Diy publishing

[libernaut]

has anyone done any Diy publsihing. I am interested in putting something together with some other writers soon and would apreciate any tips from anyone with experience in do it yourself publishing

[thinkingsam]

Are you talking about online or print publishing? They're both pretty straightforward after you get the content down.

For DIY print publishing, all you need is artwork (i.e. the content) and a printer. You can do the artwork yourself using anything from Microsoft Word to Adobe InDesign (which is what I use). Printing is a bit more complicated. If you're printing in very large quantities, you'll need to get an offset printing company to do it for you, otherwise it's possible to print it on your own and get a binding machine off the shelf.

Online publishing is easier. Basically convert your artwork to PDF (or some other format) and upload on your server or to a digital publishing platform like Amazon's Kindle store, Issuu.com, etc.

The hard part is to get the content and artwork down, especially if you want your book to look "artistic". Some platforms also require you to get an ISBN number (e.g. Google Books), so you will need to register yourself as a publisher.

Yup, that's all I can think of now, hope I helped! :)

[libernaut]

hey thanks alot, a binding machine, thats cool. because i was thinking i could use staples but that would look really unprofessional. thank you

[Drkshadow03]

has anyone done any Diy publsihing. I am interested in putting something together with some other writers soon and would apreciate any tips from anyone with experience in do it yourself publishing

Yes, my tip is don't do it. You won't get any respect from most fellow writers for self-publishing, except other self-publishing writers. You most likely won't make any money. You also won't have many readers. It doesn't do anything to help you as a writer.

[libernaut]

why is that?

and what would you suggest?

[Drkshadow03]

why is that?

and what would you suggest?


# 1 rule of writing and getting published: Money always goes towards the writer! If that ain't happening then you're doing something wrong.

Generally, you have to pay to get self-published. So you're already violating this rule.

Think of all the crappy writers who get published through traditional means. So imagine how crappy most of the writers must be who self-publish and couldn't get published traditionally. Oh, no doubt there must be a few gems and talented writers who self-publish, but they are the extreme minority. So why would writers who have done the hard work of getting better, learning their craft, and getting published in traditional means have any respect for some self-publisher whose only readers include their mom and dad, cousin and aunt. Who is going to buy these self-published books?

Since there is a stigma around self-publishing as generally being filled with crappy writing, most readers won't touch them. Since they aren't published by a major publisher or even the small press, most bookstores won't carry them. So you really have to do all the grunt work so to speak. Why should I shell over my hard-earned $5 on your crappy self-published book when I can spend it on established writers who have been vetted through a professional publisher's editor and review process? Looking at my bookshelf, I don't own any books that were self-published, except a couple of works that I got for free from a friend or I bought for the sake of charity. In truth, I've never bothered to read them, except a few sentences here or there.


Reading your original post, and since I don't know your goals, I want to be careful in suggesting one should never ever self-publish. This blog article (http://www.jeffvandermeer.com/2009/07/01/self-publishing-when-to-do-it-when-not-to-do-it-and-more/) by writer and editor Jeff Vandermeer does a good job explaining when one might consider self-publishing. However, Vandermeer notes that you still need a track record.

If you're self-publishing your own short story collection: have you sold and published short stories in well-known and high-paying magazines that you plan to include in this collection?

If you're self-publishing a mini project like a novella or off-beat novel: Do you have published novels with small-press or major publishing firms and it just doesn't fit into what you think they would be interested in?

I've been involved with a self-publishing project before. My Long Island Critique group put together an anthology to benefit the victims of the 2004 Tsunami disaster (http://www.tangentonline.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=458&Itemid=263). We got a lot of support (http://safewrite.livejournal.com/60537.html) for the project from outside, but only because it was for charity. We still only raised $1,120 for charity with six of us selling and advertisement on some major genre fiction websites. Believe me it didn't help my writing career at all, but of course that wasn't the point of the project.

So I'm not saying one should never self-publish. It really depends on your goals. Do you merely want to produce something for Grandma and mom to read around Christmas? Do you want to help a local charity? Do you want to publish your short fiction, including pieces that have already been published individually in reputable magazines? Do you want to be a publisher and editor, but cannot afford to buy your own publishing equipment so you're using self-publishing? Or do you merely want to be published for the sake of saying you have had something published? If you're looking to develop a writing career self-publishing generally isn't the way to go.

[Mathor]

I completely disagree with everyhing I've read thus far. If you want to get some writing together start an e-zine (or in internet lingo these days a blog) if you want to publish it in a way outside of that then publish it and give it away for free. I do not agree with what has been stated above, if you have something you want to write you should write it and if you feel it it needs to be printed then you should print it. If you need some random art or stories to publish, I'd be interested! Let me know how this DIY publishing works for you! Do not give up. There are many people who have developed large fanbases for DIY internet publishing without even lifting a finger. The key is just to find interesting content that people want to read about.

[Drkshadow03]

I completely disagree with everyhing I've read thus far. If you want to get some writing together start an e-zine (or in internet lingo these days a blog) if you want to publish it in a way outside of that then publish it and give it away for free. I do not agree with what has been stated above, if you have something you want to write you should write it and if you feel it it needs to be printed then you should print it. If you need some random art or stories to publish, I'd be interested! Let me know how this DIY publishing works for you! Do not give up. There are many people who have developed large fanbases for DIY internet publishing without even lifting a finger. The key is just to find interesting content that people want to read about.

Oh, who are all these people who have developed large fanbases DIY internet publishing? Also, there is a difference between starting an e-zine yourself (and defining that as DIY) and paying to get published.

[libernaut]

way to define pretension, Drkshadow03

here is my response to you:

1. Self publishing does not mean bad writing.

2. Money is not why real writers write.

3. Most writers throughout history died poor.

4. Please don't reply to my post with pretension and stilted boasts of an appeal to authority, I am not buying it one bit

5. And finally, my question was not should I self publish, it was asking tips on self publishing, which I have done and will continue to do, not because it makes money but because it makes sense

[Drkshadow03]

here is my response to you:

1. Self publishing does not mean bad writing.

2. Money is not why real writers write.

3. Most writers throughout history died poor.

4. Please don't reply to my post with pretension and stilted boasts of an appeal to authority, I am not buying it one bit

5. And finally, my question was not should I self publish, it was asking tips on self publishing, which I have done and will continue to do, not because it makes money but because it makes sense

1) No, it doesn't automatically mean bad writing, but 9 times out of 10 it does.

2) Speaking of pretentious notions . . . Sure, "real" writers all have some inner experience, some deeper truth, some important wisdom to share because, you know, real writers never ever just want to tell a good story. But the smart writers know, especially the ones who want to make a career of writing, that money flows to the writer. I don't care if it is a dollar or two thousand dollars. Real writers are people who write for a career, otherwise you're just someone with a hobby.

3) More Romanticized notions of the artist where somehow writing and art in general becomes equated with Romanticized poverty instead of, you know, actually writing! And you're calling me pretentious . . . Certainly there are some writers who were poor all their lives because they were ahead of their times and nobody understood the genius of their work, but I am pretty certain there were quite a few who did fairly well for themselves with their writing. Not to mention your comments about ending up in poverty are ambiguous. For example, Mark Twain made tons of money from his writing, but suffered from financial troubles because he squandered his money. It's a false correlation. If you make a claim you should back it up: share names please.

4) I didn't appeal to authority because I didn't claim my authority was infallible; it is common practice to share credentials, especially if you're looking to an internet source like a blog. I didn't wield the credentials like bludgeon; I didn't say Jeff Vandermeer says, so end of story. In fact, I clearly presented it in a fashion to encourage open discussion. Likewise, this singular "authority" I cited agreed to the fact that there may be times that one should self-publish.

5) Good for you? If you're not going to listen to anything I have to say and don't really care, then why again, did you passive-aggressively bother to respond to my post over a month later?

[libernaut]

what you said about me "making false correlations" i would take a look in the mirror.

"9/10 self published writing means bad writing"

im beginning to think you really aren't worth the time. thanks anyways.

[libernaut]

hahaha and you read harry potter which is like 9/10 of your hundreds of posts! HAHAHAHA

[Drkshadow03]

what you said about me "making false correlations" i would take a look in the mirror.

"9/10 self published writing means bad writing"

im beginning to think you really aren't worth the time. thanks anyways.

So you're only response is to make an "I'm rubber you're glue" argument, note that I've read Harry Potter along with the rest of the world, and claim that I'm not worth the time, while contradicting that claim by writing two posts, plus an infantile response on my profile wall. :thumbs_up

You're defensiveness bemuses me. I merely shared my thoughts on DiY and self-publishing as helpful advice to you or any other writer passing by this thread. I wasn't attacking you. If you insist on self-publishing, if you find my reasons unconvincing for thinking self-publishing is a bad idea, then go ahead. Doesn't affect me at all.

[libernaut]

sorry if i got defensive, i guess i misinterpreted you. i suppose we just have very different opinions about the whole thing

[Perkunos]

I have published three books and have sold several hundred articles to over a hundred magazines - published in UK where I live, America, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria and possibly other places, as well as online.
I have a project which I doubt any commercial publisher will make a return on however I wouldn’t DIY/Self publish. I’d rather do a deal on costs/royalties with an established publisher. Although money is not my primary concern for this project – I do like to be paid for my work and rarely supply text for nothing – I do want people to read it. Writing that is not read has no real existence. I believe that there would be more chance of having my project reviewed and read if it were published by a reputable publisher. I also have a reputation myself – my second book is considered excellent on its subject and others have quoted from it. Being published by a reputable publisher helps me, and helps me with my other work for publication.
There are some Self Publishing successes however these are the exceptions.

[xtianfriborg13]

I tried DIY pirnt publishing but for only one copy and a project at school. It's cute but I must admit it's kind of amateurish. I'm planning on print publishing another work soon. :)