Be The Authentic Author

Your book will carry your attitude. Beyond the words that an Author puts on paper his/her attitude is revealed at some subliminal level.

When you want to write, don't just write because you want money or fame. Have a vision better than that. Your book should fill a need in the society. It should be an answer to people's prayer. Don't just try to write and get published just for that sake. Write in the spirit of service to address issues in the individual and corporate life of people. 

Be an Authentic Author and use your book to make a difference in the society. There's already so many books in the world, don't add another one except in a drive to make a difference!

Understanding Print on Demand

Self-publishing is NOT the same as "print-on-demand" (POD) publishing (printing is just one aspect of publishing). It is also not the same as subsidy publishing. It is important to understand the differences between them, even if you have money to burn, because there are issues of control and ownership, as well as economics. Do not, for the sake of temporary convenience, give up rights you may want in the longer term.

Print-on-demand is a digital printing process with which you can print as few books as you want--one at a time (as they are ordered and paid for). A traditional publisher like Joint Heirs Publishing can use POD technology. So can someone who publishes on his own. But a self-publisher can also use the same offset printers the regular publishers use, if printing in sufficient quantity (say 500 copies and above).

Publishing is the broader process that includes printing as well as editing, typesetting, book design, production, publicity, marketing, and distribution. A commercial publisher handles all of these steps and publishes the book under its own imprint purchasing rights from an author (often through an agent), covering the costs of production, and paying the author a royalty. A subsidy publisher also publishes under its own imprint, but expects the author or organization to cover the costs of production. (Mind you, sometimes commercial publishers effectively do the same thing, agreeing to publish a book, or a special edition of a book, if the author/​organization promise to purchase a sizable number of copies, enough to cover basic costs.) The subsidy publisher owns rights to the book and authors receive royalties, but any author expecting sizable royalties in this set-up is probably delusional.

Self-publishing means paying for all the costs of publication yourself. Organizations often self-publish, typically creating an imprint just for that purpose. The biggest problem with self-publishing is distribution. The big advantage is that you have more control over the whole process and keep more of the revenues from sales.  

More on this next week…