Hey, TB2,
I know a lot of you are trying to get your work out there, and have grown tired of waiting for the industry to recognize your talents - so you decide to self-publish. But as I've shown in a previous post, (So you wanna self-publish, eh?), conventional self-publishing is costly, time consuming, and essentially involves launching a company.
Well, I've come across a self-publishing resource that will allow you to test drive the whole self-publishing thang with minimal investment.
The company is called Create Space. CS is owned by Amazon. Because Amazon owns CS, your book will automatically be available for purchase on amazon.com. There are no setup fees involved. Let me repeat that: THERE ARE NO SETUP FEES INVOLVED. You pay a flatrate of $3.15 per book, the cost of printing [ $.02/page b&W; $.15/page color ], and CS takes a 30% royalty of the cover price YOU set.
EXAMPLE (300-page b&w book; you set the cover/list price at $16.95)
3.15
300 x .02 = 6.00
3.15 + 6.00 = 9.15
16.95 x .30 = 5.09
9.15 + 5.09 = 14.24
16.95 - 14.24 = 2.71
Two dollars seventy-one cent would be your royalty on each book sold on amazon.com. CS will send you a check or they can transfer funds into your bank account electronically. You work that out with them when you set up your CS account.
You'll have to do all the work yourself: write your book, edit, copyedit and proofread your book, format your book [to CS's specifications], design your cover, convert separate cover and text files to print-ready PDF files then upload your cover and text files to the CS website. Afterwards, you order a proof copy. And in as little as one week you'll have your printed book in-hand; in as little as three weeks, your book will be available for purchase on amazon.com.
No need to purchase an ISBN. No need to shell out money for print runs. CS will print your books as orders come through amazon.com. Also, if I'm not mistaken, any book that can be ordered on amazon.com can also be ordered through TimBookTu's Ajani Bookstore. You can also order copies of your book yourself for the cost of printing and S&H and sell them direct. Amazon does not take its 30% royalty on books your purchase yourself; nor do they pay you any royalty on books you purchase yourself. So using the above figures, you'd pay $9.15 + S&H and can sell your book direct for $16.95. Deducting printing cost and S&H, you'll make about $3-$5 per book if you sell direct. Not a bad profit.
I think this is an excellent way to get your feet wet in self-publishing, get your work out there, and make a modest profit; all with negligible financial risk. And you can cancel your account at any time. Of course, I always recommend seeking commercial publishing FIRST. But if that doesn't work out for you, for whatever reason, and launching your own micro-publishing company is not a viable option at this time, then CS may be just what you're looking for.
For more info:
http://createspace.com/
DISCLAIMER: I do not, nor have I ever, work for Create Space, Amazon, or Book Surge or any of their affiliate companies. I receive no payment, no commission, no kickbacks, and no perks whatsoever for referrals. I'm just someone who works in the publishing industry, so I know about many publishing/self-publishing resources; and I'm happy to pass the info along.
Good luck!
~us
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