Yesterday an elderly gentleman was in my office asking what he should do with his fourth book. He’d paid a “publisher” out of Southern California $25,000 to publish his first book and $5,000 to publish his second. The publisher published the third for free. None of them sold any copies to speak of even though the publisher said he sent out a bunch of review copies.
To make matters worse, my visitor had heard that millions of books were sold on the Internet so he paid to be included on a book-selling website that told him he would “earn consistent income from the site selling 4,000 to 5,000 books a month.” He sold 21 copies. He thinks friends bought most of them.
A member of the hope-springs-eternal crowd (as we all are), he was there to ask if he could pay me to publish his book.
If you are an author, and you are paying to get published or for services that guarantee to sell your books, chances are you will have a bad experience. Is this always the case? Almost. What can you do about it? Learn the industry—learn what works and what doesn’t—before you open your checkbook.
Just a write thought.
3 Responses to “Can You Buy Your Way into Being a Published Author?”
Leave a Reply
This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.
I am looking for a publisher that I can work with. My book is almost finished and I need to have it printed. I will need a little bit of help with the publishing process. most all that I have contacted are ready to sell me something. I am the one who wants to pay for publishing from an understanding and helpful publishing company. I am wondering if you are that company.
Naoma Hayes
I (Naoma Hayes) published my book and it is selling very well. Books have been sold in our community and shipped to =
Alaska, Pennsylvania, Ohio, California, West Virginia, Florida, Oregon, and many more. Our community fell in love with this book. “Living on the Other Side of Alaska” They are all asking for more. Typical comment, “I loved your book and when are you going to write a sequel?” “I want to order three more to send to relatives and friends and when can I get them.” “A friend told me about your book and I want one too.”
My answer, “I have books and Angelo (The person the book is about) has copies also. It is available on Amazon in soft cover and kindle.
Read it You will be entertained.
naomahayes@yahoo.com or http;//www.othersideofalaska.com
Hi Naoma,
I went to your website and it looks like you self-published instead of writing a huge check to a “publisher.” Good job! Your cover is attractive too.
Best of luck with continued sales.
Best,
Steve