Does Anyone Still Self Publish Physical Books Anymore?

Amazon all the way. They print on demand, no money upfront really. I love it.

I do, and even have my own fulfillment division.... just for
my titles.

My best advice is to shop around. I've have printers
quote me prices 10 times higher than I ended up getting
the same job done for. I guess they count on most
prospects NOT shopping around.

Willie

I am thinking of trying Amazon as I have just finished a book I wrote for myself instead of for a client. I have had a few sales just through contact so I want to see how well I can do on Amazon. Also I am told I should put it on Kindle.

Create-Space (owned by Amazon) generally has a lot of very good publicity.

At the moment "Lulu" seems to have exactly the opposite, in writing forums, with countless authors complaining about almost every aspect of their service.

I do. There is still a market for both. It also really depends on the book and market as well. Some books, (technical manuals, or detailed "How-To" books, for instance) lend themselves more to being paperbacks. People want a copy they can bring to the shop with them, or places carrying a laptop isn't an option. Or they want a physical book for their library. If your market is older, they (a lot of them, not all) really don't seem to "trust' eBooks yet.

Paperbacks are also a lot more work. It's a lot harder to do a "write and fly" with a paperback, the lack of professionalism shows immediately. (example: Table of Contents, index, bibliography...things you usually don't produce with an eBook) ) It needs to be correctly edited and formatted. It helps to have professional software. (= $) They are more expensive to produce if you don't have these skills yourself and have to outsource them. It also takes longer to get through the "proof" process. You need to have a "real" book cover designed. You need to have a "real" copyright. (or at least you should)

I agree with Alexa, createspace, while pickier than Lulu, is a much better option, as well as marketplace. Price-wise as well as quality of service. I started off with Lulu and basically outgrew them. I'm currently in process of switching all my books (4 books total) over to createspace.

There is another thread started the same day as yours that has information for you.

http://www.warriorforum.com/main-int...-my-ebook.html

:-Don

It isn't about costs, it is about being in all the formats your customers expect. If your target community still buys physical books, you need a physical version as well.

The more formats, the more customers you can make happy.

Yeah, another recommendation here for Amazon. I've printed a few books in the past with them and it's been a great experience. On-demand publishing is only going to get bigger in my view.

No one that I know of, there may be a few sites like Amazon who might be able to help you out with that.

I'll like to have physical book just for the credibility of it, not considering making millions from it. It is a way of becoming an instant expert in your niche, and I love writing :-)

I love hardcopy book, and you barely see 30-40 pages book in bookstore..

I put all of my books up for the Kindle and use CreateSpace to put them up as a physical book.

CreateSpace only costs $5 per book, because you will have have to pay for a copy to look over before it is up to be published.

I have heard they are also one of the cheapest print on demand services out there.

I printed my own back in the 90s with my Internet Recruiting Edge series and my Real Estate Pro's Internet Edge (custom binders, the whole 9 yards).

However, nowadays I simply stay for the electronic delivery - works much better for me. You can't click in a physical book.

There are still physically published magazines and the volume of readers is far larger than those who could still read thesame online. Though that of physical books may be lower, there are still some best sellers making waves.

I'm in the physical market - but not selling books. I have expensive courses worth +$500 which I ship out a few professional DVDs. Here's the company I use: Kunaki -- CD/DVD manufacturing and publishing service

It costs about $5 per CD/DVD you ship out (don't be mislead by the $1 pricing; it also costs $4 for shipping...). It's very easy to use and the templates are given so you can create your own custom artwork. My customers are very happy receiving an actual DVD and feel special which makes both myself and them happy .

Yes there are a lot of us publishing physical books.

The important question to ask from the very begining is:
Do you want to publish a physical book for credibility or because you want to earn real money from it?
The reason I am asking is because the answear would determine how to go about making it happen.

Reouces needed:
- Content
- Book cover
- formatted book template

Some people will tell you that you need to buy expensive softwares! It is not necessarily true...
All you will need in the begining is go to one of this outsourcing sites and post a job for a physical book cover (provide them with the required size and so on) and make sure you are then supplied with the PSD (for future publications).
Then publish another job for a formatted physical book template. Give them the size too (can be used again and again).
As for the content you can do the same. Just copy the content and past in the formatted book template, align it properly to look professional.

Open an account at createspace, follow their instructions and you'll be up and running...

The promotion requires a little bit of know how! I'm not going to give too much away here but I'll just give you a head start. Make sure you create a website for exclusive promotion of your physical book. It has to have a link to your book being published in Amazon. Last but not the least, drive traffic to it.

Go for it and good luck.

Note: I had my templates done for a fiverr - got the hint?

I have seen recent WSOs tha explain that topic.
And i believe there is a big opportunity in that market, specially Amazon like some warriors say.

I use Lulu.com, check my signature to see the cool bookstore they have done for my books. Lulu also sells my books via Amazon, google books and other online stores

Yes, yes, yes! I published my first book Boost Business Online: How to Attract More Clients by Leveraging the Power of E-mail and the Internet last year using a hybrid publishing solution: I published as an imprint of a larger, established publishing house (Wyatt-Mackenzie). I paid all the costs and had full creative control. However, I don't look self-published as I'm part of an established publishing house with over 120 titles.

I was extremely fortunate to have the advice and guidance of Nancy (CEO of Wyatt-MacKenzie) AND Sheri McConnell, founder and CEO of the National Association of Women Writers (now the Smart Women's Institute).

The business world has changed so much and so has book publishing. Authors rarely make good money directly from a book, but one of biggest benefits of having a published book is their business-building value: they're a great promotional tool for your business. The biggest benefit is probably the celebrity factor of being a published author of a "real" book. Despite all of the benefits of technology, the general public still gives a lot more credence to people with a "real" (i.e. paper and ink) book vs. an e-book.

Having a paper-and-ink book also gives you a foot in the door for publicity with major media and speaking engagements. You can't pile a stack of e-books in the back of the room or on the podium, or hold it up on TV.

Yes!

Part of the publishing package with Wyatt-MacKenzie included my own account with Lightning Source. So I didn't have to buy an entire block of ISBNs or anything else. Lightning Source has been great to work with and their printing has been top-notch. I love the print-on-demand capability!

There are a lot of reasons to write and publish your own book, but THIS is at the top of the list, especially if you are using to help build a business.

For a lot of reasons, I didn't want to publish with a "vanity" publisher (i.e. Lulu, Morgan James, etc.). In publishing, vanity publishers generally have a bad rep (at least in the past). Amazon's Create Space screams "self-published" too and while it can be a good option, I'd also heard some bad things.

Because the purpose of my book was to establish my authority and credibility in the marketplace and to help build a business, it was critical to me that my book be a "real" book in every way. Hence, I 1) avoided all "vanity" publishers and went with the hybrid option, 2) paid to have the entire book professionally edited, 3) had the cover professionally designed, including the interior layout, etc.

I avoided ANYTHING that screamed "self-published", including getting a Lightning Source account and having the ISBN and copyright in MY name. (I read somewhere that if you publish through Create Space, the copyright is in their name. I'm not sure how accurate that is, but that was NOT acceptable to me.) An LS account means it's available "to the trade", not just on Amazon. Any bookstore or book wholesaler has it in their system and can offer it, even if it's not in stock. And of course, it's available on Amazon.

Create Space or Lulu may be just fine, depending on your needs and purpose for the book. But for me, I needed a "real" book. It was my first book and meant to help establish my credibility and build my business. Professionalism and credibility was everything to me.

In spite of our electronic age, a lot of people feel the some way. People still value physical books. There's something magical and special about a book you can actually touch and hold in your hand.

To anyone considering publishing a physical book:

Having a published book is an incredible experience. Just be VERY clear about your goals and expectations with it. Generally, too many starry-eyed, first-time authors self-publish their book with the expectation that it will be a best-seller and are disappointed when it's not.

Or they didn't do their homework and go with a publisher/printer who delivers less than promised or shoddy work. (I'd heard horror stories of authors who poured a ton of money into publishing their book and got poorly designed and printed books for their money. I DIDN'T want the same experience!)

Clarify your goals and expectations, do your research and be willing to pay for what you want. (Before you begin though, have at least a basic marketing plan mapped out. Authors MUST promote their own books, even if they're traditionally published.) Like most things, there's always more than one way to do it. My publisher did the cover design, layout, ISBN, copyright, LS account setup, etc. My only job was to write, help edit (with the professional editor I hired), and project manage. So the publishing was very hands-off. You can always go a cheaper route and do more of the work yourself, if you choose.

With my first book, I don't expect or intend that it should be a bestseller. (Like everything else, the first time is always a learning curve.) My goal was the credibility and business-building capabilities of that book. Even if it never sold one copy, I've still reached my goal.

Well it HAS sold more than 1 copy. And I'm HUGELY pleased with the final result. I poured my heart into the content, edited it to within an inch of it's life, and had it professionally designed. It looks GORGEOUS and I'm so proud of it!

Hope that helps!

Michelle