Independent publishing, also called self-publishing or indie publishing, is a broad term generally used to distinguish publishing activities not performed by a commercial publisher. Generally print runs in this sector are small or even non-existent as some independent publishers choose to release their offerings solely in electronic formats (ebook, Amazon Kindle etc.).

There are exceptions to this assumption though. Some independent publishers have managed to sell substantial quantities of their independently produced books and many commercial publishers are reducing the size of their print runs as they struggle with book sales. Many people have predicted and continue to predict the demise of the commercial publisher, to be replaced by an army of independent publishers. This is an extreme view but one thing is for certain – the publishing world is changing, often moving in new and exciting directions.

With tools and services now available it is possible foranybody with advanced computer skills and some knowledge of how book publishing works to put together a professional looking product on their personal computer. Specialised services that may be required like cover design or professional editing can be contracted in. There are many people with specialist skills working on a freelance basis all over the world. Service providers will print the book, list it on their website & facilitate sales – including processing payments.

How does this affect the ordinary person considering independent publishing? While it is not impossible and has happened before, the odds of an independently published, marketed and distributed novel or other book going on to outsell those produced by large commercial publishers are slim. The real value of independent publishing is that it gives a voice to those who would otherwise be able to get into print. Independent publishing should not be used to market sub-standard work. A bad book is a bad book regardless of how it is produced.

There are, though, some types of subject matter that lend themselves to independent publishing and would be unlikely to be accepted and produced by a commercial publisher. Some examples of this would be:

• Personal memoirs or a life story being produced for a small group of family, friends etc.
• Material of a highly technical or specific nature that is of interest in a particular industry or business but not of much use outside of that sphere.
• History of an organisation or person, e.g. business, club, society or movement and/or the founder or leader of such an organisation.
• Material produced by a trainer, motivational speaker or religious personality.

These types of material often have the advantage of a ready and easily accessible market, for example a motivational speaker having a pile of his books available at the back of the room after a presentation. This type of selling can overcome the single biggest challenge independent publishers face – marketing.

Darrell Cuthbert is a South African freelance writer, blogger, social media enthusiast and general life addict.

He writes both fiction and non-fiction, the latter focused on combining his writing skills with his 17 years of experience as a manager in global corporates to provide innovative solutions for his clients.

Visit his websites to find out more:

http://www.wordtiffie.com (Commercial Writing)

Darrell is based in Durban, South Africa.

Author: Darrell Cuthbert
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Most of us have received phone books, advertisements, and many other paper-printed products that we have simply thrown away. The cost associated with the process of lithography, and the relative availability of wood resources for making paper made this a viable economic solution to target customers for many years. However, the tide has turned decidedly against this practice, as lithographic processes have become more expensive as regulation has increased regarding ecological issues, and pulp resources have become further constricted. However, these restrictions have no lead to the demise of advertising, but rather the refining of techniques to target specific customer groups using personal information. Now, advertising and products in general, can be targeted to an audience using sophisticated methods of value-added information to target customers and potential buyers, while eliminating the overhead and waste associated with traditional print processes.

As the quality of digital publishing has been increased, so the technologies associated with them have also been enhanced to support this need. New advancements in programming and coding, such as the use of flash banners and XML-driven text has created a trend of sophistication in the digital publishing market that could never have reached had printed products retained the economic advantage. This quality increase has also lead to a demand for it on the side of the consumer, which has produced mass competition to produce good digital publishing. The advancement of CSS and XML languages can be directly tied to this new form of digital publishing, primarily through advertising-driven campaigns.

One of the most important aspects of digital publishing is its relatively low impact on the environment, especially in regard to its predecessor, printed documents. The need to cut trees, extract pulp through abrasive chemical processes, the use of corrosive and poisonous inks and their drying units, and the general waste associated with printed materials that have been discarded have been almost completely eliminated. Today, the disposal of materials is a matter of deletion, thanks to digital publishing. As with the higher quality standard that we just discussed in the previous paragraph, this need for green solutions is demanded not only by commercial interests, but also by the consumer, as well.

Digital publishing has also enabled the opening of the internet to new and creative niches, which were not possible just a few years ago. The massive success of blogging and social networking sites can be directly linked to the digital publishing industry. In regard to printed materials, most consumers still like to hold a book in their hands, and of course, this has not been eliminated. The difference with digital publishing, is that the book can be either displayed using new magnetic ink displays, or can be printed in an on-demand fashion, where one customer receives one book, eliminating further the waste from long print runs.

Martin Alan enjoys writing on subjects such as literature, online publishing, digital magazine, digital magazine software, sharing sites and self publishing. He also enjoys keeping up-to-date with the latest developments and innovations in technology and online marketing.

For more information on online publishing click here; http://www.yudu.com.

Author: Martin Alan
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Starting off in self-publishing can seem like a perilous journey. Like any new venture, it is both exciting and scary. Exciting because it is something new, yet scary because you may not know what to do first, or how to sound like you know what you’re doing. But you pick it up soon enough.

As you move forward, you have to keep your bearings. That means you must remember your original destination-your goal-and keep aiming for it until you get there.

Making Lists

Here are 5 things that shouldn’t surprise you about self-publishing. They are realizations that surface after you’ve decided to publish a book.

1. Self-publishing is not a get-rich-quick scheme I think that’s been proven quite a few times by now, yet many new self-publishers have that gleam in the eye. They’ve read the stories, they’ve been to Lulu.com, so why not them? But I’m willing to bet you didn’t start writing to make a killing on the internet. Your intentions were different; remembering them will guide you well.

2. You will meet many wonderful people in indie publishing Truly one of the great things about social media is that it’s so social. I’ve always been impressed by the collegiality of publishing. Maybe it’s because few books compete directly with each other, but people in publishing-particularly indie publishing-are extraordinarily helpful to newcomers. Don’t be discouraged by those who aren’t. And a bonus? They’re pretty literate, too!

3. You cannot imagine the variety of niches into which people are publishing

Just wander around Amazon for a while and take in the richness of interests displayed there. For example, here are five titles plucked almost randomly from the millions of pages on Amazon:
· The Art of Making Fermented Sausages

· Unsigned Beauties Of Costume Jewelry

· Antique Sewing Tools and Tales

· Exploring the World of Lucid Dreaming

· The Yugo: The Rise and Fall of the Worst Car in History

Whatever your interests, they’re probably shared by others as well. You just have to find them.

4. Nonfiction publishing almost always pays-over time If you really do your homework and publish a book with genuine value with just an adequate job of pushing it into the world, I think you will eventually be profitable if you keep at it long enough. Of course, you have to publish efficiently to start with, but as long as you do something to let people know your book is there and that it can address a real need, often it’s just a matter of time before someone finds it. Too many people quit trying when they haven’t sold out in a few months. See #1 above.

5. The single most important thing is to ‘Be the Market’ This is the clearest path to success for nonfiction self-publishers. If you are part of the market that’s interested in the subject you’ve written about, you’re at an advantage. You know what these people need, you know what questions they’re asking, and you know what was confusing when you first got into this field. That all adds up to a book with value, if you can translate your experience into teaching that helps people new to your field or to your level of expertise.

Well, there you have it. While none of these things may surprise you, they bear repeating. And remembering, too.

Joel Friedlander is the proprietor of Marin Bookworks, a publishing services company in San Rafael, California that has launched many self-publishers. Joel is an award-winning book designer, a self-published author, and blogs about publishing and book design. To learn more about self-publishing a book, book and cover design, and the intricacies of the publishing process, please visit Joel’s blog at http://www.theBookDesigner.com today.

Author: Joel Friedlander
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Trying that new burger joint downtown can be a hit or miss experience, and unfortunately often results in a stomach ache for the new patron. The same can be said for trying a digital publishing company, except the pain from a bad experience moves from your stomach to your pockets, specifically your wallet. A bad digital publisher can cost you thousands of dollars, and leave your fragile, new author confidence in the dumps. Therefore it is of vital importance to get in bed with the right digital publisher, in order to save you from the would be catastrophe. A few tips follow in the paragraphs below. Grab a pen, and arm yourself with the knowledge you deserve to go into battle with when looking for a digital publisher.

They work for you, you don’t work from them. This is something you may have to remind them of when negotiating with a digital publisher. Similar to lawyers, digital publishers often like to turn the tables, and have you thinking you are fortunate to be working with them, and that you aren’t the client, but the service provider. This of course, is not true, and should not be tolerated. With digital publishers it’s often the case that you must pay them for them to print, and distribute your work. In the traditional print publishing industry the cycle is reversed. The publisher typically pays the author an advance on the book, and pays for the cost to print the book, keeping a portion of the sale price of the book as a royalty.

Digital publishers often will boast of high author royalties, and total author control. This is not always a great thing to have, would one rather have a whopping 50% royalty rate on their book if it sells 10 copies, or a 9% royalty rate on a book that sells 500,000 copies. It doesn’t take a math genius to figure this one out. You want to have the lower royalty on the book that sells more units, there is power in numbers. Thus, when dealing with a publisher don’t worry as much about the royalty rate, instead worry about their ability to get your book out to the public, and market it.

Digital publishers vary from a webmaster with a few links to e-book websites to full fledged print on demand companies. Define your goal for your e-book, and your budget, and pick a publisher accordingly. It probably makes sense to go with a well connected e-book publisher if that is your goal, to publish an e-book on the net. If you have print aspirations for your effort, try going with a POD publisher that will offer both e-book, and print versions of your book.

The books will fly off the shelves only if you make every effort to get them to the shelves in the most cost effective way, utilizing as much marketing possibilities as possible along the way.

Nicolas Gremion is the President of Paradise Publishers Inc (http://www.ParadisePublishers.com), an online publishing business dedicated to publishing books that contribute to our world in productive, positive and principled ways. The company’s ebook site, http://www.Free-eBooks.net is one of the internet’s most respected sources for free ebooks.

Author: Nicolas Gremion
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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