SNEAK A PEEK 9780986486968 Publish a Book in Canada

Table of Contents
Preface . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
SECTION ONE:
THE ECONOMICS OF BOOK PUBLISHING IN CANADA . . . . . . . . . 33
Where to Begin? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Ten Questions Aspiring Authors Should Ask Themselves . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
The Types of Book Publishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Traditional (Trade) Publishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Vanity Publishing (Book Printing for Self-Publishing Authors) . . . . . . . . . 41
Supported Self-Publishing (Assisted Self-Publishing) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
Why Would You Want Support in Self-Publishing? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51
Curatorial Process Comparison . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
SECTION TWO:
UNDERSTANDING COPYRIGHT IN CANADA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
An Elementary Introduction to Copyright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
What is Copyright? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64
How Do I Obtain Copyright Ownership of My Work? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
How Do I Protect My Copyright? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64
How Long Does Copyright Last? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Copyright Infringement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Fair Dealing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Copyright Simplified (Understanding Publishing Contracts) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
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Traditional (Trade) Publishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Vanity Publishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
Supported Self-Publishing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
Who Owns the Artwork? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
SECTION THREE:
BOOK SALES AND MARKETING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Are You the Best or Are You the Best Price? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
When to Sell Based on Quality, Not Price . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
How to Price an eBook . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .77
Sell the Benefits of Your Book–Not the Features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 79
Have Your Elevator Pitch Ready to Recite at a Moment’s Notice . . . . . . . . 81
Include a Call to Action in All Your Marketing Materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Traditional Sales Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Media Tours . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83
Book Signings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
Book Launches . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 85
Community Craft Fairs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
Christmas and Farmers Markets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
“Think Outside the Bookstore” and Get Inside Other Retail Outlets . . . . . 90
What Constitutes a Bestseller in Canada? How Do I Become
a Canadian Bestseller? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 92
Online Sales Techniques . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Blogging for SEO: Search Engine Optimization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Online Articles (Online “Advertorials”) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
Blog Entries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Blogging is Word-of-Mouth Advertising on Steroids! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99
Increase Online Traffic by Ten Times in One Month Using Social
Media . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 100
Create a Facebook Author Page to Promote Yourself and Your Books . . . . 102
Be Sure to Tweet Your Author Events on Twitter . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103
Build a Strong Network on LinkedIn . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
Sell More Books Using Eventbrite . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
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Post a Video Reading on YouTube . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 105
Pay-per-click Advertising Campaigns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 107
SECTION FOUR:
THE MODERN BOOK PUBLISHING PROCESS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 111
Book Publishing from Conception to Publication . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Supplies You Will Require . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112
Writing Your Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Three Great Tips for Overcoming Writer’s Block . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 113
Working with a Ghostwriter to Write a Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
Protecting Your Copyright . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
Obtaining a Publishing Quote: Choosing Your Book Publishing
Package . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
What Is the Total, Final Word-count of Your Manuscript? . . . . . . . . . . 118
How many graphics will be included in the interior of your book?
How about the cover? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 118
Will Your Book’s Interior Be Colour or Black and White? . . . . . . . . . . . 119
What Trim Size Will Your Book Be? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
Submitting Your Manuscript . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
How to Format the Manuscript (Word) File . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 120
How to Format all Associated Graphic Files . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 121
How to Send Further Important Instructions to the Editor,
Proofreader, and Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 122
ISBN Numbers, Barcodes, and Legal Deposits . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Copyright Page . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Publishing Agreements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Professional Editing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123
Why Even the Best Writers Use Professional Copy Editors . . . . . . . . . . 124
Working With a Copy Editor to Polish a Book . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
Professional Graphic Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Browse a Bookstore to See What You Like . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 127
Interior Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 128
Cover Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 131
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Author Proofing Rounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
PPG’s Graphic Design Style Guide . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 135
Fact checking and Indexing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 136
Professional Proofreading . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 137
How to Price a Paperback Book: Setting Your Retail Price . . . . . . . . . . . . 138
Who’s Printing Your Book for You? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 139
Who’s Selling Your Book for You? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
How Many Copies Do I Have to Sell to Make a Profit? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Complimentary & Promotional Copies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Review Copies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Library Copies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Distribution . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
North American Distribution Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
United Kingdom Distribution Channels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Online Purchases of PPG Paperback Books . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Online Purchases of PPG eBooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Royalties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
SECTION FIVE:
MODERN BOOK PRINTING AND NON-PRINTING OPTIONS . . . 149
An Elementary Introduction to Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
eBooks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 150
Print-on-Demand (POD) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 151
Digital Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
Offset Printing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 153
SECTION SIX:
FINAL WORDS OF ADVICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 155
Authors Are Entrepreneurs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 156
Your Book Will Never Be Good Enough for You: Learning When
to Let Go . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
When to Write? When to Sell? How to Get It All Done? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 159
Handling Criticism . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 161
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Author Mastermind Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163
Index . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 167
About The Author . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
“The Land of Lollipops” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 175
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SECTION ONE:
The Economics
of Book Publishing
In Canada{ {
“The economic race should not be arranged so that everyone ends at the
finish line at the same time, but so that everyone starts at the starting line
at the same time . . . . The society that puts equality before freedom winds
up with neither, but the society that puts freedom before equality will end
up with a great measure of both.”
~Dr. Milton Friedman as quoted by Arnold Schwarzenegger in his introduction to the
1990 PBS documentary, Free to Choose (Schwartzenegger, 1990)
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9. Do I want to keep 100 percent copyright ownership of my story
(words)?
10. Do I want to keep 100 percent copyright ownership of my book
cover?
After deciding which of these points is most important, the next step is
to prioritize those choices. For example, the authors who value both
recognition and profit should now decide which of those is most important
and put it at the top. From there, move down the list and compare the
remaining points until a personal hierarchy of values has been created.
Now it’s time to look at the various book publishing business models and
see which one best matches that personal list of needs.
THE TYPES OF BOOK PUBLISHING
There are three primary book publishing business models for Canadians
to choose from, whether they wish to produce an electronic book (eBook),
paperback, or hardcover book: (a) traditional (trade) publishing (literary
book publishers such as the one I worked for, fall into this category); (b)
vanity publishing (which is basically book production for self-publishing
authors); and (c) supported self-publishing (also sometimes referred to
as assisted self-publishing or hybrid publishing). Each of these business
models has its pros and its cons. In order to determine which business
model is best for you (for your particular book project, for your personal
hierarchy of values), it is important to understand the characteristics that
differentiate trade publishers from vanity publishers from supportive self-
publishing companies.
Traditional (Trade) Publishing
Many writers still envision this process when they consider having a book
published: seeking out a Canadian trade publisher that will consider their
type of work; mailing a query letter and sample chapter or poem to that
publisher with a self-addressed stamped envelope attached; and then
Section One: The Economics of Publishing in Canada
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anxiously awaiting a response, within three to six months, as to whether
or not the publisher will take on the project. More often than not, the
unknown author’s work is declined; and he or she must move onto the
next submission with the next trade publisher in the hopes the book will
eventually be accepted. Sound familiar?
Those new to the book publishing industry often view this as a personal
rejection of their work. Many give up hope of ever being published at
all. The truth is, writing quality is far from being the only determinant
that trade publishers use when deciding whether to accept a manuscript
for publication. Most receive hundreds (even thousands) of manuscript
submissions each and every year from which they select fewer than one
dozen new authors to work with—a discriminatingly low acceptance rate.
Obviously, budget and manpower play a huge role in their decisions (as it
certainly did at the press where I worked for three years), but one must also
consider that many of Canada’s literary presses, in particular, are funded by
operating grants. These government grants contain strict guidelines as to
what types of work they can or cannot publish. As a result, these publishers’
hands are sometimes tied, and otherwise gifted writers may be overlooked.
Canada’s trade publishers are academic scholars who are looking for books
with a strong literary merit. They want the scholastic novels and poetry,
and the government grants that sustain them encourage them to accept
more Canadiana than anything else. So, you may have written an exciting
non-fiction account of your adventures in an African jungle that you know
people would love to read; or you may be a subject matter expert who has
written an informative “how to” book that could help hundreds of people
succeed in your area of expertise. You might want to celebrate a professional
milestone by publishing a business history book. You may have penned a
cathartic account of a traumatic event that you wish to share with others to
help them through something similar; or you may have written a cookbook
or a children’s book or any number of different things that fall outside the
realm of academia. The chances are, these types of books simply won’t fit
with a traditional publisher’s program, nor the requirements set out by their
How to Publish a Book in Canada
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grant provider(s). You’ll be rejected as a result—despite your acceptable
writing abilities and saleable idea.
I’ve always found this kind of a shame. There are so many different people
in this country with so many different reasons for picking up a book. As I
mentioned earlier, I’ve always preferred reading non-fiction biographies,
autobiographies, and “how to” types of books myself. It seems to me
Canada’s trade publishers would benefit from opening up the scope of
their programs a bit wider—from recognizing that very few Canadians read
Canadian-focused literature and poetry alone. Not only would this help
launch the careers of some of our country’s up-and-coming authors who
are currently seeking publishing opportunities in the United States after
one too many rejections at home, but it might also generate new revenue
streams for the publishing houses themselves. Unfortunately, our trade-
publishing sector and its various players appear to be stubbornly set in
their traditional ways.
One established practice that causes some of the biggest financial burdens
for these publishers is the bookstore return policy mentioned earlier
on. Another is their heavy reliance on government grants to support
their businesses. In “Time to Lead: The Shaky State of Canadian Book
Publishing”, Anna Porter (2011) sums up the prevalent mindset I can
vividly recall from my days at the literary press. On the one hand, she
declared, “I’ve needed both [endurance and patience] to endure people
who believe that the publishing business in Canada needs less government
and more incentives for foreign investment.” Then, on the other hand, very
soon after, she somewhat contradicted herself when going on to complain,
“Our government has tried to keep the locals going by providing modest
subsidies . . . . but they’ve served the purpose of keeping book publishers
working at subsistence-level pay, employing people at equally ridiculous
wages, and paying taxes for the privilege.”
And what is the obvious repercussion of this chiefly socialistic mindset?
Porter inadvertently nails it right on the head when she laments that it’s
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“hard for local publishers to get lines of credit so they can compete with
foreign publishers when they try to retain those few very successful authors
by paying them what they deserve.” The fact is this: if you’re unable to pay
your best authors the proper royalties they deserve because you lack the
necessary resources to do so, then they’re going to leave you for greener
pastures. Of course, they would!
For whatever reason, many in Canada’s traditional publishing sector seem
to take the idealization of the proverbial starving artist a little too far. On the
one hand, Porter openly deplores the poverty-level pay that is so common
in this industry; but, on the other hand, she seems to wear it like some kind
of badge of honour: “Fortunately, there are people in this country who value
what they contribute to our lives above what they take out of the economy.
(That, I hope, answers the question a distinguished lawyer once asked
me: If that’s all you make in a year, why don’t you change professions?).”
I personally find this perplexing. When and why did it become so noble
to be broke in this industry—to remain broke over the long term despite
putting hours and hours of hard work, blood, sweat, and tears into one’s
passion? Aren’t starving artists supposed to eventually rise up to achieve
mainstream success for all their efforts? Isn’t that the whole point of their
initial sacrifice—of choosing their art over the standard nine-to-five job the
majority of people settle for? Also, why can’t you earn a decent profit while
contributing to society simultaneously? In fact, isn’t it that much easier
to be a significant contributor to society when you actually have enough
income coming in to allow you to give something significant back?
Porter closes her article saying, “The real question is: What kind of
government policies do we need to keep our vital publishing houses
functioning?” That brings to mind another question or two of my own:
Wouldn’t we all be better served if our focus was on finding new revenue
streams and better ways of doing business rather than harping on who’s
getting better government subsidies than whom? Instead of placing blame
on others and relying so heavily on social assistance to keep afloat, isn’t
it always much more effective, in the long run, to take responsibility and
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control over one’s own destiny? The fact is, you’re either an entrepreneur
in business or you’re a victim; it’s impossible to be both at the same time.
And if you want to make any kind of a profit selling books, you need to be
an entrepreneur. When you stop to really think about it, deep down you
know that’s the truth—harsh as it may sound at first.
Authors whose work is accepted and published by trade book publishers
obviously enjoy the lowest personal risk in terms of financial investment:
$0. In fact, many people (myself included) often start out submitting their
books to these publishers simply because it’s free of charge and appears, at
first glance, to be the best road toward success as a Canadian author. In this
business model, the publisher assumes all financial responsibility and risk.
Sounds like a great deal for the author, doesn’t it? Yes and no. Here’s the
trade-off. Trade publishers don’t pick up the bill simply out of the kindness
of their hearts. When they agree to pay for the publication of a manuscript,
what they are purchasing is the copyright ownership of that work (whether
permanently or temporarily, it varies per contract). In other words, the
writer must now relinquish much of his or her creative control over to the
publisher. The publisher has final say on editing and design. The publisher
has final say on how the book is to be produced and marketed—because it is
the publisher who now owns the book. Take a look at the copyright page of
any book you pick up in the bookstore. Is the publisher’s name listed there
or the author’s name? Whoever’s name is listed on that page is usually the
primary copyright owner of that book.
In terms of profits, trade authors retain only basic “publishing rights” that
recognize them as the creator of the written words, and they are paid only a
small royalty for any sales made by the publisher—often as low as ten percent
of the retail price of the book. (This percentage will vary with each contract.)
As the owner of the book, the publisher keeps all remaining profits. To put
this into perspective, let’s say a book is priced at $15 per copy retail. Ten per
cent of that is only $1.50. Even if the publisher is able to sell 1,000 copies of
the book in one year, the author will only earn $1,500 in royalties that year.
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It makes much more sense for authors to approach this with an
entrepreneurial mindset: buy copies of their books back from that publisher
at a wholesale price of $7.50 each and then try to sell them all direct
themselves. Even though they won’t earn royalties on these wholesale
author copies, they will still stand to earn more per unit if they sell them at
full price without a middleman between them and their buyer. Make sense?
(Even with a middleman, like a bookstore or retail outlet, the author still
stands to earn more per unit by selling their own wholesale copies.)
For those who balk at the idea of self-promotion because they believe it
is their publisher’s sole responsibility to promote their books on their
behalf—and that all traditional publishers will take care of it for them all
the time—think again. Even the Association of Canadian Publishers (2013)
will tell you otherwise: “Many publishers have a publicity department that
will handle this while the book is on the front list. However, once the next
season is published, or you have published the book on your own, the job
of getting publicity exposure for the book falls to the authors themselves.”
In addition to the loss of copyright ownership, zero free professional sales
support, and minimal free marketing and publicity, another potential
disadvantage to this type of book publishing is the timeline. It can take
anywhere from three months to a year for authors to learn whether or not
their manuscripts have been accepted for publication; and, if accepted,
it can take another full year for their books to be published—sometimes
more. It takes a long time to cultivate the gold standard in literary book
publishing. Trade publishers put each and every manuscript through a very
thorough and professional process of substantive and stylistic editing, copy
editing, graphic design, and proofreading to ensure a polished and saleable
end result. There are several eyes on every raw manuscript and galley proof
all the way through the process to ensure that ninety-nine percent of every
last error is caught and corrected before it goes to print.
For those who regard recognition and limited financial risk above all else
in their personal hierarchy of values, and whose manuscripts fit well with
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a traditional publisher’s program, then the trade book publishing route
may be the right one to take. There is definitely something special about
receiving a letter of acceptance in the mail from a respected scholarly
person that says, “You are one of very few people chosen for our publishing
line-up this year. We want to work with you.” This is also probably the best
road to take for those whose personal beliefs are more closely matched with
pure socialism than capitalism. It will feel more comfortable to you in your
heart of hearts.
For those with different priorities—quick turn-around, personal
satisfaction, profit, maintained copyright ownership and creative control,
professional saleability—then there are other book publishing business
models to consider. There are other choices available.
Vanity Publishing (Book Printing for Self-Publishing
Authors)
The vanity book-publishing model was introduced as the capitalistic
alternative for writers who were tired of waiting around to be accepted by
a traditional book publisher and had decided to self-publish themselves
instead. As noble as the vanity publishers’ intentions may be (to provide
another viable alternative to aspiring Canadian authors), they are the least
respected book publishing alternative of them all within publishing circles
(i.e., traditional publishers, reviewers, booksellers, and distributors)—
and with good reason. These companies are more aptly described as book
printers than publishers, and they’ve earned their notoriety by accepting
and printing 100 percent of the manuscripts that are submitted to them
without much consideration to quality or content—the opposite extreme of
trade publishing. A vanity publisher will take what they receive and print
it as is, no matter what it looks like. Not only does this reflect poorly on
them as a service provider, but it also reflects poorly on the writer. Books
that are haphazardly produced in this manner simply cannot compete in
the marketplace against a professional trade publisher’s finished product.
There is a noticeable difference between the two.
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Some of these companies run a “self-service” type of operation that allows
self-publishers to upload their book files online (or via email) and then
draft them into either eBooks or various other formats themselves using a
selection of generic template builders. Other vanity publishers are actual
print shops with in-house design staff that will take your raw materials
(manuscript, graphics, et cetera) and do all that formatting and typesetting
for you—a slightly more professional approach. However, at the end of
the day, they all share one commonality: although their staff may be fairly
knowledgeable about printing and electronic file formatting, they are wholly
unseasoned when it comes to the essential publishing practices (such as
professional editing, graphic design, and proofreading) that ensure the
polished end result every serious author is after. Vanity publishers never
actively encourage their clients to improve the quality of their work in any
way, and this is truly a disservice to the serious-minded authors who wish
to present themselves to the public as professionals and experts within
their fields.
Another issue with today’s vanity publishers is that the majority are
either located in the United States or else they’ve cast their Canadian
nets so wide that they’re catering more to the American marketplace than
their home turf in an effort to increase their profits (i.e., authors end up
paying for their publishing services in US dollars which costs them more
in the long run). Yet, perhaps the biggest problem Canadians face when
publishing through an American-based publisher is that most of these
companies assign American ISBN numbers and barcodes to their books.
This puts Canadians in limbo in the sense that their books are not properly
recognized by Legal Deposit at Library and Archives Canada (LAC) as they
should be. So why would any Canadian want to be properly recognized by
this organization? “Providing a publication to Legal Deposit at Library and
Archives Canada (LAC) ensures its permanent preservation for present
and future generations” (Library and Archives Canada, 2013). It’s about
your legacy as a Canadian author, and that’s important. All the professional
Canadian trade publishers do it; and self-publishers should be doing it, too.
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Most vanity publishers advertise that the authors who work with them
will retain 100 percent copyright ownership of their books; however,
they neglect to mention that the print-ready files for those books will be
kept “under lock and key,” inaccessible to those authors. In other words,
they retain the copyright ownership of the artwork they created for the
author (e.g., the book cover). This means those authors must always go
through them to have all their marketing materials and books printed;
and, because most of these publishers use only print-on-demand (POD)
printing technology, those authors stand to lose money on the larger print
runs that really should be completed on either a digital or offset press
designed specifically for larger print runs. (These types of printing options
are described in more detail later on in this book.)
It costs money to print a book. That’s why many vanity publishers want to
keep your files to ensure that you will always print through them—because
that’s how they make their profit. They are printers first, after all. So that’s
really all you’re paying for when you pre-pay the publishing package you
found online that sounded something like this: “Publish your book in 30 days
for as little as $799!” That price excludes professional editing, graphic design,
and proofreading which is why it’s so cheap and can be completed so quickly.
It is the bare bones minimum they can charge to entice you to print your
book with them while still taking home a profit for themselves. Everything
else is up to you when you choose this unsupported self-publishing route to
produce your book.
Most vanity publishers will offer different sizes of publishing packages with
additional add-on services that will cost a little more for those who are
interested: editorial evaluations, social media marketing tips, inclusion
of your book title on their next media release, et cetera. Yet, what good
is any of this unless you’re dealing with staff that is properly trained to
provide you with a professional editorial evaluation, can actually teach you
professional sales techniques using social media, and can put a saleable
product into your hands at the end of it all? I’ll come right out and say it:
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it’s worth very little to you, if anything at all. The vanity publisher is the
only one truly benefitting from these additional revenue streams—which
rather defeats the purpose from the author’s standpoint, don’t you think?
There’s another disadvantage to this book publishing business model for any
aspiring authors out there who may have considered obtaining a government
grant to help cover your costs. You won’t get one if you go the vanity route
to produce your book. In fact, no non-traditional publisher of any kind
can qualify using our current government standards. The leading national
government bodies that offer writing and publishing grants to Canadians
have very strict guidelines as to what types of projects they will support, and
the provincial bodies tend to follow their lead.
The Canada Council for the Arts
“The Canada Council for the Arts offers a range of grants for professional
Canadian writers, collectives and publishers. In addition to providing
support for the creation, translation, publication and promotion of
Canadian literature, the Writing and Publishing Section funds author
residencies, literary readings and festivals, as well as new areas of
activity such as rap poetry, storytelling and electronic literature.”
(Canada Council for the Arts, 2013)
When asked for clarification as to what types of projects might
qualify for this assistance, the program officer of the Writing and
Publishing Section with the Canada Council for the Arts stated
that all self-published works are ineligible. “It’s about the curatorial
process,” I was told. Only work that is paid for by a traditional
Canadian publisher that is recognized by the Canada Council and
Canadian Heritage will qualify for a grant. Authors who pay to have
their own work produced—even if they’ve put themselves through
the same professional editing, design, and proofreading process as
a traditional publisher would put them through—are automatically
disqualified for financial support.
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Canadian Heritage
“Canadian Heritage is responsible for national policies and programs
that promote Canadian content, foster cultural participation, active
citizenship and participation in Canada’s civic life, and strengthen
connections among Canadians” (Canadian Heritage, 2013d).
These programs and policies are broken down into a number of different
topics or branches of concern, and support for book publishers falls
under the Arts and Cultural Industries subsection aptly titled “Books”
where one can find details regarding the Canada Book Fund.
“The principal objective of the Canada Book Fund is to ensure access to
a diverse range of Canadian-authored books in Canada and abroad. The
program seeks to achieve this objective by fostering a viable Canadian
book industry that publishes and markets Canadian-authored books”
(Canadian Heritage, 2013c).
The Canada Book Fund offers financial assistance (operating grants) to
publishers and organizations only—not to individual writers themselves.
Also,ofthepublisherswhomightqualifyforagrant,“Onlybookpublishing
firms are eligible for Publishing support or Business development
support. At the time of application, the applicant must have completed
at least 36 months of operation as a book publisher” (Canadian Heritage,
2013b). Book publishing firms are specifically described as companies
involved in the “professional activity involvingthe selection, development
and editing of manuscripts; contractual agreements with authors or
copyright holders; production and marketing of printed books under
the firm’s imprint; and the assumption of the risks associated with these
activities” (Canadian Heritage, 2013a) In other words, any printers and
publishers whose business model falls outside the traditional Canadian
book publishing model (by charging publishing fees to their authors) are
automatically disqualified for financial support.
You won’t receive financial support or charity of any kind from a vanity
publisher, either. This book publishing business model is pure capitalism
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at its heart. They are in it to make money producing high volumes of books,
plain and simple.
One upside to the vanity-publishing model is its timeline. Manuscripts are
accepted immediately upon receipt of payment and can be printed in as little
as one or two months’ time. Another advantage is that these printers pay a
significantly higher royalty rate than trade publishers do on any copies of
the book they’re able to sell on behalf of the author. Of course, just as it is in
the traditional book-publishing model, authors can also purchase copies of
their books at wholesale prices and sell them on their own for the best profit
margin of all. One final, notable benefit to this book publishing model is
that, because authors maintain primary copyright ownership of their books
(their words, at least), they reserve the right to sell off additional rights for
additional profit down the road. This is where the real money is—in the
sale of rights. (Copyright and the sale of rights will be described in more
detail later on in this book.)
The majority of vanity publishers I’ve come across during my career follow
the same bookstore return policy as the traditional publishers do out of the
unfounded fear that bookstores won’t buy non-returnable books. (Yes, they
will buy what is saleable, what their customers specifically request from
them—if only one book at a time.) Yet, some others have come to see it
differently and will allow their authors to make that choice for themselves.
Unlike trade publishers who divide their books up into front list and back list
selections with each new publishing round, and who tend to produce only
their latest front list in the spring or the fall, vanity published books can be
produced at any time of the year. It’s always and only a front list book.
For those who are publishing their book solely for personal gratification
and need it completed fairly quickly, then the vanity book publishing route
is probably the best one to take. This is a great option for family history
books, special scrapbooks intended as gifts for loved ones, and other
non-commercial projects such as these.
For those with different priorities—profit, maintained copyright ownership
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and creative control, professional saleability—then there is another book
publishing business model to consider. There is yet another choice available.
Supported Self-Publishing (Assisted Self-Publishing)
Supported self-publishing incorporates the flexibility and copyright
retention of vanity publishing with the professional quality of trade
publishing. It delicately combines capitalism (free enterprise, profit)
with utopian socialism (voluntary charitable giving) to provide Canadian
authors with a much more balanced approach to book publishing. Balance
is better because it arms authors with all the tools they will need to sell
enough copies of their books to earn a profit.
Think of a supportive self-publishing house as a skilled project manager
for self-publishing authors. Writers are considered both the author and the
publisher of their books because they are recognized as the creator of the
written words plus they pay for the production of the book while retaining
100 percent copyright ownership of both their words and their completed
artwork. The supportive self-publishing house merely assists them in
producing a polished end result by supplying all the tools they will need
(contracts with professional editors, designers, proofreaders, and indexers,
et cetera) and facilitating the entire process from start to finish.
Professional copy editing, graphic design, and proofreading is mandatory in
this book publishing business model just as it is in the traditional model.
A qualified supportive self-publishing house will employ only high caliber
talent (referred to as professional work-made-for-hire vendors in each of
the contracts) with at least five years’ experience in their fields—preferably
more—that are pre-screened and approved by the publishing company rather
than its authors. When it comes to non-fiction books, professional indexing
is also mandatory; and it is highly recommended that authors employ
additional fact-checking services to ensure the accuracy of their statements.
Supportive self-publishing houses use modern printing techniques such as
POD and modern marketing and distribution services (online presence)
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in much the same way today’s vanity publishers do. However, an added
bonus is that all finished files are returned to authors once publication is
complete, in case they wish to print larger quantities of their books on a
digital or offset press and sell them in traditional markets. The company
will recommend printers to its authors and help them to write the first one
or two quote requests to put them on the right track for future reference.
When writers pay for professional support in self-publishing their books,
they gladly maintain a strong degree of creative control throughout the
publishing process. The author–self-publisher has final say on everything
from editing and design to production and marketing of the final product.
This, combined with all the other services, ensures a quality result that is
able to compete in the marketplace—which can make a world of difference
when it comes to selling books and earning any kind of profit down the road.
As a supportive self-publishing house with its authors’ best interests in
mind, Polished Publishing Group (PPG) marks all the books it sells on their
behalves as non-returnable. For the authors who wish to print copies of their
books and offer them as returnable to the bookstores themselves, they can;
although, it is worth noting that, for new (unknown) authors in particular,
often the consignment route is a better one to take. (The bookstore return
policy and consignment option will be described in more detail in the Sales
and Marketing section of this book.)
Unlike trade publishers who divide their books up into front list and back
list selections with each new publishing round in the spring and fall, the
supportive self-publishing business model allows authors to produce books
at any time of the year much like the vanity publishers do. The biggest
benefit here is obvious: as long as you’re still actively selling your book,
it’s still a front list title for you, isn’t it? Front list books sell. It’s all in the
marketing, all in the presentation.
A supportive self-publishing house will accept and publish the majority
of manuscripts handed to it upon receipt of 100 percent prepayment for
the project, but there are books that will automatically be declined. If it is
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an obviously non-commercial project (such as a family history book) or it
is obviously riddled with all kinds of typos and errors, it will be declined.
No company can be everything to everyone, and this is not the publishing
business model for those types of projects. Supported self-publishing is
intended for authors with an entrepreneurial mindset who wish to earn a
profit from the commercial sale of their books.
Why 100 percent prepayment? There are three very good reasons for this.
1. The publisher has to secure each professional vendor
(entrepreneurs in their own rights) for each project with
a 50 percent deposit before any of the work can even begin.
2. The additional money is held to ensure funds are always available
for the little issues that may come up with regard to shipping and
administration, and so vendors can be paid in full immediately
upon completing their portions of the project.
3. Possibly most importantly of all, this payment is an author’s
commitment to himself or herself. Many authors have already
procrastinated on publishing their books for several months
or years as it is. It’s amazing how 100 percent prepayment of a
book publishing package will suddenly motivate them to get it
done, once and for all, rather than completing one section only to
procrastinate some more.
The publisher of PPG understands the nature of authors—because she was an
author first before she ever became a publisher. As such, every last detail of
PPG’s publishing process was perfected with the nature of authors in mind.
It will cost authors more than “as little as $799!” to publish a book via the
supported self-publishing business model because authors are paying for
more than simply printing. It will also take more than “only 30 days!” to put
their books through the proper, full publishing process that will polish it
to ninety-nine percent perfection for them. On the plus side, it will take far
less time than it takes through a traditional publisher (expect a minimum
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of three and a half months to complete one project from the time all the
proper files, the contract, and the prepayment has been received). You
might also be pleasantly surprised by just how affordable it really is when
you browse the PPG online store (Polished Publishing Group, 2013b).
Another upside is that supportive self-publishing houses pay a significantly
higher royalty rate than trade publishers do on any copies of the book
they’re able to sell on behalf of the author—up to 40 percent of all profits
earned on the sale of the book (Polished Publishing Group, 2013c). So, as it
is with every other publishing model, authors can purchase copies of their
books straight from their publisher at wholesale prices to sell on their own.
There are five additional advantages to the Canadian supportive
self-publishing business model employed by PPG:
1. Canadian ISBN numbers: PPG will put the author–self-publisher’s
primary contact information on each book’s Canadian ISBN
application form to ensure the ISBN number is linked to the true
copyright owner of the book—the author–self-publisher.
2. Canadian-tailored payment options: All transactions that are
completed through the PPG Online Store are done in Canadian
funds, thereby removing the hassles and extra fees associated
with exchange rates. The total price our Canadian authors see
on their online store orders is the actual total they will pay, and
nothing more.
3. Author-tailored printing options: When authors choose PPG
to support them in self-publishing, not only will they retain
the copyright ownership of their books, but PPG will also give
the final print-ready files to the rightful owner—the author–
self-publisher. This means that, at any time authors decide
to print larger runs (100+ physical copies) of their books to
warehouse and distribute on their own, they can feel free to
shop around for the best deal (whether it is the best price or the
best service they’re after) with all the printers in their area. For
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convenience, PPG offers a handy, ECO-friendly POD service for
all small orders, which also allows authors to take advantage of
PPG’s online distribution services.
4. Modern ECO-friendly, affordable book publishing options:
PPG operates in a paperless, virtual office environment. The
company’s publishing processes are completely electronic which
boosts productivity and makes information sharing much easier
and much more affordable from any location anywhere in the
country with Internet access.
5. Charitable giving to Canadians: It is as important to lend others
a helping hand once in a while as it is to help oneself, and PPG
pledges to donate a minimum of 10 percent of its net profits each
fiscal year in the form of a variety of publishing and/or writing
grants toward supportive self-publishing package(s) for aspiring
Canadian authors. Yet, that’s not all. We want to give back to the
Canadian economy as a whole; so, rather than keeping all the tax
benefits of this type of donation to ourselves, 20 percent of what
we give will be divvied up among our paying Canadian authors
(from that same fiscal year) as charitable donation and business
expense receipts they can use against their own Canadian taxes.
Obviously, the amount we give will grow as we grow, and the
recipient qualifications will be determined and modified along
the way. For now, in our fourth year in business, we are offering
a $5,000 publishing grant in the form of a contest that is free and
easy to enter for any aspiring Canadian author over the age of
eighteen. Please refer to our Facebook page for details (Polished
Publishing Group, 2013a).
Why Would You Want Support in Self-Publishing?
There are a lot of great reasons why you should choose supported
self-publishing ahead of going it alone with a vanity publisher–printer,
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