I’ve noticed that the moment I start paying attention to something in particular—dragonflies, cultural avoidance of the topic of death, the presence of typos—it is everywhere. So when I’m searching, I am waiting to actually see. If I want to be shown, all I have to do is look.

We talk to brave people all the time who are ready to tell their stories, but are afraid they don’t actually have stories to tell. Of course they do. It’s our job to tease them out and make them sing, but our clients have a job to do too.

If you are searching for your story, your work now is, simply, to look around. Suspend the babble of your rational mind and give yourself over to the glory of detail without worrying what fits or makes sense or is consistent with your brand identity. Just gather it all in. Feasting on the telling details of your own story is kind of like turning into the reader of your own story. Read it for pleasure, not because you feel you have to.

Stories may have a beginning, middle and end, but the good ones rarely start right at the beginning. They erupt abruptly, in unguarded moments and at the most inconvenient or unexpected times. Your own story might start with your trip to the grocery store this morning, and the brief conversation you had in the waffle and juice aisle with the Vietnam Vet who reminded you of all the things you never said to your father. Who knows? Rather than worry about it, give yourself permission to discover it.

Zoë Bird
Lead Editor

A conventional printer at the time used a good deal of paper just making sure everything was correct. Typesetting, corrections and pre-press costs made short print runs very, very expensive. Our customers saved thousands because the typesetting was done as the book was written, and because there were no pre-press costs. They did sacrifice some quality, which an expert could detect, but the ordinary reader would not notice.

That was the beginning of print-on-demand, since our customers could order any number of books at virtually the same per-book price. You’ll find many companies advertising print-on-demand (POD) services nowadays. Some companies are reputable, some are not.

• Make sure you retain control of your book.

  Only the publisher can get an ISBN number, and it is the publisher who owns and controls the book. Always get and use your own ISBN number—it’s cheap and easy. I’ve written an instruction sheet I’d be happy to forward to you.

 

• Watch out for royalty agreements.

  “Royalty” is a technical term for the amount the publisher pays the author. As an independently publishing author, you are both. An agreement for royalties may sign away your ownership of your book.

 

• Be aware of timelines, and be sure you have an escape clause.

  I’ve heard horror stories of print-on-demand publishers who take many months to get a book into print. Be sure you have deadlines, with refunds if they aren’t met.

 

• Compare quality as well as price.

  Ask for samples, and be sure your contract specifies that your book will be of the same or better quality as the samples.

 

• Make sure any “marketing” offer is worth the money.

  You can list your book in Bowker’s catalog free. You can submit your book to the major booksellers yourself, free. POD publishers that sell your book on their own website take a major bite of your profits. And, though they may have some success stories, most authors do not sell a lot of books in that way.

 

Print-on-demand is a good solution if you will only sell a few books. When you are successful, though, you’ll want the economy of scale that a regular publisher can give you. I’m still searching for a company that can print one book at a time for a reasonable price. Right now, if you really need short-runs, we work with Sentinel Printing, which can print a hundred books for right around four dollars apiece using their digital printer. They can print larger orders when you are ready.

If you still have questions about POD, add it to the comments and I’ll answer you!

Nicki Harper, PhD
Print Coordinator

So why did we decide it was time to speak up? Three reasons:

1. Because books are more than just glorified business cards. Books change lives. Books build careers. And unless the entire planet explodes, books are forever. As ghostwriters, we’ve long practiced our fundamental belief that all books should be great books – dog-eared, must-read, life-altering, awesome books. That’s what we do. We write great books. And with this blog, we are calling on you to do the same

2. Because you deserve the straight scoop on what it takes to get published. Over the years we’ve bumped up against a lot of people who blow smoke and give hopeful authors with big dreams false information and encourage unrealistic expectations. We want you to know the truth. Can you write a bestseller and make a fortune? Sure you can. But let’s get real about what that takes, okay? (Hint: Monumental effort and heaps of luck.)

3. Because now is the time to create something amazing. The Internet, on-demand publishing and e-publishing has made it possible for indie publishers and self-published authors to launch great content, build a community of followers around that content and leverage their success to create remarkable careers.

There it is. Our 3-point mission for this blog. While we can’t name names or book titles, we can reveal how we write great books, what it takes to get your book published (by a traditional publisher or on your own) and how to build a rockin’ platform to market and sell your book. And we’ll keep you posted on the latest developments in publishing, too.

Onward.

AJ Harper
Book Lab Team Leader