A Warning for Writers

About 16 years ago, a friend and I decided to write a book called Police Talk to help police officers communicate better. She was a major in a police department, and I had already written a book about police reports. The collaboration went well, and eventually we published the book ourselves.

Before long, a commercial publisher approached us with a proposal to take over the book. We liked the terms they offered and signed the contract. Our book is still in the publisher’s catalog, and it’s still selling, years later.

I’m telling you this true story to help you learn the difference between what happened to Mary (my co-author) and me – and something unfortunate that’s happening to many hopeful writers. Lately I’ve talked to several people who had been sucked in (or almost sucked in) by publishing promotions that were high in price but low in quality and services.

Here’s a story I heard last week. A friend received an email from a company that wanted to know if he was interested in publishing with them. What a stroke of luck! He had a book ready to go – all he needed was a publisher. The offer sounded like a bargain: he’d be getting an ISBN, artwork for the cover, a free listing on Amazon.com (including their “Look Inside” feature), an ebook, and worldwide distribution. He could already see dollar bills dancing in his head.

But first he called me to see what I thought – and was chagrined when I told him that all those services (and more) were available at absolutely no cost from CreateSpace. (In case you’re wondering: I have no affiliation with CreateSpace and do not make a penny for praising their services).

Same story, different company, happened to another friend in academic publishing.

Same story, different company, happened to another friend who was writing a self-help book.

Notice what was different from my experience: those three publishers were fishing. They weren’t after a specific book that had already impressed them. And here’s a bigger difference: they wanted the authors to bear all the costs.

And there are other potential problems. With some companies you lose control over pricing, and in some cases you might lose the rights to your book. In the unlikely event that a big publisher wants your book later (my Police Talk story), you might have no say in the matter – and you wouldn’t get paid when the rights to your book were transferred.

So why do writers sign on with these less-than-scrupulous companies? Three big reasons:

They don’t know about CreateSpace.
They’re dazzled by the glitzy presentation, especially the promise that their book will be included in the publisher’s catalog.
These companies provide one important service that CreateSpace doesn’t offer free: formatting your book.

So let’s examine these three points more closely. CreateSpace is a publishing service offered by Amazon.com. It’s legit, and it’s free. (I’ve published five books with them and helped three other authors do the same thing.) ‘Nuff said about that.

The catalog offer is pretty worthless, in my opinion. How many readers are going to see it? Not many. Yes, it’s nice to be in a catalog – but is that worth a thousand dollars (or more) to you?

On to the biggie – formatting. Turning a messy manuscript into a professional published book is not a task for the faint of heart. I had a tough time with it when I self-published my first book.

But here’s the thing: You can hire someone to do the formatting for a lot less than you’d pay one of these companies. CreateSpace offers paid formatting services, or you can find someone yourself (probably for less than you’d pay CreateSpace).

Or you can take your time and learn how to do it yourself. That’s what I did. You need patience and some resources. CreateSpace has templates and articles to take you through the process. You can buy a book about Word or borrow one from the library. You can use Google if you get stuck. You can take a class (many libraries offer them free or at low cost).

Yes, I’ve known writers who throw up their hands when I urge them to learn a few word-processing skills. It’s all beyond them. They won’t even try to learn.

And here’s my reaction (usually unspoken): How the hell do you expect to market your book successfully if you won’t spend a few minutes each day learning how to use a computer?

The fact is that no publisher is going to spend bucks promoting a book by a new author. It’s up to you. And for that you’re going to need time, energy, creativity, and – guess what! – computer skills.

The inexperienced authors I know usually think their friends will buy the book, and then it will catch on, and soon they’ll be rolling in money. Folks, it doesn’t work that way.

I have a friend who’s a master at self-promotion. He self-published his book and then talked various businesses into throwing parties to promote it. He even wangled donations of wine and hors d’oeuvres. For a while he basked in the satisfaction of finding himself at the center of a whirlwind of publicity. And then – guess what. He’d sold copies to everyone in our small town who was interested in his book. And then the whole project fizzled.

My own policy is not to sell copies of my books to friends. If someone is really interested, I’ll sell them a copy at my cost. Nobody in the world (except maybe Pope Francis and Lin-Manuel Miranda) has enough friends to turn a book into a bestseller.

If you’re thinking about publishing a book (and I hope you are!), you can find advice and resources at this link. Please try CreateSpace! You’ll have fun, and there’s nothing like the satisfaction of seeing your own book in print.

[image error]

____________________________________________________________

[image error] Instant Quiz ANSWER

In the US, commas (and periods) always go inside quotation marks. There are no exceptions. (The United Kingdom does it differently.)

“I’ve lost my keys twice this week,” said Kathy, shaking her head. CORRECT

____________________________________________________________

What Your English Teacher Didn’t Tell You is available in paperback and Kindle formats from Amazon.com and other online booksellers.

[image error]

“A useful resource for both students and professionals” – Jena L. Hawk, Ph.D., Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College

“Personable and readable…Jean knows her subject forwards and backwards.” – Adair Lara, author of Hold Me Close, Let Me Go