My Self-Publishing Experience

I self-published my first book through a small, locally owned, publishing company. I paid the publishing company to produce my book, in return I would receive a greater percentage of the profit from sales. Prior to, I had thoughts about publishing and no clue where to begin. It’s often said, “It’s not what you know; it’s who you know”. In my case. I worked with the sister of the publishing company owner. This is how I went about obtaining the contact info and self- publishing knowledge. It took about a year, following that first phone conversation with the publisher for my book to be released.

My first collection contained a bunch of old poems with a few new ones sprinkled in, so it didn’t take me long to put it together. The artwork and interior design was all the publishers doing. I edited my own work and approved the finished product. Everything about the experience was fresh, new, and exciting. I had little expectations. I knew my book wouldn’t be a best seller, even though people around me pumped my head up a bit. They would say things like, “who knows, maybe Oprah will get a hold of your book and it’ll take off from there.” I knew the odds of that happening where none given the large amount of books being released regularly. I did expect a little return from profit, some feedback from family and friends who read the book, and some buzz.

My experience with the publisher overall exceeded expectations. The lines of communication and the method of receiving royalties were acceptable. There were times I would email, call, leave voicemails, or text and receive no response for days. This would then encourage worrying, obsessive thought, and a bit of anxiety. However, when I would, at the least, receive , “I got your message and will send a reply shortly,” my angst eased. I try to be understanding of the fact that the publisher does have a life and other responsibilities besides my book. To conclude this thought, to all those considering working with a publisher, be prepared for extended silence at times. In regards to the royalties, it takes a very long time to receive it. The sales I’ve made on my own have been my primary profit at this time. My book can be purchased on Amazon and Barnes & Nobles. It’s my understanding, those distributors charge a fee. Both the distributors and the printing company keep a percentage of the sales.  Since I self published, the publisher doesn’t get a percentage of the profit, the remaining goes to me. The distributors send the publisher a check for books sold from all the authors listed under the same publishing company. The publisher then divides it accordingly and sends it to the author. I was forewarned by the publisher that this process takes time. With that, I press on and continue to be patient. My royalties check won’t reflect much money, given I sold less than 30 books through the distributors, nonetheless, I remain grateful. I sold more books on my own to family, friends, and coworkers. To do this, I had to purchase my own set of copies from the printing company at a discounted price, then sale it, and pocket the full amount. For example. it may cost me $125 to buy 25 copies of my book, then if I sale it for $15 each I’d keep the full $375. For my next book this will likely, again, be my primary marketing and earning strategy.

When I had those who have direct contact with me, purchase the book, I did expect some feedback. Feedback such as a line from a poem that caught there attention, or mention of a poem that they connected strongly to, or even a question as to what inspired a poem. Granted, I did get one or two feedback’s like that but not nearly the amount I’d hope. Still, I was and am grateful to have a book to my name. A lot of the top selling books became popular because people talked about it, shared what they were reading with someone else, and encouraged a purchase of the book. When my book came out, I’d hope to receive some buzz. I wanted my family, friends, and people who read the book to talk about it and tell someone else. However, that didn’t happen too often. Aside from a small few, people would buy the book and then after reading it, suggest to me that I tell more people about it. My responding thought to that suggestion is, “I told you, now, why don’t you tell someone that I’m unaware of about it?” When someone watches a movie they enjoyed, it would then be voiced and suggested to another person without hesitation or forethought. Why couldn’t they do the same for my book. Again, nonetheless, I am grateful for their purchase.

After the experience with my first book, I will be even less expectant and even more excited for the next one. I’m releasing it using the same method and the same publisher. I finished writing and putting it together a little over year ago and I cannot wait for the rest of the world (whomever interested) to read it. I’m just waiting for the publisher to send the invoice that I pay prior to it’s release and approve the completed work. I plan to continue to utilize my current publisher. I might self publishing one through Amazon just for the experience and  blog potential. As a final note, I have absolutely no regrets with my publishing experience. I have a couple of creative manuscript ideas for the upcoming years that I’m looking forward to writing and releasing.

Please comment or send questions if you’re curious to know more about the experience.

Till’ the next one,

Alisia Latoi

Click on the Shop tab located at the top of the web page for more info or to purchase “Going Through Phases.”