self publishing?

[rdv]

has anyone had any experiance with self publishing a book before? pros cons ect.

[David Meigs]

I would strongly advise at least trying the conventional publisher route before turning to Self Publishing. Or have you already been down that road too?

[tlm]

Angel,
I have a work that I may turn into an e-book. I received my rights back from the publisher and really don't see that I have any other choice. Has it been worth you time to do this?

[tlm]

Well, Chance Encounters has already been in print with PA. I am told that after a book has been in print it is hard to sell to another publisher. E-books would be a way to get it "out there" again. I already have a web site to promote the book (when I was with PA) and when I sell magazine articles, the publishers sometime run my web site by my byline.

I guess I wasn't ready to let my book die, even though I didn't want PA to have it anymore.

The other book I wrote was as a gift for a disabled child and will be sold locally by his father at fund raising events. I am letting the father keep all the money from the regular books (for the child's foundation), but would like to keep any money earned from e-books. I know it won't be much money, but I wanted to make the story available to people outside my area and to have some method of tracking sales. I don't think the father will have time to keep up with sales or anything like that.

It is just a thought.:confused:

[tlm]

Don't get me wrong. I asked them to get out of the contract. I went with them before there were any warnings anywhere about them. I was willing to work with them for a long time. I was with the 1st group that had a 2 book contract. I wanted to abide by the contract, but still dragged my feet about it. When I got my 2nd book, PA "editors" had spell-checked 191 errors in a 163 page MS! I had no choice but to ask to leave the company when they wouldn't fix their mess.

Anyway, the 1st book was selling (better than most their books--but that's not a lot). I will just have to see what happens.

[kriswrite]

eBooks can be profitable--and they shouldn't cost hardly anything at all for you to produce and market. Is your book a work of fiction? This is more difficult to sell, but again, if it's not costing you anything to have it available, why not offer it as an eBook??

I'd be happy to give you tips on successfully making and selling an eBook. (I'm writing an eBook on the subject, anyway :) )

Kristina

[tlm]

Kristina,
LOL --Thanks I am taking down your addy in case I do need your help!

Angel,
I had several signings in bookstores and did a couple of local TV talk show interviews first, so yea, I did better than the average PA writer (which isn't huge--by any means). I probably broke even or made some pocket cash. I know that there were a few writers who actually lost money in the deal.

It was a learning experience. I learned how to do a book signing, press releases, and interviews. I made some mistakes, but learned from it, so I am prepared when that big break finally comes. :-)

[tlm]

It does stroke the ego when a stranger buys your book and asks for your autograph!:p

[kriswrite]

I've always hated book signings. So few people show up (in my experience), and I'm not much of a socializer. What worked for me was to put on a museum exhibit or do a lecture or something RELATED to my book, with book sales afterward.

Just email me or post a new thread here if you want more eBook info...

Kristina

[tlm]

I plan to work on the project this weekend. Thanks :-)