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CK.
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May 15, 2006 at 4:54 pm #28421
Lingster
KeymasterI have a 40-page, 2/3-completed FMG novella that I'm thinking about publishing. I haven't done any work on it in over a year but I'm about to pick it back up. Does anyone have advice on self-publishing such a thing?
To avoid piracy I'd like to put it on paper, though that may cut my take quite a bit. Alternatively I may make it available as a PDF and charge $5 for it over Paypal, but I much prefer the tactile yumminess of a book.
May 15, 2006 at 6:12 pm #28422gblock01
ParticipantCouldn't you simply do both? It would probably take more effort, but I think thatit wouold be worth it in the long-run.
May 15, 2006 at 6:40 pm #28423
phenomsParticipantTo avoid piracy I'd like to put it on paper, though that may cut my take quite a bit. Alternatively I may make it available as a PDF and charge $5 for it over Paypal, but I much prefer the tactile yumminess of a book.
Do it in PDF. Paper wont stop pirates. Anyone determined to pirate stuff will find a way no matter your counter measures. As for the tactile preference, many including myself prefer paper. Paper is also portable so you can take it with you on the bus for example. But your object is to sell the story. Leave the tactile preferences to those who purchase it. If they want it on paper, they'll print it out. Let them worry about that decision and about the incurred cost for the paper and ink.
Also, your costs for printed copies would go beyond supplies. You would incur delivery charges, and your own manpower is also a cost consideration. Every time you had a purchase, you would have processing, packaging, and mailing to do. Thats time you could spend doing other things and its a nusance. (sp?)
Plus PDF means you can automate everything. "Set it and forget it" so to speak. You now have the server and bandwidth to handle that; use it. Let it help make up for the difference in cost you are spending for the more robust server.
Phenoms
My Deviant Art Page (old stuff):
phenoms.deviantart.comMy Booru Gallery (new stuff):
phenoms.booru.orgAlso
www.thevalkyrie.com/picthumb/p/phenoms/index00.htm
www.thevalkyrie.com/picthumb/p/phenom_fett/index00.htmMay 15, 2006 at 7:37 pm #2842410-4
Participanthttp://www.islandprintservices.com
These guys do short run comics. Some small press pals of mine use them on a regular basis. You'll need to check with them to see if they will handle adult material. Overall quality of the comics I've seen printed by them seems to be good.
June 1, 2006 at 2:46 pm #28425y498yates
ParticipantPrint on Demand is a good way to guarentee that your book gets published. Just look up "print on demand" on Yahoo! or Google and you will get a ton of hits.
The problem, of course, is that it typically costs about $10 for a 50 page paperback [$.03 per page thereafter] just for the printing. Then, you split the royalties with the publisher. That means that in order to make $5, you need to sell a 50 page story for $20. That's steep.
One thought is to hit Kinkos for a short story like that. Print it up yourself and have it bound. You can even print it from home:
http://www.fedex.com/us/officeprint/onlineprint/p2afk/newswo.html?link=4Obviously, you could sell the pdf for $5 then add the cost of printing and shipping to any hardcopy order. Just a thought.
June 22, 2007 at 2:30 am #28426Mimi
ParticipantAny updates on this idea, Lingster? It sounds like a promising idea. I might do the PDF route for the backlog of all my stories.
XOXO's
June 24, 2007 at 6:45 pm #28427ze fly
ParticipantDo it in PDF. Paper wont stop pirates.
PhenomsYes, someone can still use a scanner!! :- Which reminds me that i still have some pages to scan… ;D
June 25, 2007 at 5:03 pm #28428CK
ParticipantYes, but paper raises the level of intent and effort, to scan it would change it from casual spur of the moment to requiring some degree of intent and time, and that's probably more protection than any form of digital protection.
'course the flip side is by being only available in physical form you also rob yourself from catering to the casual spur of the moment market, requiring some effort…
June 25, 2007 at 10:49 pm #28429Fett
ParticipantThere's lulu and cafepress too, I think. But I know little of this, but I hear those names often mentioned.
Good luck with it. Let me know how this goes, man. ^___^
June 26, 2007 at 6:11 pm #28430alex
ParticipantThe only way to avoid piracy, is to make your book cheap and accessible.
There is no way to avoid piracy by means of software control or media. There is simply NO BOOK you can't download online through the internet (OCR's work miracles nowadays).
So my suggestion…
Put your books in both PDF and LIT, and sell it cheap (US$ 5.00 or less) though your own site via Paypal. Lots of independent authors do it.
If you think your books tends to a more generic public (instead of a FMG one), you might try some of the independent online book websites out there.
Just my 2 cents;
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