Since 2007, when I ventured warily into the minefield of self-publishing, people have frequently asked me for advice on how to self-publish their own work, and, more importantly, how to sell it. I have to say that I've found the answers to both questions with the Melbourne company, BookPOD, run by Michael and Sylvie Blair.
BookPOD offers a wonderful service, helping their stable of authors to get their precious work into print and then to retail it online through their Bookstore.
When setting up a book, most people probably prefer to use desk-top publishing software such as In Design, but because I've developed fairly advanced skills with Word over the years, I prepare the contents and layout of the entire book in Word, including endnotes and index. Although I haven't yet used a professional editor, as the book progresses towards finality I obtain editing advice of sorts by seeking feedback from a panel of informed readers.
When I'm satisfied with the manuscript's contents and layout (and that process can take years), I save the entire document as a PDF file and hand over the project to Sylvie, along with my general ideas for the cover. Knowing the exact page count, and therefore the thickness of the book, Sylvie can quickly design that all-important cover using a relevant software programme.
Once we've checked that my PDF file for the book itself has uploaded correctly to the BookPOD computer, and I'm happy with everything, BookPOD sends the book and cover files for printing. Within days of my approval of the printer 'proofs', boxes of books are delivered to my house. BookPOD retains some for online sales through their bookshop, and I top up their supply from my stocks as required.
Book sales are more effective using a two-stage process - an author's shop-front website plus a link to the BookPOD Bookstore. The example indicates what happens when a would-be purchaser of my book Robert Forrester, First Fleeter clicks on my website's link to BookPOD. It’s as good as having my own ‘Shopping Cart’.
BookPOD retains a 25% sales commission, meaning that authors retain 75% of the returns from their book - vastly better than the royalties available from commercial publishing houses. I can sell online through my website, by including a link to the BookPOD bookshop, but I don't need the expense of a 'Shopping Cart' and the associated fees charged by PayPal and the like. BookPOD pays these fees, spreading them across their book sales for a wide range of authors. All sales are reported monthly via email from BookPOD, with funds paid directly to the author's nominated bank account.
The entire process couldn't be easier. I'm able to retain control of all online book sales, meaning that I don't see my books sold off for next-to-nothing in stock-clearances. (Commercial publishers organise a short burst of publicity for any one title, and retailers quickly have to make space for the next offering, but books like mine have a 'long tail', to use marketing jargon, selling slowly but surely over a period of years.) What's more, since I know that my family history books cater to Australian readers and do not have mass appeal in a global market-place, my hard work is not devalued by the need to comply with a global giant's retail pricing policy, set at a level below my cost of production.
Other writers need a more comprehensive service than my simple approach describes. BookPOD's website publicises its full range of publishing services and BookPOD will quote for each aspect of any publishing task, including e-books. Sylvie is a whizz with e-books and has helped more than one mainstream publishing house embrace the digital age.
Writers from around Australia are finding their way to BookPOD's door.
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