On Our Own March/April 07 Newsletter

I was asked recently to be a ghostwriter in the future for an actor/musician who lives many lives portraying celebrities. It's funny how these things come about ... it truly is all about connections. He's a friend of a friend who only became a friend through another friend. It is good to have friends ... and connections.

I have to admit I cringed a bit at the term "ghostwriter" since I have my issues with ghostwriting. I tend to feel that actual writers should get the credit they deserve instead of doing the work and staying completely unknown. Possibly I'm being too vain, though. Or my priorities are different than others' priorities, and that's fine. We all have our personal needs and beliefs.

I think, if I agree to do it, I would have to insist on credit for it, not for "glory" but to help get my name out there as a credible writer. It could be a wonderful marketing technique. I'll admit it: my novels are my main focus. Using a POD company to get them out there doesn't reek of "credibility" regardless of whether or not it's a fair valuation. We need to be creative to prove our credibility.

What we don't need to do, in my opinion, is to try to prove that indie is the only way. It's not, of course. Although ghostwriting isn't for me because of my personal goals, it's a perfectly credible way to get paid as a writer. The same is true for traditional publishing.

Receiving a request the other day to affiliate with two different organizations that support indies, I refused after reading through their sites. They were different types of indies but both were pushing a boycott of anything non-indie. One was music related and suggested we shouldn't buy any music produced by or affiliated with a traditional production society. That cuts out quite a lot of music I truly enjoy and would be equivalent to not buying books that are published by traditionals. I think that's taking things far too extreme.

Being indie does not mean we don't support anyone who isn't indie, does it? Isn't there room for both? The point of indie publishing, as I see it, is to open doors, not close them. I want to buy something because it's worthy material and because I enjoy it, not because of how it gets out to the public. The point is that the worthy material does get out to the public.

~~~

On another note, On Our Own has expanded! We are now part of Myspace and gaining visibility there:
http://www.myspace.com/onourown_indiepublishing
As it grows (and I find a few minutes), some of the information from the group will be posted in the Myspace blog and group authors will be featured.

I also want to send out a thank you for our beautiful new logo. It is a watercolor painting custom-made for us, but the artist requested I not send credits or links. If you've included the group logo in your sigs, it has changed to the new one automatically.

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Publishing Company Highlight

I'm "cheating" a bit for this newsletter since I've been bogged down with readying my house for sale and having company, so I'm featuring a company with which I'm quite familiar: Infinity Publishing -- http://www.infinitypublishing.com

Infinity calls itself "author-originated" publishing and has one of the better reputations among companies using POD technology. They are a small publisher and unique in that they don't outsource the actual printing to one of two main printing companies. They do their own printing in-house with their own equipment, which means faster turn-around time with each order. They also have an actual human answering phone calls and provide personal, friendly service.

As with most PODs, all rights to the work stay with the author. Infinity claims only the right to publish, and depending on the author's choices, the right to list the title to wholesalers. This means the author has the right to excerpt it or pull it to place elsewhere or to market it to commercial publishers. They provide the ISBN, which means if you pull the book from Infinity to place elsewhere, you will have to get a different ISBN: normal practice for most PODs. They point out that being marked as the publisher for a book lays legal responsibility on their shoulders as far as carrying lawsuit insurance.

Publishing Prices

Setup: $499, which includes ISBN, listing in their online bookstore, and a mini author site that includes a brief bio, a summary and excerpt, and space for readers to leave reviews.

Cover art: they will design a cover or you can provide your own

Annual host fee: None. Your book is maintained in their database and print-ready until you tell them to pull it out.

Total cost: Cost of books vary depending on page number; comparable to other main PODs.

Distribution: Setup fees include a listing in the Baker & Taylor Books in Print database, plus availability at Amazon.com, Borders.com, Waldenbooks.com, as well as other online sellers. Extended distribution packages are available.

Royalties: 30% royalties are paid through sales from Infinity's bookstore at full price; 15% through sales from other retailers. A note: you receive a 50% discount on your first order and 40% on each additional order, plus a 10% royalty on all books you buy. Authors have the ability to set their own price above the suggested price. (Be careful of doing this, as POD books tend to be more expensive already!)

Ebooks: Not available as of yet, but audio books are available through their partner company.

Order Time: Author orders, even bulk orders, are sent within two weeks. I've always received mine within one week. Readers who order through the bookstore receive them within a few days.

Bookstores: Infinity has a return policy for bookstores that is included with the basic setup fee, at no extra charge for the author. This can be the difference in getting a store to order since they have no risk.

Overall, although the setup fee is higher than some PODs, the service is excellent and their reputation is good, and it covers the return policy. They also offer copyediting services, and photos/graphics (bw) can be included for no charge if they are embedded in your file. They prefer Word documents and allow up to 40 edits after sending the proof book if the file is sent in Word (additional edits allowed with additional charge). PDF files are allowed but does not offer the ability for free edits. The drawbacks include not offering hardcover books and they do not work with authors outside the United States.

Infinity also offers an author's conference every fall in their home state of Pennsylvania.
Other relevant links:
http://www.buybooksontheweb -- their bookstore
http://www.myspace.com/infinitypublishing -- their Myspace

I encourage anyone who has any experience with this company or any other to share it in the Market Listings forum: "Invalid Item" .

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Links

Marketing through the Internet:

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The PODler: POD book reviews (limited genres)
http://www.podler.blogspot.com/

Shows and Conferences: (a list by author Sandra Tooley)
http://www.sdtooley.com/Shows&Conferences.htm

A last-minute activity:

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Wishing you all the best of luck in your publishing ventures!
Voxxylady

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(available for all group members to use anywhere on the site)