An Introduction to Self-Publishing
in Australia

by
Pauline Montagna
Founder and Proprietor of
First Edition Book Sales

 

Introduction

Many people still identify self-publishing with vanity publishing. They see it as a self-indulgence for writers with more money than talent. To many, especially to the insiders in the publishing and literature industries, any self-published book is automatically prejudged as sub-standard. But these same people will admit that getting published in Australia’s tight publishing industry is becoming more and more difficult, and that many worthy manuscripts will never feel the touch of a printer’s press. Push them further and they will admit that many of their idols, authors such as Patrick White, Virginia Woolf and James Joyce, began their literary careers by self-publishing.

So, even though it is haunted by the stigma of vanity publishing, self-publishing also has a proud tradition of giving an opportunity to writers with conviction and faith in their own work to defy the indifference or hostility of the publishing establishment and go it alone. And with today’s modern technologies, self-publishing has never been a more viable option.

However, as self-publishers, we owe ourselves and our fellows one important duty – to ensure that our self-published book is of the highest standard. Only then can we prove to the literary snobs how wrong they are!

What follows is the sum total of the experience I have gained from publishing my own books and vetting the self-published books submitted to me for the First Edition catalogue. It also draws on the accumulated experience of the First Edition family of authors. If it raises any questions, please feel free to email me with them on info@firsteditionbooks.com.au.

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Useful Resources

The best sources of advice and information for writers and self-publishers are writers' associations. Each state has its own writers’ centre as well as other, independent writers’ centres. You will find branches of the Fellowship of Australian Writers all over the country. You might also join the Australian Society of Authors which can provide invaluable legal advice in relation to publishers’ contracts.

The following are a few essential publications you might refer to:

You can draw on the experience of First Edition authors in the following publications:

I have also attached a few shorter pieces by First Edition authors:



Our online magazine, Special Edition, will also be publishing articles on writing and publishing in the Masterclass section.

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Why Self-Publish

As writers we might turn to self-publishing for a variety of reasons. I would categorise them as follows:

In all these cases the book you wish to produce is not for the general public. You would only want to produce a limited number. But you want the book to be something special, a thing of beauty to be kept and treasured. Short run digital publishing would be ideal for your project and you have the luxury of not having to worry about sales and promotion.

However, this might not be the end of the line for your book. One of Australia’s favourite books began as just such a personal project. Bert Facey’s grandchildren begged him to write down the stories about his life he had been telling them for years. He wrote them by hand in school exercise books. His grandchildren took them to Fremantle Arts Centre Press and asked them to produce thirty copies. But the publishers there recognised the importance of Bert’s stories and they became A Fortunate Life.

You love to write, but you know that you’ll never be a best-seller and live off your writing. But you believe your book is important to yourself and others and you need to see your work in print. You might never make any money from your book, but you will be able to sell a few copies and see your dream realised.

As noted in the introduction, some of our most successful authors, both literary and popular, began their careers by self-publishing – Margaret Atwood, Tom Clancy, Zane Grey, Thomas Hardy, James Joyce, Matthew Reilly, Patrick White and Virginia Woolf.

If you are willing to work hard, and to play the game, self-publishing is one way to start off your writing career. If your book sells well, or is noticed by a discerning editor, there is a chance, albeit slim, that your book might be picked up by a mainstream publisher.

Matthew Reilly is a case in point. At nineteen he wrote and self-published his first thriller, designing it to look like a bestselling paperback, and ensured it would be prominently displayed in bookshops. His book was picked up by Pan Macmillan’s talent-scout and he is now one of Australia’s most successful writers.

Authors who decide to self-publish as a commercial venture are the most courageous of all, as they have taken the most difficult and riskiest option. To succeed in such a venture you will have to produce a book that is indistinguishable from a mainstream published book and get it printed in large numbers. This will necessitate a great deal of professional input and expense.

But you cannot rely entirely on others. You will not only have to foot all of the bill, you will also need to do 90% of the work, especially in the way of marketing and promotion. If you want to succeed you will not only have to risk everything, but put everything of yourself into it.

But success is possible, especially if you have the right product. John Silvester and Andrew Rule started out 20 years ago, editing and publishing the Chopper books, then decided to publish their own journalism as the Underbelly series. They have sold 1.2 million books to date, and claim they are ‘the most shoplifted books in the country.’

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A Question of Finance

Why do we start here? Basically, because there is an important point to be made: Don’t expect to make any money out of self-publishing. Even if you’re embarking on it as a commercial venture, you must be prepared to barely recoup your expenses, much less make a profit.

I have given a couple of examples of success stories in self-publishing, but these are exceptions to the rule. I don’t want to dash your hopes, but I must warn you to keep this in mind as you proceed.

Before you begin, think about how much money you can lay out and how much you are prepared to risk. Even a small venture can cost between $1,500 and $2,000. If you are embarking on a commercial venture, be prepared to spend a minimum of $20,000 on the printing alone and much more on marketing and promotion. With little hope of any returns, I would not recommend that you go into debt to self-publish.

Do your homework for every step of the process. Always investigate different options and processes. Always get multiple quotes. And constantly ensure you are keeping within your budget, getting value for money and getting what you’ve paid for.

Service providers in the self-publishing industry know that in this tight publishing market, writers can be desperate to get into print. Some are known to take advantage of this. They may flatter you, or even pressure you to sign contracts for exorbitant fees. Don’t allow your artistic ambitions to make you vulnerable to exploitation.

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Joining the IT Crowd

A basic knowledge of computing and access to a computer and the internet are vital to a self-publisher, even for the basic writing process. You may do your best creative work with a fountain pen, but your final manuscript will have to be word-processed.

Word-processing has made the writer’s work so much easier and faster. No longer do we have to re-write each new draft from scratch. Errors can be fixed and changes made quickly and easily. And with modern digital printing processes, our work does not have to be typeset. Our original manuscript can go directly to press. However, computers bring with them their own challenges and protocols.

Most importantly, make sure you always back up your work, i.e. copy your files to an external recording device – disk, USB or external hard drive – as often as possible. To feel extra secure, store copies of your manuscript away from your home in case of fire. Make sure, too, that you keep earlier versions of your work so that you can revert to them if you find you’ve gone up a blind alley. You can do this easily by clicking on ‘save as’ and saving the file under a new name eg mymasterpiece3. Organise files into folders to make them easier to find.

As we no longer need to rewrite each draft from scratch, each new draft tends to be an amended version of an earlier draft. Unfortunately, this can bring its own problems. Errors made in the earlier drafts might be carried forward. You might make changes in the new version and inadvertently leave behind parts of the older version. You might decide to revert to an older version of a section of the manuscript and forget that you’ve made changes, in a character’s name for example. So we have to be vigilant when writing and, in a sense, treat each draft as though it is a final draft.

The internet can also be a highly useful research tool for your writing. You can find instant answers to questions like:

But more to the point for our purposes, the internet is a crucial tool in finding and accessing self-publishing services. In fact, some of the services you might use can only be accessed online.

If you expect to be doing most of the work of designing and typesetting your book, and setting up your website, you should consider acquiring and learning to use industry standard software. The Adobe Creative Suite contains InDesign for desktop publishing (DTP), Photoshop for creating illustrations and Dreamweaver for designing and setting up a website. Most importantly, it contains Adobe Acrobat which creates PDFs – Portable Document Format – which is the format in which printers require your files.

These programs take some skill to use so it is worthwhile enrolling in a TAFE course to learn the basics. There is also another good reason for taking a course. The Adobe Suite can be expensive, but you can save hundreds of dollars if you have a student card and can buy the student version.

If you don’t want to go to this kind of effort and expense, Microsoft Publisher is an easy to use desktop publishing program and for versions from 2007 onwards there is now also a downloadable plug-in for creating PDFs. There are also a few stand-alone PDF converters available.

However, even if you do intend to hire professionals to do all the work, I would still encourage you to take a few courses to learn the basics of DTP. Having a basic knowledge of the process will help when working with professionals.

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Self-publishing Options

While the mainstream publishing industry in Australia is shrinking, the self-publishing industry keeps growing, and a self-publisher has a wide range of services and providers to choose from. So, even before you begin you need to research both the processes and the providers to decide which will offer you the best service and the best value for money. Compare the different processes, as well as comparing providers of the same service. Ask around and find other self-publishers and get feedback on their experience.

Basically there are four options in self-publishing:

There are many partnership publishers in Australia. They will publish your manuscript at your expense and then pay you a share of the income from selling your books. You can also buy copies of your book from them at a discounted rate so you can make personal sales. These publishing services offer most or even all of the services in the publishing process – from editing, through design and typesetting, to promotion, sales and distribution. However, their standards vary, and they must all be approached with caution. Before signing any contracts, ensure you have done your research. Don’t let them flatter you, or pressure you, into signing up with them.

Compare the various partnership publishers – what do they offer and what do they cost? If possible speak to other authors who have used their service. Did the publishers deliver the services they promised? Did their services reach the standard they promised? Have a good look at the books they produce. Look at the quality not only of presentation, but also of the content, editing and proof-reading.

Make sure you are clear on what the contract entails. What services are to be offered and at what cost? What are the arrangements and costs for you to acquire copies of your book to make personal sales? What are the costs of reprints? What can they actually offer in the way of sales and distribution? How much will you have to pay for the printing of promotional materials?

Essentially these publishers derive their income from the sale of their services to the author. Any income they make from the sale of the books is incidental. It is in their interest to persuade you to purchase as many services as possible, but to spend as little money on those services as they can get away with.

They are unlikely to pay an editor the thousands of dollars it might take to bring an unfinished manuscript up to publication standard, so ensure that your manuscript is edited to the highest standard you can manage before you hand it over. Keep in constant contact with them to ensure they are providing all the promotional support they contracted for. Be prepared to do most of the sales, marketing and promotion yourself.

Print on Demand publishers can print a single book at a time on demand. The range of services they offer varies from the minimal to the whole range of services offered by Partnership Publishers.

Some Australian partnership publishers offer POD printing rather than a defined print run. As POD printing is more expensive than a print run their final product is more expensive, not only for the public but for the author, leaving you with little profit, if not a loss, when making personal sales.

With some POD publishers, your only contact may be through a website. Basically they provide a do-it-yourself publishing platform. You will be required to upload a completed manuscript to the website and set up and design your own cover. Your book will then be placed in their online catalogue for sale. Individual copies will be printed as they are ordered. Your book can also be made available as a PDF download. Some of these also offer a few additional services for a fee such as providing an ISBN and listing your book with the major online bookshops such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble.

The major advantage of these basic services is that many of them are free to join. They only receive payment when your book is ordered at which point they retain their share of the purchase price and pay you yours.

Other e-publishers provide the full range of services and should be approached with the same caution as partnership publishers.

The main disadvantage of these publishers from the Australian point of view is that most of them are based in the USA. Any contact you would have with them would be online. The POD books they produce are more expensive to begin with, and become more so with postage costs. However, some US providers do have printers in Australia, and a few Australian based POD publishers are beginning to come onto the market.

Their great advantage is their access to the major international online book sellers. You might consider using them to extend your reach overseas by uploading the book you’ve published in Australia. However, even if you pay the extra fee to be listed by the likes of Amazon, without promotion your book will not sell in the USA or elsewhere.

Being an independent self-publisher is like being an owner-builder of your house. You will need to be very clear about what you want, take a great deal of care in engaging and supervising your subcontractors and be prepared to do as much of the work as you can yourself. And like the owner-builder, the more you know about the process, the more control you keep, the more cost-effective your project will be and the better the final result.

Like an owner-builder, you should research all your options and get multiple quotes. The provider you engage might not always be the cheapest, but the one that provides the best service and that you feel most comfortable with. Only go with providers that treat you with respect and demonstrate that they are more interested in offering a good service than in getting your money. A good relationship with a provider that is more expensive in the short term may save you money in the long term.

And finally, be prepared to do as much of the work yourself as you can. You might engage professionals, but the closer your manuscript is to a finished product, the less they will have to do and the less it will cost you.

Independent self-publishing is the most demanding, but also the most satisfying option. However, I would recommend that you only take this option if you are confident that you have a good working knowledge of the publishing process. If you do not, take every opportunity to learn more before embarking on your project.

Your state writers’ centre will hold seminars and short courses on various aspects of the publishing industry and self-publishing. The Professional Writing and Editing course available through TAFE provides good grounding in the publishing industry in general. In particular, the Small Press Publishing module is most useful. Universities also offer post-graduate courses in publishing and editing.

eBook publishing is very much the format of the future. For the self-publisher it also offers many opportunities. In fact, it would be well worthwhile to publish in ebook format first as a way of testing the market for your book. It is much cheaper than publishing in print, and ebooks can be distributed all over the world at little or no cost. A reference can be included in the ebook format advertising the availability of the print version.

However, as this is a complex subject in its own right, please see Self-publishing an eBook for a comprehensive overview of the technical aspects of ebook publishing.

 

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Writing your Manuscript

You may think that writing ‘comes naturally’ but like all skills it must be learnt. I would urge anyone with ambitions to write to do a writing course. Obviously you need the raw talent to begin with, but in a writing course not only do you get an opportunity to ply your craft, you can also learn about different techniques, genres and formats, practise working to a deadline, and get used to giving and receiving constructive critical analysis. By doing a writing course you can develop self-discipline, a vital skill in such a lonely profession, as well as self-knowledge of your writing style and about what genre best suits you.

There are a range of writing classes and courses available. Your state writing centre offers short courses and seminars, as do adult education institutions. As mentioned earlier, the Professional Writing and Editing course available through TAFE provides a good grounding not only in the publishing industry but also in writing and editing skills. For the more academically minded Creative Writing and Journalism courses are offered by most universities at both under-graduate and post-graduate level.

And before you protest, never think you’re too old to learn or go back to school. Maturity and real life experience are powerful assets for a student, especially a writing student. Just think about how much more you’ve got to write about than a youngster straight out of school!

There is an old saying in the literary field: You don’t finish a novel. You just stop working on it. The other is: Be prepared to kill your babies.

In other words, don’t expect to finish your book quickly or in one draft. Nobody does. Think of your first draft as a vehicle for getting your ideas down onto paper. You will need to write several drafts before you get close to a satisfactory final version. And during that process you might find that you have to cut out some of your favourite bits.

Writers work in different ways. Some might sit down and write the whole first draft in one hit, creating it as they go, unsure of where it might lead them. They might then go back and write further drafts in the same way, rewriting the whole book every time.  Others might carefully plan the whole book, then write and rewrite each section until they feel they’ve got it right before moving on, modifying the plot and characters as they go.

Whichever way you work, an important aspect of the redrafting process is getting feedback and applying that feedback to your next draft.

Writing is a lonely business, but writing in a vacuum can be dangerous. We tend to regard what we write with a parent’s unconditional and uncritical love. However, if we want our work to be read and enjoyed by others we need to expose it to other people’s judgement to find out if we are succeeding, or how to improve if we are not.

Published writers have the support of an editor to act as a sounding-board, advise solutions to their problems and set deadlines. As an unpublished or self-published author, you will need to create your own support network. If you can, join or even form, a writers’ group of like minded people, fellow writers who understand the challenges, who can suggest solutions and who know how to give constructive critical feedback. A writing group will also give you an incentive to write when your enthusiasm falters, as it undoubtedly will, and the opportunity to continuously improve your skills.

Writing groups often come out of writing classes. You might also find a suitable group through your state writers’ centre or the Fellowship of Australian Writers. There might be a writing group meeting in your local community centre or library.

Getting feedback from your non-writer friends can be helpful, but always remember, they are your friends first, and your critics second. They will most likely praise your book simply because they like you and therefore like what you have written, or because they don’t want to offend you by being critical. Not being in the profession, they might not see the obvious mistakes that another writer or editor might see. The book they praise so much may be merely a good first draft. If you do ask your friends for feedback, make it plain to them that by pointing out the problems in your manuscript at this stage, they might be saving you a great deal of heartbreak in the future.

If you are pursuing the hope of being published by a mainstream publisher, you will have been advised to submit your manuscript to a professional Manuscript Assessment Service. As you may have learnt, publishers no longer accept unsolicited manuscripts as they once did. The vetting service they once provided has been outsourced to literary agents, who have outsourced the reading of manuscripts to these services who will read a manuscript at your (considerable) expense and provide a reader’s report.

As with all other commercial providers, the standards and specialities of these services vary. Some writers have found their reports very useful, while others have found them a waste of time and money. As they are dependent on the writer’s fee, some services may overpraise. Other writers have found that the assessor has no real knowledge of their genre, or little respect for it. As manuscript assessors tend to be anonymous, it is usually impossible to discuss their report with them. Again, you should approach them with caution, ask questions about their experience in your particular genre, and get the opinions of other writers who have used them.

However you get feedback, don’t take negative feedback too much to heart. Always be aware of who is giving the feedback and their own personal agendas. There are a lot of inflated egos, bitter failures and closed cliques in the literary field. However, if the negative feedback is well-founded use it as an opportunity to reflect on your practice and improve your writing. Whatever the feedback, be prepared to rewrite, rewrite, rewrite.

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Preparing your Manuscript

It is absolutely essential that your manuscript is well edited and proofread. The last thing you want is your reader’s attention being distracted from the content by bad grammar, awkward sentences or wrongly placed words. As mentioned earlier, even if your publishing service claims they will edit your manuscript, for your own sake, make sure it is well-edited before handing it over to them.

There are basically three levels of editing:

Structural editing looks at the book as a whole, at how it is structured. How does the book unfold? Is your argument or premise plausible? Does the book make sense? Is it logical? Are the characters believable and consistent? Are there any major factual errors? Does the writing style complement the content? Have you brought it to a satisfying conclusion?

These are the kinds of questions that might be tackled piecemeal by your writing group. However, once your first draft is finished, you should submit it in full for a structural edit to ensure any major flaws are not carried into further drafts. Your first recourse might be one or two members of your writing group, or a few discerning friends. If you can afford to, you might brief an editor. A manuscript assessor’s report would be useful at this point (but make sure you brief the assessor that it is only a first draft.)

After a thorough structural edit, you will probably need to rewrite your manuscript and produce another draft.

Line or copy editing examines the book in detail, line by line. It is at this point that we remedy problems with sentence structure, grammar, word usage and incidental facts. This is best done when the manuscript is approaching its final stage, as so much will be changed during the writing process. However, to make sure as little of this needs to be done as possible (remember, if you’re paying an editor to do this you’ll be paying by the hour!) you should be aware of these issues as you are writing.

Take note of such edits you get in the feedback you receive along the way and learn from them. Try to be consistent with your grammar, word usage, punctuation and spelling as you go. A line editor will work with a style sheet on which she notes, for example, which variation of a word is used, how numbers are expressed, the correct spelling of characters’ names, preferred punctuation etc. It might be useful to set up a style sheet for yourself to ensure consistency. And use reference books or the internet to check incidental facts such as dates, distances, spelling of place names etc.

A whole cohort of Australian students learnt no formal grammar at school. If you are not confident of your grasp of grammar, get yourself a good grammar book and read up on the rules. (You’ll be surprised how much you already know.) Be careful not to fall into the trap of using bad grammar because you’ve seen or heard it used elsewhere, or because you think it sounds sophisticated. Unfortunately, English grammar is being sorely abused today. Apostrophes are going missing and popping up where they aren’t wanted, the passive voice has been exiled through no fault of its own, the verb ‘to be’ has almost been exterminated, while participle phrases are dangling unsupported wherever you look.

Get a good dictionary and a thesaurus. The Macquarie Dictionary and Thesaurus are essential for Australian English. You may also want to refer to an Oxford or Collins dictionary if you are writing on historical subjects as well as a Roget’s Thesaurus. Reference books such as The Penguin Working Words and The Cambridge Australian English Style Guide are also useful, as is Fowler’s Modern English Usage. If you are going to be using a lot of words from a foreign language in your text make sure you have a good bilingual dictionary in that language as well.

Be careful not to rely on your spell check too much. The major problem with the spell check is that if a word exists, even if you are using it wrongly, it will not pick it up as an error. Keep the automatic corrections to words that won’t be confused, and ensure you are using the Australian or British English language setting, unless you are writing specifically for the American market.

At the same time, use the spell check to help you maintain consistency. If you are using lots of foreign or invented words or names, add them to your dictionary so that you’ll be alerted if you spell them differently.

Originally, proofreading was done to ensure that the printed copy was the same as the manuscript copy and consisted of comparing the two. With the introduction of the PDF, which allows the original manuscript file to go directly to print, proofreading has become a different task. It is now done to ensure that the final copy is consistent with the writer’s intentions and common usage in spelling, grammar and punctuation, and it must be done as the last step before the file goes to print. Although word-processing has eliminated many of the errors proofreading used to remedy, it has introduced a few problems of its own.

As mentioned earlier, the spell check cannot be relied on. We must check for small errors which are often hard to see eg to for too, fro for for, form for from. Another problem with word processing is that we often make changes but leave a part of the previous version behind, ending up with a mangled sentence. Universal changes can also introduce unintended errors if not done correctly. I once had a character called Don and decided to change his name to Rod. I ended up with lots of occurrences of ‘rod’t’. We now have the facility for scanning text. However, scanners often misread, so any scanned text should be carefully proofread.

Take care with character and place names. If the character’s name has more than one acceptable spelling eg Sara and Sarah, make sure that only one is used consistently. If you’ve changed a character’s name, make sure no occurrences of the old name have snuck back in. Check captions and the spelling within maps and illustrations.

We’ll do much of our proofreading off the screen as we write. However, the human brain has a tendency to read what it expects to read. So it is absolutely essential that you always do your final proofread from a printed version, and where possible recruit someone else to check it a second time and even a third time. If you can afford it, a professional proof-reader would be your best option.

And make sure you receive a printer’s proof of your book and check it thoroughly. If you did your own typesetting it will be your last chance to find your mistakes. If you outsourced it, remember that these days typesetting is done by young graphic designers who have not been trained to spell and might think they’re doing you a favour by changing your ‘Foreword’ to ‘Forward’.

With the downsizing of the publishing industry, most editors are working freelance, so we shouldn’t find it too difficult to employ one. A good place to start looking is the Australian Society of Editors. They can advise you on finding an editor and how much it will cost you. Get to know the editor before engaging her and make sure that she has experience in your genre, and, perhaps more importantly, that you communicate well and she understands what you are trying to achieve.

Make sure you brief your editor fully as to what kind of edit you expect. You don’t want to be paying an hourly rate for her to fix your hyphenation when you need to know if your plot is working.

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Creating your Book

Your first decision when designing your book is what page size or format you will be using. This decision will, of course, be fundamental when typesetting your book and designing the cover. 

There are several sizing systems and several sizes in each system. You should begin by looking at other books like your own to get an idea of the most commonly used formats in your genre. You should then consider what options your printer or publishing service offers. Some printing processes are limited in the range of formats they offer. Australian formats which use metric measurement are different to the American formats measured in inches which are offered by e-publishers. Offset printing can usually offer a wider variety of formats than digital printing. Some formats may be cheaper than others because there is less wastage of paper when the book is trimmed.

Once you have chosen a format, you can begin planning the design and layout of your page. The design should complement the contents of the book. Fiction requires a simple design while non-fiction can be quite elaborate with a hierarchy of headings, photographs and illustrations. If you intend to do most of the typesetting yourself, it would be best to keep the design simple. If you are using colour, make sure you discuss this with your printer or publishing service to ensure it does not cause you excessive extra expense.

Again, begin by looking at other books in the same genre as yours and take note of the design decisions made. With fiction your main consideration will be how to begin new stories or chapters, whether to give chapters numbers or titles, which font and size to use for the chapter or story title and its placement on the page, i.e. how much space to leave, and whether to start each new chapter on a new page or on the next right hand page. You might also consider whether to mark a new section with an illustration or a blank page. For books of poetry you will also need to consider the placing of title, lines and words on the page.

The design of non-fiction books is usually more complex. If there is to be a hierarchy of headings and/or outline bulleting, you will need to choose systems that can be used consistently throughout the text. You might need to consider whether to use columns, how to place illustrations, captions and footnotes. Headers are usually unnecessary in fiction books but required in non-fiction books. You will need to design a table of contents and perhaps even an index. If the design needs to be too complex it may be best to put it in the hands of a book designer.  

Typesetting used to be a specialised trade, but now with desk-top-publishing, anyone with the appropriate software can typeset their book. However, this is a field where it is essential to have a basic knowledge of the requirements and conventions. If you are undertaking a commercial venture, or your book is a complex non-fiction text, it would be better to employ a qualified typesetter who will work with the book designer.

However, whoever is to do the typesetting, you can avoid leaving too much to be done immediately before going into print by being aware of typesetting issues as you work on your manuscript, especially as you approach the final draft. Make whatever choices you can as early as possible and keep to them consistently. In particular, make sure you are consistent in your punctuation, paragraph layout, fonts and font sizes, line spacing and justification.

If you do intend to do the typesetting yourself, begin by looking at a range of books to learn the basic requirements. You will find that all books published in Australia have the same contents in their first few pages, known as the fore matter, which details copyright and cataloguing information. There is a strict convention about these pages and readers and cataloguers may be confused if you diverge from it.

Look at the layout and text of other books similar to yours to become familiar with the conventions and possibilities. Study carefully such matters as:

DTP programs such as InDesign can carry out all these functions but not automatically. You will have to do any kerning and leading required manually. This can become a great deal of work, especially in a long book. This might influence which approach you will take to your layout.

Industry people might curse me for this, but in a book such as a novel, where the layout consists of straight out text without illustrations, it is possible to use Microsoft Word, which can automatically keep paragraphs together (thus dealing with widows and orphans) and is capable of dealing with most basic typesetting necessities. A Microsoft plug-in, Acrobat or other converter can then be used to convert the Word file into a PDF. However, you must be aware that Word can be unstable. Your layout may differ between sessions and your final PDF may differ from what you saw on the screen. However, I have found this problem to be very rare. The big advantage of using Word is that you can do most of your typesetting as you write.

If you intend to use Microsoft Word, it is doubly important to ensure consistency as you work to avoid introducing variations which you might not pick up at a later stage. Decide whether or not you will place page or section breaks between chapters. Make use of the style and paragraph formatting functions to maintain consistency in font, font size and line spacing as you work. Make sure you are consistent in the fancy font used for chapter headings and drop caps, and in the line spacing between chapter heading and the text. If you are using drop caps in fancy fonts you may have to put in extra spaces between the drop cap and the next letter. This is one point where Word’s instability might cause some problems as the drop cap may look fine at one session then different in another.

Your cover design is your most powerful marketing tool. Despite the old proverb, people do judge a book by its cover. Think of your own choices when you are in a bookshop or library. You are attracted by striking colours, attractive fonts and uncluttered, easy to read designs.

If you are depending on retail sales, you need your cover to be as professional as possible. Consider employing a photographer or illustrator and a book designer if you can afford to. If you wish to use an existing picture or illustration, you will need to get the permission of the artist or owner. Their initial asking price may be high as they are used to dealing with mainstream publishers with large print runs. If you explain your situation you may be able to negotiate a more reasonable price. If you decide to use a stock photo or illustration be aware you are not purchasing exclusive rights and it may be used by others.

If you intend to create your own cover you will need a good DTP program such as InDesign. Microsoft Publisher can also be used, but you might have to be content with a simpler design. There are also specific book cover design software products available.

In designing your cover, again, you should refer to other books in your genre to give you a starting point in your design. Trust your own judgement. You’ve written the book you want to read, so design a cover you would pick up in a bookshop.

Consider how buyers are likely to see the cover. If the book is to be in a bookshop, you want a cover that is tasteful, but striking and easy to read from a distance. Make sure the text doesn’t disappear into the back ground i.e. make sure the colour of the text contrasts with the back ground and consider outlining the script to make it stand out the more.

Take especial care with the spine, as more than likely this is the only part of the book a browser will see in a bookshop or library. Make sure that it is uncluttered, the colours are bold and the title can be read easily. If the book is to be sold online, design a cover that is eye-catching even when reduced to a thumbnail or consider designing a special cover for the purpose.

Be creative with your blurb. In the case of a fiction book, it has to be short, attractive and encapsulate the essence of the book. Readers are not looking for a complete synopsis. They just need to know the texture of the book – its genre, its premise and its approach to the subject. They want to know how they will feel while reading the book. In the case of non-fiction they want to know what the subject is, why they should read about it and what the author’s approach is to be.

When designing the back cover, choose a font and colour for the blurb that ensures it is easy to read against the background. You will also need to place the barcode, perhaps a logo and also leave space for a price tag.

Make sure you get a proof of your cover design before going to print and look at it carefully. It is likely to look a little different in print than it did on screen as the colours used in printing are different to the colours produced on your screen. Unfortunately the final product might also look a little different to the proof. The final colours might end up a little less well-defined. Look for potential trouble spots. Can the text be clearly seen against the background? Is the blurb easy to read? Will the cover illustration meet your expectations?

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Printing your Book

Printing is at the core of publishing. This is where your book may fail or succeed. This will be your biggest outlay. This is where you will need to make some crucial decisions. It is therefore vital that you do your research and gain some basic knowledge of the processes and issues involved. You must know what different types of printing and binding are available, their advantages and disadvantages and their relative costs.  If you have environmental concerns, you should know how to ensure that the paper stocks used are from ecologically sustainable sources. (see An Introduction to Book Printing for more detailed information.)

You will also need some knowledge of pre-press processes, in particular, in what format printers require digital files to be sent to them. If your book is to contain colour illustrations, make sure you discuss this with your printer before finalising your book’s layout. Colour illustrations might easily be accommodated throughout the book in some digital processes. However, in offset printing, colour illustrations might need to be printed on separate sheets and this will determine where they are placed in the text.

Again, I cannot stress too much the need to get multiple quotes not only for the same printing process but for different processes. Some printers can give you an instant quote from their website. You should also ensure that the printer is a book manufacturer and can produce the type of book you want. Always make sure you see samples of books they have printed.

The first major decision is which printing process you will use. Essentially you now have three choices: traditional offset, short-run digital and POD. Your first consideration is how many copies you want, which depends on how many copies you think you can sell and how much money you can lay out.

With all printing processes, the main cost is setting up. This means that the more copies you print, the cheaper each copy will be. So copy for copy you will find that POD will be more expensive than short-run digital which will be more expensive than offset printing. However, there is a catch here. Don’t be persuaded to print more copies than you need or can afford because the unit price is lower. It’s better to pay a couple of extra dollars per copy and sell them all, than pay less per copy, but end up with hundreds of copies sitting in storage.

If your publishing is a commercial venture, you will need print runs in the thousands, so offset printing will be your best option. There are several book manufacturers in Australia so you will be able to get a competitive price. Some of these companies also offer short run printing so it will be possible to get quotes for both options.

As mentioned earlier, with set-up costs, a larger print run will have a lower unit cost than a smaller run. However, bear in mind the advantages of several short runs over one large run. Your initial outlay will be lower and you can wait until you have an income from your first print run before paying for a second, you might find flaws in your first print run that you would like to remedy in a second, or, heaven forbid, your sales might not be as good as you anticipated.

You will usually find that large scale printing is much cheaper overseas, especially in Hong Kong and Singapore, than it is in Australia. This might be a viable option, especially if your book is in full colour. However, before deciding on an overseas printer, ensure you take into considerations the time it will take for the books to be shipped to Australia by sea, and the extra costs entailed in shipping, customs fees and duties, and GST. You will need the services of a printing broker and a customs agent. You might also have to consider storage and transport costs on the ground. There will also be other considerations. You might find it difficult to communicate with the printer. You might also be locked into a large print run.

Digital printing has boomed in the last few years and you will be able to find a wide range of printers who offer this service. However, a great deal of care will be needed as, unlike offset printing, there are a variety of processes available which all come under this heading. Some printers do offer genuine book manufacturing and can produce a book that is indistinguishable from a mass produced paperback or hardback. Some can offer a wide variety of papers and colour options. However, some are basically large scale photocopiers, using standard 80gsm paper, resulting in a book that is heavy, amateurish and prone to fall out of its binding. Some even print onto A4 paper which they then trim down. Again, do your homework. Get quotes from a variety of suppliers and for a range of formats and papers. Ask what printing process is used, get a look at their printing equipment if possible, and demand to see samples of their work.

While you are getting quotes for printing your book, you should also keep in mind other considerations such as distribution and promotions. You might be able to get some of your promotional printing done at the same time as you get your book printed. For example, for little extra cost you could get promotional book marks printed in the same print-run as your book covers. Also try to keep down the final weight of your book, which will be a major consideration when you post out promotional copies.

Many digital printers also offer POD, in other words they can produce a print run of as little as one book at a time. POD is also available from the online e-publishers we discussed earlier. This, of course, would be your most expensive option per copy. However, it might be a viable option in some circumstances.

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Legal and Commercial Matters

By law, it is mandatory for a free copy of each book published in Australia to be placed in the National Library of Australia and in your respective state library. Do not think of this as an imposition, but as a way of ensuring your book is preserved and on the national record. In fact, it will be on the international record as once it is on the NLA catalogue, it can be found by search engines such as Google. You might also consider donating a copy to your local municipal library as some libraries maintain a local history collection which includes books by local writers. Once the local library is thus alerted to the existence of your book, they might purchase further copies. State libraries might also purchase a second copy.

CiP is a free service provided by the National Library of Australia, and the submission can be completed online. The entry provides information to librarians and bookshops for cataloguing your book. This must be completed before the book is printed as the information should appear in the fore matter.

The ISBN is a unique number which can be used to record and find your book. Despite what some people in the industry might tell you, it is not mandatory for your book to have an ISBN. However, it is essential if you expect your book to be available in bookshops and libraries. ISBNs are available from Thorpe-Bowker.

Again, it is not mandatory for your book to have a barcode, but if you expect your book to be handled by distributors and major bookshops it is essential. The barcode is based on the ISBN and can be obtained at the same time from Thorpe-Bowker. If you do not have an ISBN it will be based on the EAN (formerly the Australian Product Number) which is available from . EAN Australia The barcode will be placed on the back cover of your book, so remember to leave space for it in your cover design. (A cover design program might also be able to generate a barcode from your ISBN.)

Your copyright in your work is created automatically by law so there is no need to register it in any form. All you need is to place the copyright symbol © with your name and the year on your publication – either in print or online. If you are afraid that someone may steal your work, ensure that you keep dated copies of your work in progress in print and on file. All writers should join CAL (Copyright Agency Limited) which collects and distributes copyright fees. If you are a member, you may one day receive a surprise payment from CAL when an extract of your work is used by a school or in a publication.

Likewise, whenever you use words or images created by someone else you should first obtain permission and then pay a licensing fee. This even applies to commonly available works such as songs like ‘Happy Birthday’ and images available on the internet. CAL can give you information and advice about obtaining copyright licences.

In this digital and online age, copyright has become a more complicated issue and alternative forms of copyright have evolved for use online called Creative Commons. When you place your material online you can nominate one of a variety of levels of Creative Commons Licence which stipulates how your material can be used by others.

If you hope to have your book distributed widely, it is also useful to have it listed in bibliographic catalogues and magazines referred to by booksellers and librarians. Several print and online services are available through Thorpe-Bowker. Nielsen’s Bookdata  is also available in print and online.

Educational  Lending Rights  and Public Lending Rights were established to compensate writers and publishers for the royalties they would lose when books are borrowed from libraries rather than purchased. If there are 50 or more copies of your book (ie 50 copies of each eligible book) in public libraries throughout Australia you can apply for an annual payment. For many writers, PLR is a substantial proportion of their income.

Of course you can publish simply under your own name, but it looks much more professional to create an imprint, a name for your publishing enterprise such as my own – Mountain Lily Press – and a logo. You should register your imprint as a business name or even a trademark.

If you expect to sell copies of your book, you might consider operating your publishing enterprise as a small business. You can get advice from your accountant and the appropriate department of your state government.  

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Marketing and Promotion

This is the hardest part of the publishing process and I wish I could give you a magic formula that will make it clear and easy for you, but I can’t. The best I can do is this: Know your market, know how to find your market and be prepared to sell yourself first and your book second.

If you want to sell your book widely, you should be considering this at every stage of the publishing process. The content of the book will determine the market you are aiming for, which will influence the book’s design. How you expect to market the book will also influence design decisions. Will you be selling primarily online or in bookshops? Will you be working through the mass market or aiming at a particular demographic? Which format or design will appeal to that demographic? Does your book need to look like a traditional novel, a colour magazine, or an e-book? Would an accompanying CD or DVD make the book more appealing?

The book launch is traditional in the publishing industry and is often a good way of attracting publicity to the book and the author. However without the backing of a publisher, your book launch might be a disappointment. Before planning a launch, think about what you expect it to achieve. If it is to thank your personal supporters, then go for it but make sure you spend on catering accordingly. If it is to launch the book into the general market, choose a venue that will attract a wider audience than your personal circle. If you approach the media, find a hook that will attract them to come along. Just being a local writer might not be enough. You might also consider having several mini-launches aimed at the various groups you might appeal to.

Your next step is to try to get a good review of your book. This will entail sending the book to a wide variety of media outlets and then following up with a personal approach. Don’t overlook local newspapers and radio stations or websites that focus on emerging writers. Find ways of getting word of mouth promotions such as giving your book to people with influence in the community. Another way of getting your book out there is to donate copies to libraries. (However, be aware that librarians are usually overworked so your book might not get on the shelves straight away or ever at all.)

Distributing books to all these outlets will entail postage and the cost of postage for a single book can sometimes come to more than that of the book itself. As mentioned earlier, during the printing process you should ensure your book is not too heavy. You should also explore ways of reducing postage costs such as using prepaid satchels and alternative courier services. 

Even if you have a publishing service which offers promotional support, be prepared to promote and market the book yourself. As a self-publisher, your best selling point is you as the author. Readers love the idea of meeting the author of a book, hearing them speak and getting their book signed.

Think about what kinds of readers would be interested in your book and where you might find them. Don’t restrict yourself to bookshops. What other kinds of shops would your readers frequent? If your book is about local history, place it in shops tourists might visit. Think about setting up a stall at local markets or cultural events. Your local library and community centre would welcome you as a speaker. You can also offer to speak to community groups such as the local history association, U3A, Probus and Penguin groups and service organisations such as the Lions and Rotary. If your book would appeal to a particular group, think about where those people might gather and take your book to them. Do they have annual conventions or regular meetings? Is there a place where they like to hang out?

Have a business card or promotional bookmark printed that gives your website address. Have some on you at all times to give to anyone you meet who expresses an interest in your book. Give them out at market stalls and library talks. Slip one into every book you sell. Set up a signature for your outgoing email giving information about your book and your website.

Collect email addresses for your mailing list at every opportunity. However, use the list wisely. By all means inform your subscribers of any developments and where they might be able to see you or your book. However, don’t email too often, and don’t email large files. Instead, put colour pictures and other large files on your website or blog and include a link to your website in the email message. In order to preserve your subscribers’ privacy, place their addresses in the ‘Bcc’ (blind carbon copy) box rather than the ‘To’ box. In that way, no recipient can see the addresses of the other recipients. You might also consider publishing an online newsletter. This How-to site is a good place to get started.

Be very clear about what you are embarking on before spending a large amount of money on advertising and promotion. Sometimes the best forms of promotion might cost very little, but will take a great deal of time and commitment from you. Rather than spending money on printing flyers, you might be better off spending it on media training. A well written media release resulting in an interview in a magazine or on the radio might cost you very little, but sell many more copies than an expensive advertisement. One of our authors, Stephanie Dale, an award winning journalist and media trainer gives us a few tips on self-pronotion in her article Self Promotion for the Self-Published Author.

The internet has become a major sales platform, but, again, think carefully about how you use it. A website is like a shop in an obscure back lane. You cannot rely on setting one up and hoping for ‘passing trade’. You will still need to promote your website yourself. You can do this personally or you can use the internet itself. Think about how your market might use the internet. Are they likely to be using social networking sites? Are they likely to read blogs? Is there something unique about your book that would lend itself to an interesting blog that will attract casual Googlers? Trawl the internet for notice boards, blogs, fan websites or Facebook pages that might be interested in you, your book, your genre or your topic and engage them in conversation.


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Sales and Distribution

As a self-publisher, you will find that you will sell as you promote your book. Use every opportunity to sell your book. Whenever you attend a promotional event, make sure you take books along to sell.

These days most buyers would expect you to have a website. This need not be complex, but make sure it is attractive, easy to use and includes the facility to contact you and to order your book. This need not be an expensive or complicated venture. You can set up a free blog through Google Blogger and take orders through PayPal for a minimal fee.

Even if they aren’t your major distribution outlet, consider using the various online platforms to supplement your sales. You can place your book with a US e-publisher and get listed by the big online bookstores. You should also consider placing your book with an e-book distributor and make it available for electronic readers such as Kindle and the iPad. (see Selfpublishing an ebook for further information.)

Bookshops are generally wary of dealing with small-scale publishers, however, some independent bookshops might be willing to accept a few books on consignment if you approach them personally. You could begin by sending promotional material by post or email and follow up with a phone call or visit. You will have to offer them a 40-50% discount on the recommended retail price (RRP). However, you should not expect major sales through bookshops. There will be a great deal of competition, and the shops will have little incentive to sell your book. And then, there is a limit to how many bookshops you can approach personally.

If you wish to sell your book widely through bookshops, especially chain bookstores, you will have to go through a distributor. Distributors will take a discount of about 70% on RRP, which includes the bookshop’s margin. This might seem a lot, but the distributor offers a service you would never be able to perform on your own. They can place your book into bookshops all over the country, deliver them, collect payments and send you a single cheque. However, you should keep in mind that book distribution works on a ‘sale or return’ basis. Books are distributed in large numbers when they are first published, then over the following months are returned to the warehouse in dribs and drabs. To cover this contingent, distributors will retain part of your early sales income.

If you do expect to place your book with distributors and bookshops, make sure you keep this in mind throughout the publishing process. Find out what the distributors’ requirements are especially in the minimum number of books they will handle. When calculating your costings, first set a recommended retail price by looking at what similar books are priced at in bookshops, then ensure that you can cover the distributor’s margin. Obtain an ISBN and a barcode, and list your book with all the appropriate bibliographic services, especial Nielsen Book Data which is used by major library suppliers.

If you wish to place your book in libraries, be aware that while your local library might buy a few copies of your book directly from you, libraries are generally tied into contracts with library suppliers. You can place your book with all the library suppliers (who expect a discount of 30%-35%) who will either take a number of copies, or take your details and place orders with you if your book is ordered by a library. However, thereafter you will have to promote your book directly to libraries. Direct your enquiries to the Collections or Acquisition Librarian for the relevant collection i.e. fiction, non-fiction or children. If your book is non-fiction or for children, try school libraries which might also have a more liberal buying regime.

There is also the cheeky backdoor way to get your book into libraries. Ask your friends all over the country to request your book from their local library.


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Conclusion

Self-publishing is the ultimate adventure for a writer. It is unlikely to make you any money. It can be difficult and have its pitfalls. But if it is approached with commitment, good planning, an open mind, and the willingness to take risks, it can give you a great deal of satisfaction.

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© Pauline Montagna 2010