Have you ever thought about print-on-demand publishing? My friend Jason recently self-published a children’s book. I asked him to share his experiences for those of us who browse the aisles of Barnes & Noble thinking, “I could have written that.” It may not be as difficult or expensive as you think.
Many web workers who aren’t professional writers blog to express their thoughts to the world, yet there’s still something so nice about a printed, bound book. Tactile feedback, and definitely easier on the eyes than a computer screen. You can take it to the beach, on a plane…or even to the loo.
So you’re ready to see your work on a shelf. Is it worth it to go it on your own, instead of waiting for a contract from a traditional publisher? It depends on your expectations.
Jason Alter is a typical suburban Dad. By day, he’s Director of Marketing for a biotech company. His book, John Fastramp and the Dakota 3000, is targeted towards children in grades 3-6. It’s the story of John Fastramp and his very special car. He developed the character of John Fastramp while telling bedtime stories to his children.
Over the years, John and his friends became part of the family and we would talk about them and dream up new adventures as we went along. After the success of Harry Potter, friends and family encouraged me to turn the stories into a book. It took a year of stops and starts, finding a few moments here or there, working in Starbucks while my son was at Karate…but eventually I converted the stories into an initial book.
In developing the book, Jason tested the manuscript by involving the reading teacher at his son’s elementary school. She liked it enough that she shared it with her 4th grade students as part of a “Battle of the Books” game where kids read a lot of books and then the classes meet and answer questions about the books. One class wins. Jason also held his own contest for John Fastramp readers, with the winner receiving a Borders gift certificate. This helped him tweak the manuscript and better understand his book’s target audience.
He tried to shop it around to traditional publishers. Most rejected his manuscript with a form letter. Not because they didn’t like the story, but because they refused to read unsolicited work. That’s when he turned to self publishing.
After looking at a number of sites including Lulu and AuthorHouse, Jason settled on Amazon subsidiary BookSurge. While they take a higher percentage of the book’s sale price, he found that they offered more services and the tie-in to Amazon didn’t hurt. Of course, like everything else, there are downsides to print-on-demand/self publishing. Many of the negatives are laid out in this article. Self-publishing is an alternative to more traditional publishing, not a substitute. Just as RSS feeds and blogs are not a substitute for newspapers and magazines. The key to a successful relationship with print-on-demand publishing is to keep your professional standards high, and your expectations realistic.
BookSurge offers a variety of services, including basic editing by a real-life editor who looks at manuscripts with an eye towards grammar, story consistency, etc. This is charged by the word. Jason found this to be a worthy addition. As Jason was developing a book aimed at children, he knew the visual impression was just as important as his choice of words. He worked closely with Kirk Manley, a professional illustrator, to develop the cover and inside illustrations. In fact, Jason reported that commissioning the artwork proved to be the most expensive part of the process, but well worth it in the end.

Jason also built a companion website. As of now, he has secured two stores in Connecticut to carry the book.
Here are some other resources that Jason found helpful, keeping in mind that Jason was specifically researching the children’s book market so these sites may not be as helpful for writing adult books.
Mondo Times – to help build traditional media contacts
Libary of Congress listing of book fairs
The Center for Children’s Books (University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign)
Tips for writing press releases, getting publicity, etc.
JacketFlap.com – blog about the children’s book industry
Kids Read – Social network for teachers, librarians, children’s book authors, and children’s literature lovers
The Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI)
Have you ever considering going the print-on-demand route? Share your tips & tricks for success in the comments.
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