Other than this: it doesn't cost
a dime to get started.
How can you beat that? NO upfront cost whatsoever...
Or, is it all just another way to get authors to bite
and not realize what they are getting? Read further and see what
I mean. I will say this though - if you don't think your book
might sell 100 copies or more (or don't believe you'll ever purchase
about that many over its lifetime) then PA may just be the publisher
you've been looking for...
If you think your book might sell more than just 100 units, read
on. I also welcome your calls and emails to discuss Publish America
directly:
RayR@DogEarPublishing.net
or 1-866-823-9613
The one thing that is evident, however, is that Publish America
is not a 'traditional' publishing company -even though they state
that they are different because they don't charge authors a fee
to publish.
Publish America may not charge a fee to publish your book, but
what do you call it when they charge an exorbitant amount of money
for an author to purchase their own books? Publish America has
simply moved the cost of publishing a book from the front end
and attached it to each and every book they sell the author. This,
in the long run, ends up being much MORE expensive than almost
any self publishing company in the market.
Let's explore some other anomalies:
Cover copy - from the PA site: "Do I have
to send you back cover text? Yes. Not only will the text be used
on the back cover of your book, but we will also be using it for
other promotional items such as press releases and announcement
letters." You have to write your own back
cover copy. This is fine (and typical), if you are self-publishing...
Editing - from the PA site: "We do not
edit for content, style, voice and the like ...". EVERY traditional
publisher edits the heck out of each book - including 'content,
style, voice and the like...'
When you fully explore the true costs of producing a salable
book with a realistic wholesale discount and decent profit margin,
you may find what you thought was a great deal actually costs
more in the long run.
I've dug through the Publish America site (the
welcome email is another thing... look below for this) to see
if anything can be gleaned without having to call a sales person
- here are my notes.
1) Bookstore availability - most of the self
publishing companies make their books available at the exact same
places as Publish America. Publish America seems
to lead readers to believe the books are physically on shelves
in a large number of Barnes & Noble and Borders stores. Fore
every title I checked, that was not true. Just like most self
publishing companies, the books are available to special order.
Just like most self publishing companies, some books were available
in stores, on shelves. (If you'd like to check this on your own
- visit Amazon, look up Publish America under Advanced Search
in Books, list the titles by "Bestselling" - get the
ISBN and call your local stores. You can also check store inventory
at both B&N and Borders Stores on their respective web sites.)
2) "We only accept a small portion
of the manuscripts submitted to us" - This is a
quote from their web site, and it's funny because all the manuscripts
we offered to Publish America were accepted for publication -
we just had to be willing to sign over rights and sound like we
were going to buy a good number of books. I'm guessing that unless
your book violates their publishing rules (hate, pornography,
etc.) or you act like you have no intention of purchasing some
books, you'll get published by Publish America. I'm also guessing
that 96% of the customers who submit manuscripts
are unaware that it costs far more for an author to purchase a
book from PA than ANY other publishing company. If you actually
add up the cost of purchasing author books from PA against paying
publishing fees and then puchasing books at a discount - guess
which one wins 'money-wise'?
3) "We pay royalty percentages that are slightly
above average industry standards." - a direct quote
from their site and it isn't true in the broader market. Dog Ear
and many others pay much higher author profit rates. See below
for more detail on this part.
Royalties are 8% of the net sale for the first 2,000 units. 10%
on the next 8,000 units. An interesting statistic - if you take
the number of claimed titles published (30,000) and divide out
total units claimed sold (2,000,000) you get an average sales
rate of 66 books. Doesn't look like too many authors even get
close to the 2,000 unit mark...
A 150 page book typically has about a 18.95 retail through PA.
A Publish America author only makes $1.52 per
sale maximum via places like Amazon.com, and the book costs
the author $15.16 per unit
to purchase... ouch...
4) "PublishAmerica, Inc. is not a subsidy publisher."
- I can't argue with that - but they aren't a traditional publisher
either. I suppose someone you pay to publish your book is a self-publishing
company. They are selling services (design, production, editorial,
distribution) to authors - but don't charge for them upfront.
They get their money by selling you books and keeping an incredible
portion of your sales. They may be different from many of my competitors,
but still aren't a tradition publishing company.
Moving on, I'll provide you with a framework around which
to phrase some very direct questions to your author representative
- here is what I believe is important in choosing a company to
self-publish your book. (Note these are standard for ANY self-publishing
company you call...)
1) - CONTRACT - do you keep
all your rights and can you terminate your agreement at any time
without penalty? The author contract should be short and easy
to understand. It appears you do. Not at Publish America
2) - RETAIL PRICE. Can you
set your own retail? Does the publisher force you into ridiculously
high retail prices? (see our page on setting your Retail Pricing
here.) If a 150 page paperback actually costs 18.95, no one
is going to buy it other than friends, family, and they author
(who, as we noted above, will pay an incredible amount to buy
their own books...)
3) - BOOK PRINTING COSTS. Your
Retail is almost always a function of your cost to print the book.
If your book costs more to print, you need to push your retail
price higher just to break even.
4) - AUTHOR PROFIT. Some call
it ROYALTY, we call it a NET SALES PAYMENT. Whatever it's called
- it's the amount you receive from each book sale. Don't let the
rep get away with talking 'percentages' - you don't pay the light
bill with a percent. Make them give you an example, based on page
count and retail price, of how much you'll make - in DOLLARS -
for each sale through Amazon.com (where 90% of your first year
sales will occur).
Be careful of any company that gives a huge royalty but forces
unreasonable retail prices on your book. It makes no sense to
get a "50%" royalty on a book that will never sell. Also watch
for royalties that are increased by REDUCING your WHOLESALE DISCOUNT
- again, if no store will buy it, what's the point of a royalty?
4) - CUSTOMER SERVICE - Publish America appears
to excel at this. Staff seems incredibly knowledgeable and helpful.
Can you actually speak with someone who actually knows something
about the book industry? Do you have access to "decision makers"
that can make things happen for your book?
5) - BUSINESS MODEL - what is their business
model? Everyone is in business to make money - and that's an honorable
thing... but watch WHERE they make their money - look for hidden
charges, or charges that show up to actually create an effective
and salable book for you.
Here are some numbers to let you get more in-depth with Publish
America. Ask your rep to provide a comparison amount for each
item. Write 'em down, add 'em up - see what comes out.
The specs are pretty typical of the books produced in the trade
category at any self publishing house. Information and self publishing
costs are derived from the Publish America web site and contract.
- 6X9 trim size, 150 pages, one color interior, 4 color cover,
5 interior images
- Paperback or hardcover
- ISBN and bar code included, Library of Congress Control number
- Custom cover and interior - not just choices
from existing templates
- PDF or laser proofs delivered to author,
- 100 additional paperback units purchased
- Available at Amazon and most major online retailers
- Available through major distributors like Ingram and Baker and
Taylor
- Available for order at over 25,000 retail bookstores.
(click here
to see the Dog Ear breakdown - our total cost for this package
and options is $1,327, and our per unit book
printing price is $4.28, and you get 10 free
author copies of your book.)
Publish America Costs
Standard Paperback Publishing - $0
Hardcover set up - Not Available
Custom Back Cover Only - Not Available
Library of Congress Control Number - $0
Proofs - $0
WOW! - sounds great so far! But wait - now comes
the hard part...
Printing Services - $15.16 / unit X 100 units = $1516
Total Expenditure: $1,516 (for a company that doesn't
charge to publish...)
$189 more expensive than Dog Ear Publishing
- and it goes up from there if you buy or sell more books. At
Dog Ear Publishing, you'd make over $5.57
more per book more by using Dog Ear rather than publishing
your books through Publish America. Let's say you only sell the
average 66 books through PA - at Dog Ear, you'd make $467.94 in
profit, at PA onlyl $99.66 - now you are an additional $368.28
'in the hole' for using a company that doesn't charge you to publish.
All of a sudden a company that 'doesn't charge authors anything
to publish' seems rather expensive.
For other insight into Publish America, Google the company name
and see what comes up... ANYONE can post information on the web
- so anything you find should be taken with a great big grain
of salt. However, consistent criticism should be a warning for
the prospective author to exercise care. |
