Any writers?

[rokket]

Typesetting and cover done. Total time? Oh, just about 350 man-hours and that's no exaggeration. Waiting for first proof from Lulu. Maybe someday I can actually go back to writing.

Excellent point about writing! I'm dropping in my 2 cents...

I work for a printer that does a little self publishing. I also had a non-fiction book published. (The book only generated a $3,000 advance and then died, but the project was exciting for me, and educational.)

Self publishing CAN work, but not usually the way we think, although I believe Jack is right and he can sell units with some good marketing (I'm rooting for you mate!)

But I mean being "discovered" - Matthew Reilly (popcorn action writer, fun) self published out of desperation and an editor picked up a copy he pushed at a local bookstore, and now he's a bestselling author with about 10 titles out.

A secret, and it sounds like Jack knows it, is to market well, even if you get someone else's help. Book publishers only want the manuscript from the author. They use experts to design and create a cover, based on graphic design and marketing, and they use editors to make the work the best it can be. Jack's put in a lot of time, so he sounds like he's on the right track doing this work himself.

But many people who self publish get caught up in their own preferences, and are afraid/ego-crushed to have some expert help.

I do encourage you, Jack, to keep trying the traditional publishing route with future projects, though.

Keep us posted!

 

[Senator Jack]

Thanks for the feedback and encouragement, Rokket. I'm still waiting to hear back from one publisher who actually publishes the sort of material I write, but if that's a rejection, then I go self-publish. But, as you said, I think a writer should only self-publish if he or she has the time to cover every angle or has access to those who can help. You need to have Adobe Suite or whatever's out there that's equivalent. I can't imagine how anyone has typeset a book on Word. It just doesn't work. More importantly, I think you need to have an entirely new market that isn't being serviced. If I had written a sci-fi novel or even general fiction, I might not have put all this work into it because I would just presume it would get lost among the other million titles, but I am the only writer who's written a novel on cocktail culture. All I really need to do is get it to a few of the heavy-hitters in the market, get reviewed on their web sites, and I can move a few copies.

Well, this morning I'm working on a logo for my imprint and then it's on to copy for the facebook page.

Cheers,

Jack

 

[rokket]

Jack, I think you are right on target, doing both, and both well.

I LOVE this cocktail idea, btw.

You can also do online sales with Paypal, get on some more forums and talk it up. (A domain name for a website is like $15 or less at Godaddy.com). Also think e-book (various software out there, don't go just PDF, go e-book that can be locked and charged and not copied).

I have seen folks (semi-close biz pals) self publish and push the books into a handful of local bookstores. It was a good book (sort of a reprint of a cookbook by a local famous guy), and they did pretty well.

Rejections aren't a benchmark of your work. OTHER commercial successes are a semi-benchmark. I have probably 1500-2000 books in my library (well, I had 1,000 15 yrs ago so I must be more by now), I've read a lot of different stuff, different genres, and diff qualities. I sometimes read something (or see a movie) and wondered how it got made it's so bad. Or good but lacking. So if you have good test reaction, and it seems to be a good comparison to other commercial work, and you really like what you have done, chances are it IS good+. Keep going.

A good test too is the behind-the-scenes effort. The movie Master & Commander, Ego-Boy Russel Crowe (Massively talented, massive ego!), tried to train everyone on the cast and crew for the right mindset. He had everyone wear t-shirts to say "crew" or "officer" etc., to get deportment and military respect going. He encouraged a lot of little research details to help them all understand the world of the Napoleonic Era. It showed in the final result. As HAL 9000 from 2001: A Space Odyssey would say, "which is all, I think, that any conscious entity can ever hope to do."

Standing by for good news!

 

[AmateisGal]

Thanks for the feedback and encouragement, Rokket. I'm still waiting to hear back from one publisher who actually publishes the sort of material I write, but if that's a rejection, then I go self-publish. But, as you said, I think a writer should only self-publish if he or she has the time to cover every angle or has access to those who can help. You need to have Adobe Suite or whatever's out there that's equivalent. I can't imagine how anyone has typeset a book on Word. It just doesn't work. More importantly, I think you need to have an entirely new market that isn't being serviced. If I had written a sci-fi novel or even general fiction, I might not have put all this work into it because I would just presume it would get lost among the other million titles, but I am the only writer who's written a novel on cocktail culture. All I really need to do is get it to a few of the heavy-hitters in the market, get reviewed on their web sites, and I can move a few copies.

Well, this morning I'm working on a logo for my imprint and then it's on to copy for the facebook page.

Cheers,

Jack

I think you've got the right attitude about this, Jack, and I really think you can make this book a success. You know what to do, whereas so many people who self-publish think they'll sell a million copies just by writing the darn thing.

Keep at it.

 

[LocktownDog]

An interesting article.

LA Times - Book Awards

 

[AmateisGal]

Barnes & Noble just launched their self-publishing program:

http://pubit.barnesandnoble.com/pubit_app/bn?t=pi_reg_home

 

[rokket]

Interesting link, Dog...love that opening: :how to you judge books when they are so subjective?" (I have a few ideas..)

Thanks for the PubiT! link, too, AmateisGal. So many companies, like Lulu, Cafe Press (not books but same principle), etc., are trying to get folks excited about selling - which is great, but it seems they are network marketers, selling themselves to their customers.

I agree that Jack is on track, and I'm following his story!

 

[Senator Jack]

God bless ya, Rokket, I wish I weren't following my story myself. Two weeks now of trying to get a proof from Lulu. For the first two attempts, I'd upload the pdf and cover and two days later I'd get a generic e-mail that tells me they're was a printer error on page 7 and that they were issuing a refund. Then on the third attempt I get an e-mail that tells me it's because I had a section break for the chapters and they didn't like that. So I had to remove all my section breaks and try renumbering the pages in Acrobat. Remind you, I designed the entire book in InDesign, which is the industry standard, but somehow Lulu doesn't like that. Then on the fourth attempt, I guess one of the techs their got tired of trying to run my book and having it crap out on page 7, so he did a little investigating and found that the font for my chapter headers was corrupt. So I had to fix that. Uploaded the new version yesterday and now that's where we stand. Hopefully, I'll have that proof by the end of next week.

Anyway, here's what the cover looks like, and I finally got that straightened out as well because every time I uploaded it, the stripe on the left came out blue instead of purple. That took another half day to figure out which color profile I had to use.

Okay, so today's a marketing day. I have a few ads to finish designing, and then I have to start figuring out which sites to place them on. Stay tuned.

Regards,

Jack

 

[Senator Jack]

Gee, of course I thought the book funny, but I never expected these kind of reviews.

 

[AmateisGal]

Anyway, here's what the cover looks like, and I finally got that straightened out as well because every time I uploaded it, the stripe on the left came out blue instead of purple. That took another half day to figure out which color profile I had to use.

Okay, so today's a marketing day. I have a few ads to finish designing, and then I have to start figuring out which sites to place them on. Stay tuned.

Regards,

Jack

LOVE the cover, Jack! :eusa_clap

That's the thing about Lulu, I think - you have to do all the formatting, etc. I don't think iUniverse/AuthorHouse (one in the same now) do that - but then again, they are more expensive, probably.

 

[AmateisGal]

It's a writing day for me. I'm halfway done with the current novel and still trying to get an agent for the last novel. Sent out another round of queries two weeks ago, but only got one response (rejection) so far.

 

[rokket]

Lovely cover Jack, really nice, I think it wil be effective. Love it!

Sorry about your tech troubles. Very frustrating for both sides. Colour - you need to work in CMYK, and Illustrator - see if you can make a PDF/X1a (print standard PDF sub format), should be an easy tick box.

But hopefully this last file works.

reviews - hey, they love you baby, they love you! (FUNNY stuff, nice idea!)

@Amateis - one rj just means room for more good responses. I had a short story rejected because the editor didn't like my bulldog/foldback clip (it was a little tight, but passable - I followed all the house rules, so I think he was just being a jerk!)

 

[Senator Jack]

Thanks for the early feedback on the cover. I think only three or four people have seen it so far, and I keep second guessing myself on it. As usual, I'm just ripping of Saul Bass, but, hey, you steal from the best right?

And you know, what, AmateisGal? I'm actually just waiting for that last rejection now, because it's not going to make a lick of difference either way. Altogether, this has been a very frustrating but liberating experience.

Back to work.

Jack

 

[Undertow]

Jack, please shoot me if I'm a yes man, but...

...that cover is both appealing and simple. I really like that - it states its case outright, and does so in an artistic way. Not only does this appeal to a visual crowd, I believe it appeals to an intellectual crowd.

Cheers on an excellent design! I'm gunning for you, Jack, and I'll be purchasing a copy.

p.s. AmateisGal - I've already given up hope on finding an agent for this book. :cry: (I know, threw the towel in too soon - but hey, when your story is about a serial killing pervert bent on psychopathic fantasies, it's usually best to know when to fold. lol )

So like you, I've moved my energy from querying to writing. At this point, I'm trying to finish my "small town tragic comedy", and in the meantime bracing myself for a life of seculsion and mediocrity. [huh]

 

[rokket]

sounds like solid plan actually, Undertow

 

[AmateisGal]

p.s. AmateisGal - I've already given up hope on finding an agent for this book. :cry: (I know, threw the towel in too soon - but hey, when your story is about a serial killing pervert bent on psychopathic fantasies, it's usually best to know when to fold. lol )

So like you, I've moved my energy from querying to writing. At this point, I'm trying to finish my "small town tragic comedy", and in the meantime bracing myself for a life of seculsion and mediocrity. [huh]

Maybe this isn't "the" book that will get your foot in the door, but the one you're working on now will be. Who knows? Maybe down the road, your serial killing pervent bent on psychopathic fantasies story will be your second or third release.

Another rejection yesterday. I just keep on hoping and praying, but I also still keep writing. Reached the halfway point on my current novel and hope to finish it by the end of the year, if not sooner.

 

[AmateisGal]

@Amateis - one rj just means room for more good responses. I had a short story rejected because the editor didn't like my bulldog/foldback clip (it was a little tight, but passable - I followed all the house rules, so I think he was just being a jerk!)

I sometimes think they look for reasons to say no! lol

 

[Undertow]

I sometimes think they look for reasons to say no! lol

In fact, I'm certain of it! :eusa_doh:

 

[WolfeMan]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_O'Meara

 

[Undertow]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walter_O'Meara

A family member of yours?