Comments on: Self-Publishing vs. Using a “Self-Publishing Company”

By: Graig Knerr

Graig Knerr — Tue, 06 Mar 2012 04:30:23 +0000

Thanks for the info on Self-Publishing vs. Using a “Self-Publishing Company” The Profitable Publisher, it will likely be really beneficial.

By: Marion Gropen

Marion Gropen — Sun, 15 Jan 2012 18:56:20 +0000

You’re very welcome.

By: Marion Gropen

Marion Gropen — Tue, 28 Sep 2010 16:26:13 +0000

You may be able to earn money that way, but bestsellers are tremendously difficult to manage, and require huge investments of capital. Expect to spend several hundred thousand dollars up front, and understand that publishing one is a huge gamble, with absolutely no guarantees of breaking even let alone cashing in.

I strongly recommend that you do more research on this industry, because statements like this one suggest that you are very vulnerable to the scam artists that prey upon hopeful writers.

By: Marion Gropen

Marion Gropen — Wed, 07 Jul 2010 17:01:08 +0000

That’s a common misconception.

Self-publishing is a very high risk way of putting your money to work. And worse, the returns on investment are likely to be far, far lower than you would get in most other industries.

In other words: you’ll work harder than you would if you went a more traditional route, and you’ll earn less.

If you’re in it for the money, spend your effort on getting published traditionally.

By: Ava Green

Ava Green — Sat, 03 Jul 2010 19:15:35 +0000

i am taking tutorial about self-publishing because it is also a good way of making money.*’.

By: PublishingGuide

PublishingGuide — Thu, 22 May 2008 02:00:31 +0000

If they do the work, but you pay the bills, that’s not self-publishing. To self-publish, you need to buy the ISBN from Bowker, and do or hire people to do all the functions of a publisher (editing, design, marketing, sales, distribution, accounting, etc.).

By: Gwen Henry

Gwen Henry — Wed, 21 May 2008 18:46:51 +0000

I had a publisher tell me that it is not self publishing if they are doing all of the work. All I was expected to do was finance the project. Is this true?

By: Janet

Janet — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 18:43:15 +0000

Thank you for clearing up the ISBN for me. Now I get it!

By: PublishingGuide

PublishingGuide — Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:28:06 +0000

The POD printers are not POD publishers. It’s a very, very important distinction, for those who want their book to make money, or to sell a significant number of copies.

And yes, many of the printers will do one copy printing and then drop-ship to your customer. Others have a minimum order of, say, 25 copies, and will send them to only one or two locations.

And also yes, even when the printer is doing fulfillment, the cost reduction is usually significant.

By: LWS

LWS — Tue, 29 Jan 2008 22:21:36 +0000

You say: “Second, let’s put a stake through the heart of another common misconception: you do not need a “POD publisher” to use POD printing. There are dozens, if not hundreds, of POD printers who will happily print your correctly formatted manuscript as a book for a far lower cost.”

Question: Will these POD publishers, other than, say Lightning Source, ship copies for you to the customer?