self publishing

[sheila2155]

hi!!

i posted a Q a few days ago about self publishing my childrens book. i now have Trafford and Diggory to choose from. one is over a grand, the other half that. anyone any experience of these publishers so i can make a decision??
Thanks everyone,

Sheila

[starmack]

Sheila
Good luck with your choice. Peronally, I would not self publish...unless you know your market afterwards extrenely well.

[saxy_jag]

I know of a lady on another forum who published via Diggory and is very happy with them. She recommended them to me and I'm seriously considering them for my next project (I've used Lulu before, but this is a more important project). Diggory seem to be quite ethical without charging a fortune.

However much places seem to charge for their services, the bottom line is the same - it's you, ultimately, who has to put the hard work into the marketing. Of all the self-published books I buy in the course of my work, I don't see any noticeable difference in the levels of marketing.

[cookiee69]

I review books for a national newspaper and work with the big publishers.
Why are you deciding to self publish?
The usual (and more reliable route) is to get an agent for your work who will then work on your behalf. they will contact the relevant publishers to see if your children's books will sell.
If you haven't tried this, buy 'the writer's handbook' which gives good advice on how to get publsihed.
Self publishing is usually for people who have been rejected by agents and publishing houses. and the reason they have been rejectede is becuase their work isn't good enough.
Good luck.

[saxy_jag]

Grrr - not again!!!

Cookie, not everyone who takes the self-publishing route does so for the reasons you stated. I buy self-published books on behalf of a library service on a regular basis and I can assure you they don't suffer in terms of quality. They're often niche market publications that it's not really worth bigger publishers taking on.

There's also the fact that even the best-written books can do the rounds of dozens of agents and publishers before being accepted, and often don't make it then. That doesn't mean there's anything wrong with the manuscript - it just means that the 'right' people don't like it. Often, people don't want to wait that long.

I have self-published. I have not been rejected, because I never submitted for publication. In my case, I wanted an old lady's memoirs making into book form for her, which made her very happy. It made her even happier to know that she could let her friends and family have copies of the book. I will self-publish my 'own' book later this year - not because I want to become a bestseller, but just because I want to share my work with people (who know I write and are anxious to read more of my work) and I'd rather not have to hand them three-hundred sheets of A4. At a few quid per book, with the option to buy as few or as many as I like that's not too much to fork out. For me, it's better than waiting years for something that mightn't happen. It's not vanity publishing - I know the realities of doing it this way, and I think maybe Sheila does too. She certainly doesn't seem to be getting taken in by anyone's hype.

Please do not dismiss self-published authors as sub-standard, gullible rejects - it's not always the case.

Good luck to you Sheila. Let us know how you get on.

[sheila2155]

thanks saxy-jag!
when i read cookie's answer i felt awful. not good enough? that's an awful way to describe my book!
anyway thanks.
you don't say which publishing company you used. i'm angling towards trafford now but they want me to do the layout and then give them a grand. i don't expect to earn a fortune. i don't want to waste one either. any advice would be appreciated.
thanks
Sheila

[saxy_jag]

Sheila, I think I said in your other thread (was it yours?), I used Lulu for the last project, 'cause it was just a private, family thing, but I shall almost certainly use Diggory for my novel.

I have dealt with Trafford and Authorhouse through my job (I source and buy special interest books for a library service). Their products are good enough, but they charge a lot to the author and that's not something I can afford when I probably won't make any money back out of the deal.

I'm afraid there's always been this argument over the worth of self-published material - some writers swear by it, others abhor it for all the reasons cookiee has said. Cookiee is not entirely wrong in what he/she says, in that self-published material is traditionally looked upon as no more than vanity publishing for unpublishable authors, but there is some decent work coming through, and there are a few suppliers, publishers and agents who will keep a look out for promising material in that sector - although you shouldn't bank on that.

Just be realistic, do your homework and keep your eyes open all the way, and you shouldn't get ripped off. In any event, be very wary of a company called Publish America. Haven't room to say much here, but run a search in Google and you'll see what I mean.

[sheila2155]

thanks.
i feel a lot better now after reading your e-mail. i don't expect to make much from my book except a lot of satisfaction from a fulfilled dream. Diggory is much cheaper and i think it will be them i go with.
thanks again for your help. by the way, my book is entitled Mason! and is about bullying aimed at kids 11 - 15.

Sheila