Business of Publishing

What Exactly IS Vanity Press?

When you’re looking to publish your book you have three choices:

  1. Traditional
  2. Self
  3. Vanity (also called subsidy)

In my numerous chats with clients, many of them have no clue what vanity press is – or what they get when they use a vanity publisher.

Here’s a rundown:

  • Who owns the ISBN to your book? You or the publisher?You pay the vanity press to publish your book. This fee may include editing, formatting, cover design, and maybe even some marketing.
  • The vanity press uses an ISBN number that is in their catalog of books. That means they are the publisher of record and own the ISBN.
  • When a book is sold, the vanity press takes a cut. How much they take varies! Often times, the vanity press sets the cover price – and you don’t have much say in it.
  • Vanity publishers might also have strict rules about the book’s cover and title. They want it to fit in with the other books in their catalog – regardless of what might be best for your book.
  • You’ll most likely be charged for changes. If you need to make an adjustment to the text of the book you probably can – but they’ll charge you for it!
  • Expect that you’ll be forced to buy copies of your book – maybe thousands of them. Often the contact with a vanity press has one fee for publishing and then a second, mandatory clause that says that you’re required to purchase a certain number of books.

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Should You Use a Pen Name?

When should you use a pen name for your writing?It’s very rare that I meet with a client who thinks she only has one book to write. It’s much more common to know that this is the FIRST book – and that others will follow.

And what is even more common is for a client to want to write books that cross several different genres.

The question then is:

Do I use my name or write under a pen name?

Most of the time, I tell them to go with their real name. After all, we’re complex, multi-faced human beings so it’s ridiculous to think that you only have ONE interest that you’d want to write about.
Should I #write with a pen name? Here's how to know when to use one! #amwriting Click To Tweet

I’ve chosen not to use a pen name for my 16 books. I’ve personally written and published everything from cookbooks to poetry, how to’s about camping and fishing to a children’s book.

If people know me AT ALL they know that all of this falls inside my passions and areas of expertise. I have no problem whatsoever putting my own name on the cover.
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Why Your Book’s ‘Finishing Details’ Make A Huge Difference

060915-PreviewEveryPageMy new office is getting [this close] to being move-in ready. I spent a very LONG hour and a half today doing the final caulking around the baseboards and door frames. So I can do the touch up painting.

And there was a not-so-small part of me who just wanted to skip it. I wanted to just put the switch plate covers back on and call it good – move in!

Then I realized that the lack of caulk (and touch up painting) would drive me nuts. It would look unfinished, unprofessional, and just… lazy.

Which made me think of the last bits of publishing projects: the previewing each and every page bits. It’s at the end and I’m usually trying to convince myself that it’s okay not to.

But you know what? When I’m previewing a book (or reviewing a proof) I look at EVERY SINGLE PAGE

Yep, every single page. Is that a huge PITA (pain in the a$$) for large manuscripts? Yep! Do I care? Nope!

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Is Exclusivity with Amazon a Good Thing for Your eBook? A Look at KDP vs. KDP Select

When you’re looking to publish your eBook it makes sense to publish with Amazon – through Kindle Direct Publishing, KDP. But then the questions comes to:

Do I enroll my eBook in KDP Select?

KDP Select means that you’re giving Amazon a 90-day exclusive to the eBook. And when they say exclusive, they MEAN exclusive – you can’t sell or make your eBook free on your own website, in any format.

For a long time, I was very anti-KDP Select. I was uncomfortable with putting all my eggs in the Amazon basket. After all, they can change the rules of publishing and any time, and you and your book are stuck until the end of the 90-days. I preferred to also publish my books on Barnes & Nobel’s Nook and Kobo’s platform.

When #publishing an #eBook should you give @Amazon an exclusive? Click To Tweet

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3 Tips To Using Your Content To Create Your eBook

If you’ve spent any time hanging around me, in person or online, you’ll know that one of the ways I help people create their books is by taking the “stuff” they already have and using it to create a book.

This stuff can be:

  • Blog posts or articles
  • Training courses
  • Audios
  • Videos
  • .pdf worksheets, freebies, or handouts

Seems simple, right? You put your content to work for you – no more lazing around.

042815-ContentWorking

But there’s more to it than just collecting the blog posts you already have, slapping a cover on it, and calling it an eBook! (Or putting it together for a printed format.)

Amazon (Kindle) has this little-known rule that says that the majority of your book needs to NOT be available elsewhere on the web. And if it IS available… they will find it and potentially take down your eBook.

While this seems harsh – it is YOUR content, after all – it’s actually a really good thing for a couple of reasons.

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How long should a book chapter be?

Have you ever thought about how long a chapter in your non-fiction book should be? I mean really thought about it?

040715-ChapterOneMost people do think about how long the overall book will be (thinking in word count not pages!) but few think about how long a chapter should be.

And while you CAN use a blog post as the basis of a chapter, there are some different guidelines!

1. Chapters don’t all have to be the same length!

Sure, in a “perfect” world, every chapter would be exactly 2.5 pages long. The book would have a beautiful symmetry and every word would be powerful.

And welcome to the REAL world!

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Are you still a published author if you’re part of an anthology?

A question was asked of me last week:

Am I still a published author if I was only published in an anthology?

And I about fell off my chair in shock! In what world are you not a published author if you’re “only” published in an anthology?!

(I might have stronger feelings about online magazines or even print magazines but to me – a book is a book!)

Of COURSE you’re a published author! My first four publications were in anthologies.

032415-BooksThe real difference comes in the perceived credibility in your client’s mind with the difference between being published in an anthology verses in a solo book. I have two stories published in an anthology series called “Fantastical Visions” – I’ve got stories in books 3 & 4. But my name (or any other author’s name) isn’t on any of the Amazon pages.

(Granted this is for fantasy fiction and NOT something that folks would be searching for me under but still!)

Whereas an Amazon.com search for my name shows the 14 books I’ve solo-authored. When I’m on the phone with a prospect who asks if I’VE written and published any books of my own… Well it makes a difference to say yes!

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