Why We Still Need Our Books in Print

By Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig

Sometimes I get surprised reactions both from non-writers and writers that I’m self-publishing in print as well as in ebook format.

I know some think print is dying out.  From my observations, there aren’t nearly as many people purchasing in print as they are digitally.  After working with my accountant on my taxes last week, it was very clear on the 1099-MISCs that my print sales for self-publishing were a tiny fraction of my ebook sales.

Would I turn this money down, though?  Of course not.  And the initial investment in print formatting and cover design has long paid for itself.  It did take me a very long time to branch into print and I’m sorry I waited as long as I did.

Reasons we should self-publish in print as well as a digital format:

Goodreads giveaways.  (Click the link and scroll down for information from Goodreads on this part of the author program.  And a post I ran in 2013 gives information on setting up a giveaway there.) I’m not wild about Goodreads as an author, but their giveaway program has been a nice way for me to get reviews for new releases and provide more visibility for books.  Only printed books are eligible for giveaways at this time.

Signings. I’ve been to conferences before where we’ve given out slips of paper with download codes for digital purchases…it’s just not the same.  I’ve also been very frustrated with myself when I’ve gone to events and didn’t have any books with me. I try to remember now to always have some in stock at the house.

For readers to purchase as gifts. Although some readers don’t mind giving or receiving ebooks, some prefer to wrap up a physical book.

There are some people, likely fewer every day, who prefer not to read ebooks.

The price of your ebook will look like a steal next to the print price on Amazon.

Steps to publish your book in print (the non-self-service way):

If you have an ebook out and don’t have your book in print format, you’d ask your ebook designer to format your book for print.  They’ll add a spine (you’ll want to give them your exact page count) and a back cover (you’ll want to either write back cover copy or else use what you’ve got as the book description on Amazon).  They’ll want your headshot and short bio for the cover. You’ll need to tell them the dimensions of the book (the different possible dimensions are on CreateSpace or Lightning Source).   This is not as time-consuming nor as expensive as you think.

Choose a company to print the books.  You’ll likely want to go through either Amazon’s CreateSpace or Lightning Source.  Here is a post that can provide you with some additional information: Giacomo Giammatteo’s post, “Watchdog: Ingram Spark vs CreateSpace for Self-publishing Print Books” for the ALLI Self-publishing Advice blog.

Upload it to the service you’ve chosen.  They walk you through it on the printing site.  You proof it and then approve it and it goes up for sale.

If you’re published, are your books in print?  What made you decide to go that route? Are you glad you did?  Any questions from anyone who hasn’t yet published in print?

 

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