Self-publishing and cashflow

Still no feedback, but with it being a weekend and less than one week after I sent manuscripts out this is not a surprise.

So here I am blogging frantically to distract myself from nerves and chewed fingernails and wondering what else to add, when one other issue with self-publishing occurred to me.

Cost.

Yes, Lulu and POD is effectively free. However the cost per book is so high that it eats your profit and makes it hard to get distribution. When I did the small press route we went for small printruns (a few hundred) from a local printer, giving us books at less than 30% of the sale price.

That leeway meant we could go for distributors, which was invaluable in getting the books on the shelves across the country. We certainly could never have reached this far ourselves. And we sold out the first run, and then the next.

So what's the problem? Cash flow. With each book sold you make a profit, but that profit isn't realised until the book is actually sold. You don't swing into the black on printing costs until 30% of the print run has sold. Meanwhile, you are accruing other costs - conventions, webhosting (trivial but still a cost) marketing, review copies, and more.

And while this is going on, you're hopefully working on your next book, and this one also needs startup capital. So as the money comes in, do you spend it on a new run for the first book, invest in the second with all the costs of plates and set-up, or try and hold on to it so you can say you have a profit to show for all your work?

Well, we did six, so you can see where we put it.

On reflection, although I enjoy the convention circuit (and you meet some really interesting people!) now I'm a little older I think I'd prefer someone else to be doing the organising, printing marketing and worry about the cash flow. So hopefully if I can pick up an agent, I'll find someone who will just let me write, attend the occassional con and chat to interested and interesting people.

Wish me luck.

Self Publishing - the easy way?

Thinking about it, there is another reason to get an agent which I have not mentioned.

For some background, my first set of books were small press/self-published. This was a deliberate choice and an agent or publishing house was never considered, since in that niche everyone is. Entry is set-up your imprint, set up your ISBN, get books printed and you're in. A few years back before I was involved, all it took was a stapler and photocopier. My first book sold out two runs - about 600 books total even though frankly on a re-read it needs work. Later ones did better: 200 in one convention was our record.

So why don't I do this again? Self-publishing is easier now. Create an account with lulu, upload your Word file and done. Anyone can do it.

Except that's not right.

Anyone can do it badly. To do it properly you need a team:
A proof-reader - and not you! Authors normally miss their own errors.
An editor - I had two, who also contributed to the writing, while I edited them.
An designer or typesetter - to make sure the book is actually readable.
An illustrator - If you are illustrating a book then get a pro.
A printer - obviously!
A distributor - we got lucky and signed up with two.
A marketer - this was just us and a set of forums.

So why, with some small publishing success, do I want to go for an agent and a publishing house? To be honest because small press publishing done properly is a lot of work. It took nearly a year for that first book to go from concept to book to market.

And on consideration I want to write books, not do the support and logistics to print, distribute and market them. Let that be someone else's job, not only because they can do it as well as me, but because they can do it a whole lot better! Meanwhile I'll get back to what I am good at: writing.

Of course, I still own the imprint, the remains of my sheet of ISBNs, the printing gear and have access to my distribution network, so if I don't find an agent it might not be the end of the world... Just more work!

Cost of writing

Something else they don't mention is the cost. Sending out Royal Mail first class is between £2-3 per packet. Good quality envelopes that take synopsis, samples, query letters and (sometimes) CVs are not cheap - although this time I used Viking and bought in bulk.

A few random thoughts on submissions, and speeding the process.

1) Don't bother with proof of posting - since the agent isn't expecting it, they can't tell you if it doesn't arrive.
2) If you really want to make sure it gets there used signed-for. However, this might cause problems if the agent is not around to sign for it. I can't imagine many of them have the time to rush down to the local Post Office to sign for (heaps of) unsolicited queries.
3) Second class post is cheaper, but it takes longer and may not get there in as good a condition. A few extra days on a four week wait may not seem like much, but I'm impatient, and as time passes you'd be surprised at how long it can seem.

Return of manuscript is a tricky one. Some blogs recommend you save money by not including an SSAE, and just let them shred the work if they don't like it.

I have included it, for a few reasons. First, if you've used good paper and spent time on a decent printer creating your samples then depending on length it might be cheaper to get the pack back and reuse it for the next agent (and boy, does that statement make me sound confident in my work!). Second, if they are polite enough to send a rejection, they can use your SSAE for it which saves the agent time and cost. After all, they have spent their time reading your manuscript so making it easy to reply is only polite.

Third, because even a form rejection is better than dead silence at the other end.

on Edge

The quest for an agent is underway. I've got seven query letters sent out to agents who handle stories in that area, and now I just have to hope that one of them requests a full submission.

It's surprising how long it takes to prepare the packets to go out. Step one was looking up all the relevant ones from the Writers' and Artists' Yearbook, then checking them out on Preditors and Editors to make sure they aren't a scam, looking up their own sites for current submission guidelines and then finally making up a lot of different packs for varying requirements.

Also while many writing sites tell you to send a synopsis, they don't mention you'll need more than one: a one page, two page and for some even longer versions are requested. Of course the bit that really threw me was the CV request. What I do for a living has nothing to do with my fascination for heavy engineering, aircraft, railways, steam etc. so if they read the CV and expect a techno thriller, they're probably going to be disappointed. (I live this stuff, it's boring and I don't want to write about it!)

And I suspect I had better get on with finishing no#4 since my beta officially thinks I'm rotten - I left two would-be astronauts stranded halfway through a tricky re-entry for six weeks while I finished tweaking no #3.

Why an agent?

With novel number #3 going out to agents, the question that comes up is why? Why use an agent? Why not publish small press as I have before?

I'm confident enough in the story to know I could publish it small press. I've published books before with small press (ignoring the freebies on lulu, there are also six formally published with ISBNs) which have sold successfully. Between connections, conventions and more, I could confidently say I would sell between 500 and 800 copies - not bad for a small press run in an area I don't usually write in.

So why try to go mainstream now? A mix of reasons:

The traditional reason, to get your name in print, really doesn't hold. I'd rather use a pen name; I'm better known under my pen names, and more importantly I've already got books in print (just not novels).

Fame, fortune? Again, not so much. After my rant about online privacy it should be obvious how I feel about fame, and as for fortune? I'm actually happy where I am right now.

On consideration I think it's mainly curiosity: I'd like to see how one of my books does with some actual backing. Rather than just me and my informal network, how they do on a book store shelves, whether it stacks up against commercial fiction, and whether I can in fact break into a new area.

With #3 there is a strong story with more mainstream interest than many of my other works, which makes it the one with the most potential for this test and the highest chance of success. (#1 has issues, #2 is too focused on one interest and #4 is incomplete and produced in haste for NaNoWriMo, so it gets a sanity check before it goes anywhere!).

So, I have a manuscript with potential, the London Book Fair is in April, and most agents have a long turn around on whether they are or are not interested. Sounds like a good time to send it out.

Fingers crossed.