"You're an absolute angel, and I appreciate all you've done so much! You have been absolutely awesome and have made the scary, unfamiliar world of publishing much less intimidating."
Independent publishing (or self-publishing, as it’s sometimes called) is an exciting and growing trend worldwide, giving authors a wonderful in-road to getting their stories into the hands of readers, no matter where they might be situated.
As an indie author, you have full control over your book, from production right through to printing and distribution. You get to choose who edits your book, who designs your cover, whether your cover is glossy or matt, and whether your paper is cream or white. You get to choose exactly what goes on the copyright page of your book. You get to choose what you sell your book for. You get to choose the size and format of your book, which distribution channels you want to use, and you can make changes to your book within minutes and at no cost to yourself. And, if you’re planning on making respectable money from your book’s sales, you will receive higher royalties of about 20% of the selling price of your print book (and more if you publish your book as an e-book), as opposed to the 5%-10% that you receive through the mainstream and self-publishing channels.
Getting your book independently published may sound like a daunting task, and you may already be trembling at the thought of where to begin. Remember, you’re going to take on all the roles of a traditional publishing house, and it is hard work. But speak to any indie author out there and they will tell you how rewarding it is, especially when you’re partnered with industry specialists who know their stuff. Because I understand the workings of the book world intimately (having worked in the industry since 1991) and because I have spent many years refining and perfecting the art of independent book publishing, I am confident that, by working with me, your finished product will be top-notch, your book will be correctly listed, and it will be given maximum reach.
E-book or paperback, or both?
Every author should make sure that they publish both an e-book and a print version of their book. You want to make sure that when a customer hears about your book, it’s easy to find, and it’s available at the click of a mouse. Obviously, having your book available as an e-book on platforms like Amazon provides the customer with instant gratification (and instant access to your book, wherever they might be in the world), but many readers still like the feel of a good old paperback in their hands. I know I do! My advice: publish in both formats. Your designer should be able to produce both an ePub (e-book) and a paperback version of your book from your original manuscript (which you will likely supply them in Word). Your front cover will be the same for both versions, although you will need to add a spine and a back cover for the paperback edition.
One significant advantage of publishing on today’s indie publishing platforms is that the author doesn’t have to print thousands of copies of their book and ship them off to a big warehouse in the middle of nowhere. Amazon, the world’s biggest print-on-demand retailer, and IngramSpark, the world’s biggest print-on-demand wholesaler, both have on-site print-on-demand (POD) facilities, which allows them to print a copy of your book as an order comes in from a customer.
Getting your book into bricks-and-mortar bookshops
When independently publishing your book in paperback, it is important that it is available on all leading book retail platforms across the world. Equally important is that your book is available to bookshops worldwide that might wish to purchase copies.
Every bookshop worth its salt will subscribe to the world’s biggest book database, Nielsen Bookdata (also known as Books in Print). This database tells the bookseller everything they need to know about a book, including where to order it from. Coming from a bookselling background, there is nothing worse than having a customer ask you to track a book down for them, only to discover that it’s not listed on Books in Print. This is generally because the book has never been published through a mainstream publisher or because it’s been independently published but the author has not listed it with a book wholesaler, which means the book does not appear on Books in Print (publishers, distributors and wholesalers all upload their full book catalogues to this database).
A bookseller who is prepared to go the extra mile will probably do a Google search to see if the book is perhaps available on an author’s website or social media profile but often (and I speak from experience), there’s no mention of the book anywhere and the bookseller has no choice but to turn the hopeful potential customer away. It is for this exact reason that if your book is not available to a bookshop via a publisher, wholesaler or distributor, it won’t be listed on their database, and you can forget about them placing a special order for any customer who might want a copy of your book. It’s usually just too much hard work to track an independent author down.
The other thing that might happen is the bookseller can only find the book on Amazon and not through their regular supply chain, which is made up of publishers, their distributors, and various book wholesalers. Ingram is the world’s biggest book wholesaler, based in the USA, and warehouses books for thousands of international publishers that don’t have their own distributors. Many authors are unaware that by only making their book available on online retail platforms like Amazon, they’re cutting themselves off from potential sales into bookshops. Bookshops do not like buying independently published books from Amazon because it adds all sorts of problems into the mix. For one, they have to pay for the books upfront (whereas mainstream publishers, distributors and wholesalers sell to bookshops on 60 to 120-day accounts); for another, there are the shipping fees; then there is the issue with returns (Amazon is a one-way street); and finally, Amazon doesn’t offer bookshops the magical trade discount (which can be anything from 30% to 55%) that publishers, distributors and wholesalers offer bookshops, which means the bookshop has to inflate the book’s price before selling it onto the customer. The customer, in all likelihood, will probably decide to just go and buy the book from Amazon at half the price.
IngramSpark is the print-on-demand arm of the world’s largest book wholesaler, Ingram. Publishing your paperback via IngramSpark means that your book will immediately be available in Ingram’s wholesale catalogue, making it quick and easy for any bookshop anywhere in the world to find and order your book.
Book publishing platforms
The three platforms I recommend authors independently publish on are Amazon KDP and Draft2Digital (which covers sales to the general public), and IngramSpark (which covers sales to the book trade). Having your book published on all three platforms ensures your book is available to the widest audience possible, from private individuals to brick-and-mortar bookstores to online retailers. Each platform is extremely well-geared for any author who wants to follow the independent publishing route.
What does it cost? Will you have to sell an organ on the black market to get your book published?
Fortunately not! I have various publishing packages available to suit your budget, starting at R2 250. All package prices include guiding you through the various technical steps of the publishing process: obtaining an ISBN, setting up accounts on the different publishing platforms, opening a Payoneer account to manage your royalty payments, as well as extensive keyword and genre research and competitor analysis so that your book is immediately visible to your intended audience.
If you are yet to embark upon the typesetting and cover design process and don’t know where to begin, I will connect you with the right people to get you started.
Independent/Self-Publishing Packages
If the idea of working with a professional to get your book out there into the world appeals to you, and you’d prefer not to cut any corners, please drop me an email at phillipa@phillipamitchell.com detailing your requirements, or complete the form below.
Let’s get you published!