Backing yourself? You are publishing.

Taking responsibility for your book starts with investments beyond time.

You’ve decided to back yourself. Whatever you can call upon to smooth your path is what you must examine. Some people might call it investing, but I like the phrase backing yourself.

Photo by Konstantin Evdokimov on Unsplash

So, what can you call on? If it’s only your time and talent and nothing else, then you’re self-publishing. You might tap fellow authors who are going to write your promotion copy for you, trading you promotions work among a group of authors.

You could use AI to create sales copy. People do. Publishers do. Traditional publishers use AI to create sales copy. It’s nonfiction writing, in a sense, although it can only give you a spin you may not be able to cook up yourself. Somebody in the group’s got to decide if the AI copy is good enough. Someone’s going to be prompting one of those AI engines.

You’re also going to be learning about how to use ISBNs. Also, how to create barcodes for the backs of your books whenever you need barcodes. You don’t need to put a barcode on a book cover that’s never gonna get into a store. So if you’re creating an Amazon book, and that Amazon book is never going to get into a store, you don’t need a barcode.

Going bespoke for flexibility

If you have a modest budget, you’re probably a good fit for bespoke publishing. You’ll get covers, and designs and editing inside of a bespoke arrangement. You’ll get sales posting services, onboarding for sales so people can actually buy the book online. You’ll get printing and e-book management, so your manuscript turns into a book. You get sales writing for online outlets, because all of these outlets demand that you describe your book, and sometimes within a very particular word count, or even character count. One advantage the bespoke arrangement will get you is flexible payment schedules. It’s not a package arrangement, all paid up front.

For example, in order to list anything in IngramSpark for print on demand sales to websites and stores, the description’s gotta fit within 4,000 characters. While that sounds like it might be a great deal, you’d be surprised how fast you run out of that.

Also, bespoke publishing looks for media opportunities for you, can prepare you so that you’re ready for a podcast. It can research to find out which ones might want to talk to you.

Being hefty enough for hybrid

You’ve got a hefty budget? You’re a hybrid press kind of author. You’ll get what you need to produce that book, and it will be shaped by the processes that the hybrid press uses. So, “We do it this way, and this way, and this way.” Flexibility is not nearly as great with a hybrid press solution. But they do a lot of books.

That’s one thing to consider when you’re deciding whether you want to engage with the hybrid press. How many books do they do a year? Because if you sign up with a press and they do 300 books a year, it’s a pretty good bet there won’t be a lot of specific attention paid to the book after it’s produced and put up for sale.

You do get proven people, but not a lot of customization. Once in awhile, a hybrid press can offer you distribution to get you into bookstores. Distribution is the nirvana of bookstore-bound publishing. You only can get it once you have a marketing track record and a plan for marketing a book.

Next time out, we’ll have a look at what distribution amounts to. Publishers crave it, and they see how much it can cost versus its returns.

Ron Seybold is director of Austin’s Writer’s Workshop, editing and coaching authors to sparkling books. Our bespoke publishing strategies help every author, too. Get your book a personal edit with professional results. Our Trampoline Press is new. Springboard your book to life. Give it the success it deserves.