Sunday, May 31, 2009

I've Finally Done It

Well all the deed is done. After lots of hard work, some of which I expected and some that was very unexpected, "Carly's Wish" is on the market.

I promised that once the process was complete I would disclose my choice in publishing along with a honest review, so here goes. I decided to go with a print on demand company associated with Amazon called Createspace. I made the decision for several key reasons: the first being the cost factor, the second being ease and quality, finally and most importantly maintaining all rights to my material.

When I decided to do this I checked into many self-publishing options and found that it can be very costly and in most cases you have to buy 500+ books in order to keep your cost down. With very little start up capital and a fear of thousands of books drawing dust in the attic I continued the search for another option.

The ease of the process was another big factor I had to consider. With limited time I needed to work with a print on demand that was easy to understand and follow and one that didn't have a lot of hidden costs. I found the Createspace site easy to navigate, information well explained and straight forward, and in general very helpful. The quality of the final material also impressed me. One of the things I liked most was that you receive a proof of your work to go over and approve of or make any changes you would like, and until you are satisfied and give the go ahead nothing is printed.

Finally, my main factor in this choice was the fact that I maintain all rights to the material. I didn't want parts of the story changed or for someone else to illustrate it. This allowed me to have full control over the finished product. I am also free to do with the material anything I choose even selling it to another publishing house.

Marketing the book is proving to be the only drawback to this type of publishing. Although Createspace comes with the added bonus of both having your book placed on Amazon.com and in the Createspace e-store, selling the book is up to you. I am just beginning this process so I'll fill you in as I go along. I can tell you that, since hitting the market on May 7th, 2009, to date I've sold 32 copies!!

Overall the process has went very well for me and hopefully will continue to, but I'll be sure to let you in on any issues that arise in the future. Anyone considering the self-publishing route should really look into Createspace. It may suit your purposes and it may not but in my opinion it is definitely worth the time to check it out.

No comments:

Post a Comment