Poetry Forum

Forum Home » How to... » Why I self published

Have you published a book. Tell others how you did it.

7/3/2016 11:33:40 PM

David Smith
Posts: 13

I self published with Xlibris. Glad I did but there are things to know.
I self published my book on the state of Early Childcare Education in New Zealand(non fiction). I did this because I wanted people to be properly informed of what life is really like on a daily basis for teachers and children and to highlight the lack of choice, the difficult issues, general lack of space, financial viability and impact on society as a whole. I wanted to to talk about logistics rather than statistics. Ever since first being involved in childcare I wrote to various magazines, put my career on the line but nobody was interested in having a discussion on the subject. I spent time with one of our previous children's commissioners highlighting my concerns. It became obvious that I would need to write a book. Traditional publishers did not see value. So I went to internet and logged on to Exlibris. International exposure then became an option. Before I went ahead I made sure my book was looking at the subject from a different angle than other books on the subject. I felt I had something unique to say. Everything was done on-line and by phone. I had control but access to really experienced people through all stages of the book. It cost but worth it. You have to watch all the extra's though. Making money was a secondary consideration. There was opportunity but my circumstances changed as did my budget. Print on demand is useful as book does not go out of print. Though self publishing is step to getting a traditional publisher which I am still trying to do. Also with self publishing you will have to be prepared to do some of your own marketing and getting some reviews yourself. I pushed for and got reviewed on Child Forum in NZ. Some Libraries have got it. Book stores are hard to get into and want a huge percentage. Still getting help from Xlibris but need to buy in books for book signing. Have got in small bookshop in Upper Hutt, NZ. The media is hard to crack. There are cheaper options for self publishing. The advantage with it is that it as new publisher you have control of material. Traditional publishers tend to want to package your work more and alter content unless you are an established writer. My book is now poetry soup classifieds. You can preview it on the link. One thing that I needed help with was with layout. If self publishing you need to get legal advice. You will mostly need permission from other people who feature in any photos. You can't just download images using your toolbar. Xlibris got me Images through Thinkstock which included images of children. This is a commercial site. There are hooks and barbs in self publishing. Do market research even on your title which may not be Unique. We do judge books by their cover so think carefully there. It was good having to work to a time frame and deadlines with Xlibris. Offering your book as a fundraiser which I am looking at is an option. Good luck and take your time to get your head round it all. David from NZ

• permalink • reply with quote