This Is It, My Final Blog On Self-Publishing

I started this blog as a self-publisher. There's no doubt about that. I didn't know what I didn't know.

As I write this final blog entry I can definitely say I'm not a self-publisher anymore, I'm an Independent Publisher.

People in the traditional book industry would dispute that because that's how they are. But I'm about to put my fourth book into bookstores. The largest book wholesaler in the world - Ingram - will sell these books to its customers.

The traditional book people could say that I'm the author or co-author of all four books. That's true. But in several book stores in the Northwest - including B & N and Borders - my books sit in the shelves right next to books from the big publishing houses.

I won't sell as many books, obviously. I won't be in business as long. But the independent publishers are slowly changing the publishing business. Depending on whose stats you believe, small independent publishers combined sell more books now than the traditional publishers.

The traditional book publishing business is breaking down. Improved technology will eventually force them to change or quit the business. The independent book publishers will only get stronger.

But the main message of my blog has been there's both a thin line and a large canyon between self-publishing and reaching the independent publishing stage. To jump that canyon to independent publisher many self-publishers need to get their act together.

Here's a checklist.

Do you take short cuts to save money in the production of your book?
Are you under capitalized?
Do you routinely reject criticism of your work?
Do you assume the market is there for your book?
Do you think you know everything you need to know to publish books successfully?
Do you believe your book is so good it's going to make you a lot of money?

If you say yes to any of these you're going to have a problem and I recommend you reconsider your options. Otherwise, good luck in your endeavors.

Michael LaLumiere
www.whyiscraterlakesoblue.com

Change Of Plans On Printing Book

Last time we chatted I was resigned to having our new children's picture book printed in China.

Never mind. The book designer put out a few bid requests and I'm taking one that came from that hot bed of U.S. printing - Minnesota. For 2,000 books they came in at about $500 more than China which was close enough for me to pull the trigger.

For that $500 I expect to get much, much better communication, a significantly quicker turnaround and no shipping/container ship issues. On the surface, that's well worth $500. Of course, who knows how it will all turn out.

I am also hoping that the experience gained in already publishing two children's books and a novel will make the process on this book go much smoother. Dream on. Anyway, the biggest hope of all is that the book will be the best book we've done because of everything else we've gone through.

A lot has been learned.

Michael LaLumiere
www.staggerleebooks.com