Encountering specific distribution snags
If you compare a self-published book with a trade paperback book published
by a major publishing house, you may find many similarities in your book
and any other book you’d see displayed on a bookstore’s shelf (that’s if you
follow the advice offered in this book and create a professional looking book).
In fact, you’d probably have a difficult time differentiating between the two
products if you saw them side-by-side. Both a self-published book and a book
published by a major publishing house follow the same basic format, includ-
ing overall layout and design, front and back cover, how the title, price, bar-
code, and other information is conveyed, and the publishing materials used,
such as the cover and internal paper stock.
But a difference does exist: The big difference between a self-published book
and a book published by the major publishing house is the resources avail-
able for distribution, marketing, advertising, and promotion. The major pub-
lishers have fully-staffed and experienced people handling all these areas.
They also have established distribution with the major bookstore chains.
As a self-publisher, you may not have these resources at your disposal.
As a self-published author, you can have your book listed with Amazon.com
or Barnes & Noble.com’s Web site to sell your books. Chapter 14 explains
how to work with these online distributors and retailers.
Realistically, getting traditional bookstore distribution for a self-published
book, especially a book from a first-time author, however, is extremely diffi-
cult and often almost impossible. Major bookstore chains have buyers that
deal primarily with the major publishing houses. Unless you work with a dis-
tributor or sales representative with experience getting your books into
mainstream distribution, don’t count on bookstore or mass-market retail dis-
tribution for your book.
Realistically, although you could sell your book through independent book-
stores and specialty retailers, your sales, distribution, and marketing plan for
your book should include alternate distribution options. These options
include online sales, direct mail, and direct selling through your clients and
people who attend your lectures or author appearances. Part IV focuses on
how to distribute your self-published book effectively.Hiring all the help you want and need
As you read Self-Publishing For Dummies, you discover the responsibilities of
a self-published author. To maximize your success in creating, publishing,
distributing, and selling your book, seriously consider hiring experienced
professionals in the book publishing industry.
Although the publisher or printing company you use to self-publish your
book offers a variety of services to you (see Part III for details on printing
services), consider hiring the following types of freelance professionals to
help you with various aspects of the self-publishing process:
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Ghostwriter: This person helps you actually write your manuscript (see
Chapter 4).
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Photographer, illustrator, artist, or graphic designer: The job of this
person is to help you create and incorporate graphics and other visual
elements within your book (see Chapter 4).
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Editor: Your editor proofreads your manuscript and final page layouts
(see Chapter 5). Depending on your deal with the editor you hire, he or
she may only edit your book’s raw manuscript. You may also need to
hire a separate proofreader to review the final page layouts of your
book. Handle this negotiation when you hire an editor. See Chapter 13
for more info on proofreaders.
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Graphic designer: This professional assists with your book’s internal
page layout and design, as well as the front and back cover design (see
Chapters 8 and 9).
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Sales representative: A sales rep helps you obtain distribution of your
book through retail stores, catalogs, and distributors (see Chapter 15).
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Public relations, advertising, and marketing consultant: This person
creates, launches, and manages all aspects of publicity, advertising, and
marketing (see Chapters 18 and 19).
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Web site designer: Make a presence on the Internet and hire a person to
develop your Web site, so you can have a professional mass-marketed
presence for your book (see Chapter 21).
