The art work needs to be assimilated into the text. Also the usual bits and pieces such as dedications, chapter titles and copyright and publisher details have to be added to the front of the book. I suggest you buy a few popular titles and see how it’s all set out in them. That’s your best guide – just copy the experts! Luckily, my other brother had a friend who had a program for book formatting. Another problem resolved.
Finding a printer is more of a challenge. You’ll be amazed at the huge range in quotes between printers. There was a variance of about $5 per book between my most expensive quote and the one I finally accepted. This is one area where the self publisher will need to be very vigilant. Three quotes will not be enough – try for at least ten! Of course, you’ll need to see samples of their work before you make your final decision. The printer with the lowest price is not always the best of course!
Then you’ll need to choose the paper for the books. The printer will give you a choice of maybe five different papers. I chose book cream, which looks great. Technical books look better with ‘whiter’ paper. Be careful what you choose.
How to choose the number of copies to print? Here lies a dilemma. Do you print a safe 1000 or reduce printing costs per book by printing 3000? Although your copy price is greatly reduced when you order greater quantities, you’ve also got to store them, and then sell them all. Sometimes it’s better to be safe than sorry. Order 1,000 or 1,500 copies and when you’ve become famous you’ll feel much better about ordering another five thousand copies because you’ll know you can definitely sell them. It would be terrible to lose profits because you only sold 1000 copies out of 3000 printed.
A word of caution – when you receive the proof copy of your book from the printers, study it with a fine tooth comb. Make sure the ISBN on the back cover is identical with the ISBN in the front of the book. If there’s a mistake here, you’ll be giving your book out as presents for eternity! You’ll also find that your manuscript looks quite different when it’s finally printed as a book. So read and reread it with a very critical eye. You’ll be amazed to find small typos that you never noticed before. It’s only too late to change these when the book has gone in for its final print run. Printers will charge a small fee to change any errors at the proof stage.
Once the truck arrives with the books, I hope you’ve got somewhere to store them. Fortunately I had enough room in my garage, but if you don’t have room there, it could get very expensive to pay for storage. It would be cheaper to buy a garden shed to store them in. However, wherever you do decide to store the books, be sure that they are well clear of humidity, heat and water (and rats!).
Since you’ve self published your books, you could find a great deal of difficulty in finding a distributor. Distributors are not generally interested in dealing with self published books. But take heart, James Redfield who self published the Celestine Prophecy, had to sell his out of the trunk of his Honda. However, in the end he was given a contract by Warner Books and sold a squillion copies. I’m sure he’d now agree that the effort was worth it.
You’ll need to come up with a marketing plan which does justice to your book. Make sure you get a good media release written, together with photos (amusing photos if possible if it’s a appropriate), and from a copy of a writer’s handbook, send out review copies of your book together with the media release, to all the relevant radio announcers, newspapers and magazines you can think of. Also, be prepared to do talks to writer’s groups wherever possible.
So, good luck, and happy traveling on the road to self publication.
Roslyn J. Motter is a Sydney, Australia based author. She is also a registered acupuncturist and CPA (Certified Public Accountant). She commenced writing her Doofuzz Dudes series late in life at the age of fifty. Now, three years later, she has already written eighteen books. She has recently published the first three books, The Doofuzz Dudes Rescue Moondar; The Doofuzz Dudes and the Princess Detector; and the Doofuzz Dudes and the Babbling Bottles. The series are fantasy adventure stories and are most suitable for children aged 7 - 12 years. Woven into the adventures is a subtle theme of caring for the environment. The books can be purchased on http://www.doodlesbookshop.com.au and excerpts and illustrations from the books are available for viewing on http://www.doofuzzdudes.com and children can play games and win prizes on http://www.doofuzzdudesclub.com | 
