process of picking the book up and getting it through customs. I won't deal with On-Demand printers because most bookstores won't take On-Demand printing. An On-Demand book is basically something you will have a very hard time selling and impossible to turn into a best seller if your book is a great book. I have heard nothing but bad about On-Demand. It's mostly a scam or for wealthy people to use to make themselves look like published authors. Step 5. Once you have the book in your hands then it's time for the real work. There are many distributors who would love to take your money and have you pay a storage fee each month even if they don't sell many copies of your book. I used Bookmasters but am thinking about finding another distributor who doesn't take such a stiff storage fee each month and is more aggressive with sales. I have to pay $65 a month even if they don't sell one book. Let me know if you know of a better distributor. Most distributors will get you on Amazon.com and Target.com etc. In fact Billy's Mountain is now being sold by about 30 different online bookstores. Beyond distributors, you must self promote, do a lot of book signings, and perhaps spend some money on advertising. If you think your book could do well nationally and you want to turn it into a best seller, you may need to spend tens of thousands of dollars on advertising. Step 6. Get the book reviewed. I suggest Midwest Book Review as they review every book sent to them for free. You will need to send in a Press Release with the book. midwestbookreview.com Should you self publish? If you feel very strongly about your book but can't seem to get anyone to bite on it, you might strongly consider self publishing. Keep in mind that Publishers get thousands of query letters a month and many, many great books get lost in the process. Many of the greatest authors were rejected hundreds of times before having that same rejected manuscript accepted by a small obscure publishing company. Then all those who rejected it got to watch it rise to the top and make the publisher who took a chance make millions. 'Chicken Soup for the Soul' is one example of this, also Dr. Dr. Seuss's books were rejected many, many times and so were Hans Christian Anderson's masterpieces. When you think of the crappy books and movies that make it big and can even make millions in sales one can see that the general public can have bad taste. So, even if you have a campy, corny book that is disgustingly bad it could sell millions! The people in the publishing business are just people, many who have never been published themselves. Some are good and some are not so good at what they do, just as in any business. Many can't see trends and often a project must be voted on by committee. Several people might feel very strongly about your book but not enough to get it through. Also, big publishers shy away from regional or local books because they want to sell nationally. If you have something local then you might do really well in a local market because there usually isn't much competition. Self promotion is sometimes the best thing you can do to get the ball rolling. Before I was a photographer I did scenic photography. I had thousands of images that were publishable and would submit them again and again with no luck. Then one summer while working at the Grand Canyon I decided to print up a Grand Canyon calendar with my own photos. I found a distributor and then sold out of all 2,000 I printed. I then would send samples from the calendar with my submissions to magazines. Then suddenly like magic the same images that had been rejected dozens of times started getting published! My photography has now been published in magazines, calendars, postcards etc, well over 100 times. I quickly came to realize that those in the publishing business are human and their prejudices can throw off their perception of reality. Billy's Mountain was my first attempt at publishing a children's book and to this date I only have 200 of the 2,500 books I initially printed left. Almost all sales came through the company Books Are Fun. They decided it would be a good regional book especially in Kansas where the book is set. Books Are Fun sets up book displays in teachers' lounges at over 50,000 schools across the country. I sell a few books on Amazon.com and at local bookstores but don't have time to promote the book, which is probably the most important thing in sales. I have been disappointed by my distributor Bookmasters because they have only sold a few hundred copies while I got rid of 2,000 by myself. It may be that I haven't done enough to promote the book though. I am still learning how to promote and sell the book and have learned some great tips from others who have posted here. Billy's Mountain is not my best book, though I started with it because it was a simple picturebook. I am now in the process of publishing three more children's books. Publishing is easy and fun. Selling it is where the hard work comes in. Keep in mind that self publishing is costly and very, very risky! It can cost from $10,000 to $20,000 if you need a lot of illustrations. If there are no illustrations your cost will likely be from $5,000 to $7,000 for printing in China. That is with a small run of around 2,500 books. Thanks for taking the time to read about how I went about self publishing. If I was helpful to you I hope you will consider buying one of my books for the free advice. Good luck! Steve Richardson
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