Publishing: The publishing process

In the second of our two part series on how to publish your own book, Mohammad Al-Ubaydli outlines the publishing process, including the all important ISBN, and describes how to start your own business

The system of international standard book numbers (ISBNs) has helped book buyers around the world to get hold of books from sellers and publishers.

ISBN

Getting an ISBN for your book takes a little effort and a little money, but most of all it takes a little time for all the paperwork to be processed. So it is one of those jobs that you should do as soon as you can. Start by visiting www.whitaker.co.uk/newpublishers.htm and register through their standard service. The £71 ($94; a87) fee gets you 10 ISBNs. You can then apply these to any 10 books that you publish. If you publish more, you can buy more numbers in blocks of 100 or more--depending on how ambitious you feel--but you cannot buy individual numbers. The only remaining cost is for posting the completed form for every book.

Judging a book by its cover

The cover of your book is important, and everyone from the bookstore manager to the reader will base a large part of their buying decision on how much they like the cover. So get a good cover. If you have artistically talented friends then ask for their help. Look at other books for inspiration on good cover design. And think seriously about getting a professional to design the cover (see www.elance.com).

Printing

A good printer is like a good plumber because the costs and results can vary considerably and so can the reliability of the person you are dealing with.

Finding a printer

A good starting point is the London Book Fair, where many printers display their goods. Alternatively, searching on the web or asking colleagues at universities should get you some telephone numbers. No matter how you find them, printers will always send you free sample copies to show the quality of their work. Take advantage of these and compare what is on offer. Expect to spend at least £1000.

Print runs

For your first book, short run printing is probably best. The printing costs quite a bit more for each copy, but you can print a small number. Traditional printers usually require that you print more than 1000 copies, and the total bill can make your venture a gamble. What would you do if you were left with 950 unsold copies?

Using the right jargon

Talking to a printer requires practice, and you may be taken advantage of if you seem naive to the business. So it is worth while getting a book that you like and talking about it to a printer that you do not like. Ask the printer how to make an exact copy of the book, and note down what words they use to describe it. This is the language you will need to regurgitate as you talk to the next printer.

Other prerequisites

There are three other things that you should make sure your printer is able to do. Firstly, they must accept electronic copies of the book. In other words, they must be able to work from a word processing file that you email them, rather than demanding that you print out the book and mail it. This is one of the key advantages of using a computer to write the book, and if your printer cannot continue the process then you should not trust their professionalism.

Secondly, make sure that they can generate and print the ISBN and bar code on to the back of your book cover. No bookseller will agree to stock your book otherwise, and few readers will take it seriously.

Finally, ask for the copies to be shrink wrapped. It will cost a little extra, but it adds professionalism to your efforts, and ensures the book arrives in good condition on your readers' desks. You are now ready to sell your book.

Putting the word about

Seeing your name in print is a wonderful feeling, and many authors consider this to be the well deserved end of their toils. To borrow the words of Winston Churchill, however, "This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning."

Printing costs money, but it is only a small part of a book's price. Rather the main costs are for marketing and distribution. Marketing is not just about advertising, it includes the larger task of making sure the right person knows that your product is right for them.

Good reviews

The first step is getting good reviews. This is tricky, but do not be too shy to approach the highest authority in your book's field. The worst they can do is say they are too busy, but most are surprisingly helpful. What you need is one good review from one good authority so that you can put it on the back of your cover. Be persistent.

Press releases

When your book is available for sale, and you have acquired good reviews, it is time for a press release. This is a concise detailed document that explains to a member of the press why their readers would be interested to know about your book, and how to contact you to get more information. A good place to learn more about writing press releases is www.press-release-writing.com

Handling the sales

I find this sequence of events extraordinary. I have never been to Pennsylvania, and a Pennsylvanian customer had never heard of me. Yet he read about my book's website, liked what he read, and clicked on a button. This transferred money from his US bank account to my UK bank account and sent me an email to alert me that I needed to keep my part of the bargain. I then sent the book to him across 4500 km of sea, and he seems to have greatly enjoyed reading it. Thousands of people around the world are benefiting from these systems of international trade. It all began with Paypal.

Jumping on the Hogwart's Express

Paypal

Paypal (www.paypal.com) started out as a small American company that let anyone transfer money to anyone else in the United States. In Europe we have been used to this kind of service for many years, but for Americans it was incredible that they were not being charged for it. But Paypal went on to do much more. The company allowed these transfers through the internet and mobile phones. It then expanded to allow transfers between an increasing number of countries, albeit with charges. And it allowed anyone to accept transfers from a credit card.

It does not cost any money to get an account through Paypal's website and only a little effort to integrate its buttons into your own website. Your website can then sell your goods, and the buttons can accept payments.

Postage

Three things are worth noting about postage. Firstly, writing "Printed papers" on the package qualifies you for reduced costs. This label is a great help for any publisher. Secondly, for overseas postage you often have to document the package's content and cost, in case the buyer has to pay customs tax. Make friends with the clerk at your post office and he or she will guide you through this process. Finally, postage will take up a lot of your time. Initially, making trips to the post office will be a pleasure because it is confirmation that someone somewhere wants your book enough to pay for it. But soon the trips become tiring, and you will wish for someone else to take on this role. This is the time to consider selling your book to another publisher.

Selling to another publisher

If your book becomes a success, a traditional publisher will become interested in buying it from you and will take on many of the tasks that you found tedious such as marketing and managing orders.

You also start from a position of power--the standard contract that publishers send you becomes a starting point for negotiations because you have already taken away the risk of publishing an unpopular book. Choose your publisher wisely because each has its own strengths and weaknesses, and you must make sure that these match your book's needs. A quick way to start this is to look at books that you like best in your field, and to note which publishers were responsible for them.

Is it all worth it?

So, you have written, printed, published, marketed, and sold your book. Are you now rich? Rarely. If you do your job well you should be able to get some money for your efforts. If money is your motivation then you can find faster and easier ways to make it. But money that you earn through your enterprise and innovation is somehow different.