The Independent Publishing Magazine

HI - I just found your website. I like your perspe...

2012-04-28T18:40:25.920+01:00

HI - I just found your website. I like your perspective in this article. I find the short history and fast-growth of the "new self-publishing" world fascinating.

One thing I want to add is that I've heard several traditionally published authors (mid-list) lately say that their publishers no long provide ANY marketing, PR, and publicity. It's totally up to them. So that benefit of traditional publishing seems to have completely disappeared.

I am a career writer, but new author. My background is in marketing for companies. I'm hoping I can parlay my background into book marketing. I've just started a blog to track my journey at www.theselfpublishingexperiment.com.

I'm looking forward to reading more from you.

Awesome post - I love how the indie author world i...

2012-04-23T11:49:35.502+01:00

Awesome post - I love how the indie author world is growing at such a fierce rate!!!

- Jeff Emmerson (author of the inspirational story The Road to Myself: Dying to Live)

Thanks for the link, Ashley!

2012-04-21T00:17:06.470+01:00

Thanks for the link, Ashley!

Here is a positive review from 2010, which is newe...

2012-04-20T21:24:00.616+01:00

Here is a positive review from 2010, which is newer than some of the reviews here. Not sure if they have different people working there or if this guy just got connected with a better team. Thought it was worth sharing anyway.

http://jsteltz.wordpress.com/2010/03/24/beyond-the-scoreboard-published-by-mill-city-press/

I do wish Smashwords offered a way around the Meat...

2012-04-13T14:58:32.414+01:00

I do wish Smashwords offered a way around the Meatgrinder for those who know what they are doing. But I also see that, despite the delays in the system, the advantage to Smashwords is that it distributes to all the major players, and I only have to make one upload. I see it more as a distribution engine than a sales generator.

I tried Smashwords a year ago with almost the exac...

2012-04-12T22:54:36.463+01:00

I tried Smashwords a year ago with almost the exact same experience DED has correctly pointed out. I have put six more titles up this year to try once again. I have sold a few copies but, far and away, Amazon is better for sales.

Also, coming from an IT background of over 30 years I found the Meatgrinder and the formatting necessary for Smashwords onerous. I can use Mobipocket Creator to create a .prc file to upload to Amazon which will include the cover art, a linked table of contents for my collection of short stories, and the stories themselves. Straightforward. Read through the style guide for Smashwords. If you're not well versed in Word, or an IT person, you'll probably struggle.

I expect Smashwords to mature. It's certainly possible to write software to take a Word document or even a PDF file, and convert it to multiple formats. It may not be easy but it is possible. Imagine an author getting a PDF or Word document exactly the way they want it then upload it to Smashwords. Simple. They'll do it eventually or someone else will.

I've sold one copy of my book since posting it...

2012-04-12T19:35:47.928+01:00

I've sold one copy of my book since posting it on Smashwords two years ago. Sales through its distribution network (iStore, B&N, Kobo) have begun in the last few months but are still pitiful. While my book is far from a best seller on Amazon, at least it's selling with some regularity.

There's so much free content on Smashwords (even I have two free short stories there), that I have to wonder if it's having a negative impact on those who are trying to sell their work. My free short stories have been downloaded several hundred times each.

Has anyone else had that experience with Smashwords?

Thanks, good tips, and good resource links. Joel F...

2012-04-09T01:50:51.339+01:00

Thanks, good tips, and good resource links. Joel Friedlander has some great tips on his blog from time to time too, especially his eBook cover design awards, such as this one from January.

2012-04-08T19:14:49.197+01:00

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Thanks, Brett, Dog Ear is a company I intend havi...

2012-03-26T23:48:43.633+01:00

Thanks, Brett,

Dog Ear is a company I intend having another look at soon. I haven't checked in with Miles at Dog Ear in a while and will do so and update this review.

Very Best,

Mick.

I appreciate this write up and the comment from Ke...

2012-03-26T23:43:14.794+01:00

I appreciate this write up and the comment from Kevin Sivils. I have just completed my first book and I am onto #'s 2 and 3. I have been looking at DogEar and liked what I saw. I hope to be into production by April. Still considering who to use and this was helpful.

2012-03-21T05:48:53.468Z

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Agreed DED, and you can see my comment rant about ...

2012-03-14T17:36:37.848Z

Agreed DED, and you can see my comment rant about this dishonesty over at the Podpeople blog.

Create a fake profile and review it yourself?! Tha...

2012-03-13T15:09:26.150Z

Create a fake profile and review it yourself?! That's dishonest!

Patricia: if your book is printed by LS, it should...

2012-03-12T10:57:51.357Z

Patricia: if your book is printed by LS, it should automatically appear on Amazon, B&N and other booksellers' websites around the world. If this has not happened, ask your LS rep to re-send the info to booksellers. Amazon Advantage is an advantage only for Amazon. Spend your money of marketing, not on inventory.

thanks for the helpful information. I have a book ...

2012-03-11T22:03:41.366Z

thanks for the helpful information. I have a book that's been published using Lightning Source, and I want to put it on Amazon as a POD. It looks like advantage requires physical inventory, and a professional account is $40 a month. Any suggestions about the best way to list a POD on Amazon?

Thanks for the information. There are many new org...

2012-03-11T16:17:37.807Z

Thanks for the information. There are many new organizations popping up for writers, including the new Indie Writer's Network (indiewritenet.com). Unlike most other options out there, The Indie Writer's Network offers the opportunity to network for FREE.

Thanks for sharing such an interesting information...

2012-03-05T07:37:53.435Z

Thanks for sharing such an interesting information. I think this is really a very nice post. Thanks for the great content!

Hi I was wondering if you knew anything about theb...

2012-02-25T20:04:39.330Z

Hi I was wondering if you knew anything about thebookpatch.com?

Hi, Fantastic blog, Love your blog. I will share y...

2012-02-24T07:19:26.299Z

Hi,
Fantastic blog, Love your blog.
I will share your blog with my friends. Keep it up with good work. Thanks a lot.

A few people have been in touch with me asking ...

2012-01-27T11:43:11.262Z

A few people have been in touch with me asking 'what has happened to The Author's Friend'. All I can say is that I am no longer involved with it, even though my name is still listed in various places on the website. As far as I can see the website hasn't changed since I handed over the reigns and as Mick has commented, it does look a lot like 'Elvis has left the building.'

I have to say I enjoyed my time at The Author's Friend and worked with a lot of interesting people. It was a venture that garnered quite a lot of praise and not a few imitators - which one always has to regard as the highest form of flattery! Credit for what was achieved belongs to a lot of people, not least those authors who took a chance and showed faith in us, especially at the early stages.

For my own part, I am still working in publishing. I have a number of projects on my books at the moment but always on the look out for more. You can find me at The Manuscript Publisher - www.TheManuscriptPublisher.com

Hi Margaret, Thanks for your feedback on your exp...

2012-01-14T02:42:07.225Z

Hi Margaret,

Thanks for your feedback on your experience with Arima.

Maybe our view on Arima is about the direction we approach publishing. Authors' expectations on companies are guided on what they expect of their books and what a publisher/printer/solutions provider can offer. In some cases the match can be good - in other cases, both parties can be disappointed.

I'm glad you had a good experience with Arima. That's important for authors considering using their services. Your own positive experience will be feed into my Publishing Service Index as I do for all feedback I get back on a company.

My role is to look at publishing services as a publishing consultant - knowing what authors look for, and what authors expect. No two authors' expectations are alike. I respect that, but I still have to look hard and fast at what a company/service offer.

In light of your comment, I thought Arima deserved a closer look after my review of 2009, which you commented on. I actually expected a great deal of improvement on the first review, but honestly, I did not find that. In 5 years, I've heard from 2 authors who have used Arima. You are one of them. That might surprise you, but it does not surprise me as a publishing consultant.

I've looked again at their services, and truthfully, I don't see a lot different than 2009. The website and brochure info is poor on detail and info; the cover design has not improved a whole lot; and ultimately, Arima are a like a printer offering extended services.

As much as I respect you're experience, you're going to have to visit places like Pen Press, Matador, Booklocker, Self-Publishing.com, Authors OnLine etc to realise that self-publishing is not always print orientated, and that there are POD publishers who think outside the box, are economical, using the best online aggregation distributors, and know how the industry works (Book selling & Publishing).

I have read your review and am totally aghast at y...

2012-01-06T14:24:09.147Z

I have read your review and am totally aghast at your comments. I had my first book published by arima publishing in 2008 and they couldn’t have been more helpful to a new author. It can come as quite a shock getting a first book published, with legal issues such as copyright, etc. to consider. Always I was invited to ask questions and always they were answered promptly and courteously. In my experience arima publishing provide a highly bespoke service. It is so very evident, the Director, Richard Franklin, is highly cognisant of the workings of the publishing industry as a whole; for he knows his business and in my experience, his advice to me as a self-publishing author has always proved sound. I now have five books published by arima publishing and I can honestly say I have been taken through each stage of every book, personally and I have always been completely satisfied if not delighted with the published work.

With regard to marketing, arima publishing has always been most helpful, creating a website and blog, working with a PR company on my behalf and always there to advise. My books are always instantly available on publication, in major online stores, and thanks to arima’s sound marketing advice, I have succeeded in placing four of the five titles in several independent bookshops and likewise in several branches of Waterstones.

Let’s face it, this is a very difficult field to enter and self publishing authors need to be given fair advice as to which publisher to choose. I hope, therefore, that authors seeking a POD publisher for their work will not have been discouraged from using arima publishing, as a result of reading your review. In my opinion arima publishing provide a very comprehensive, professional service at very reasonable cost, given how well it caters for the individual, ensuring all requirements are met. I am not normally given to leaving comment anywhere but your review is so contrary to my experience of the company, I feel compelled to redress the balance. One feels it is only as a client one can gain first hand experience of a company and as such I am well qualified to highly recommend arima publishing to anyone seeking author services with a view to self publishing their work.

Margaret Henderson Smith B.A.(Hons) Cert.Ed. MBPsS

Further to my last post, my amazement at not being...

2011-12-01T16:37:06.508Z

Further to my last post, my amazement at not being sent an invoice or being told that Schiel and Denver were going to take money from my visa account regarding corrections, I have been referred by them to a paragraph in their contract which states:
'After delivery, any corrections initiated by the Author (other than the correction of artist's, production team's or typesetter's errors) shall be charged at the correction fee schedule available on Schiel and Denver's website'. It does not however, state that 'shall be charged' means the author will not be made aware of the charge prior to that, or will not be sent an invoice, or indeed that they hold client's card details on file.
On the invoice it states 'Author Agreement Signed/Credit Card Authorization' I am some what confused as to the 'Credit Card Authorization' as the charges have to be looked at first in case they are any queries, and then authorized by teh card holder.
I was shocked at the charges which were for corrections I had made to the mss, which was still in the so called editorial and legal process - although I had no feed back from either department.
I had expected to be told by my editor when the process of the change of my word document to adobe would be made. To my understanding this had not happened - how could it without editorial and legal approval??
I appear to have been charged $250 plus VAT each and every time for corrections (no matter how small), even though I had no notification of this on each occasion, and even though the manuscript was not yet reformatted into adobe.
Shirley

Frederick - did you receive your royalities from S...

2011-12-01T13:36:53.157Z

Frederick - did you receive your royalities from Schiel and Denver in the end after you had to resort to legal action??
WARNING TO ALL AUTHORS
I have had the very unfortunate experience of dealing with Schiel and Denver in Houston, USA, WITH WHOM I HAVE HAD NOTHING BUT PROBLEMS. I do not recommend anyone use Schiel and Denver. I have cancelled my contract with them today, even though I will have suffered a large financial loss. One of the reasons for this was my shock at finding out they attempted to take a large amount of money from my visa card WITHOUT MY KNOWLEDGE. Fortunately the fraud department at my bank were suspicious and rejected the requests. UNLESS I HAVE MISSED SOME INVISIBLE WRITING, TO MY UNDERSTANDING,THE AUTHORS CONTRACT(WHICH CAN BE VIEWED ON THEIR WEBSITE) DOES NOT STATE UNAUTHORIZED PAYMENTS CAN BE TAKEN. ALSO I HAVE NEVER BEEN INFORMED THAT MY CARD WILL BE HELD ON FILE FOR SCHIEL AND DENVER TO TAKE OUT PAYMENTS AS AND WHEN THEY WISH WITHOUT MY AUTHORIZATION. Any services which are ordered are done on order sheets (which are downloaded from their website), must include the card payment details and cardholders signature. I am now contacting the Better Business Bureau in Houston, with whom Schiel and Denver have the lowest rating F, as well as the Houston Police Department for advice and possible investigation, and will be submitting documentary evidence to them. I have now read some highly detrimental postings on Schiel and Denver from authors on various websites. Shirley