Why self-publish?

WFNS strongly recommends that writers wishing to get their work before the public consider working with a publishing company before committing to the time-consuming, often expensive labour of being their own publisher. However, for some projects self-publishing is a natural fit, especially those books unlikely to have a large enough market to be picked up by a mainstream publisher. These might include geneologies; family, church or regional histories; personal memoirs; experimental writing; and poetry chapbooks.

Is it vanity publishing?

No. Vanity publishing is paying a publisher to publish your work for you. WFNS recommends against vanity publishing - it's expensive, and vanity publishers do little or no promotion of their titles, so your book is much more likely to moulder away in storage than be seen by the public. It's also wrong - publishers should profit from the sale of their books to the public, not from their writers.

What do I need to do to self-publish my book?

     Draw up a business plan.

Publishing can be expensive. If you're only planning a print run of 50 copies of your chapbook to give away to friends, and you're doing it on a photocopier, you can probably pay your costs without any planning; however, if you're printing a book to sell to the public, you'll need to be sure you can meet your expenses. Think carefully about how you're financing your project, and draw up a business plan: how many books will you need to sell in order to break even or make a profit? how much should your book cost? how much will it cost to produce? what are your other expenses?

At this time, there are no grants or other funding for self-publishers, but associations can sometimes get funding for projects, or find it in their existing budget. Can you interest an association in your project? Sponsorship may pave the way to publication. Remember, any association you work with will want something in return - possibly a percentage of gross profits, or maybe simple (but prominent) recognition on the book itself.

Possible costs include: your time, type-setting, editing, permissions for quotations, proofreading, barcoding, printing and binding, distributing, publicity, selling, handling and storage.

Talk to other self-publishers about problems they encountered and challenges they overcame. You can meet self-publishers wherever they might be promoting their books, as well as in internet forums and chat groups.

     Get an ISBN and barcode.

An International Standard Book Number is a unique identifier for your title - no two books are given the same number. This helps avoid confusion between titles with similar or identical names. The ISBN application form from the National Library of Canada is available online, or you can call the Canadian ISBN Agency (part of the National Library) toll-free at 1-866-578-7777 (select 1+5+1+3) or e-mail: isbn@lac-bac.gc.ca

If you sell through bookstores, you'll probably need a barcode. The National Library of Canada provides a list of Canadian barcode graphics producers here (it's a pdf - you'll need Adobe Acrobat to read it). Contact the Canadian Telebook Agency at admin@cta.geis.com for more information on barcodes.

     Don't forget Cataloguing in Publication (CIP).

CIP is a voluntary program of cooperation between publishers and libraries, which enables book cataloguing before publication, and prompt distribution of this cataloging information to booksellers and libraries. The Canadian CIP program is coordinated by the National Library of Canada, and their CIP form is available online.

     Consider the law

Register your copyright. Copyright is the right to copy the whole or any portion of a work, and is owned by the creator and his or her estate for the lifetime of the creator plus 50 years (70 in the US and Europe); after that, the work goes into the public domain. You own copyright immediately upon creation, without registration, but registration is an additional protection for you. If you were publishing your book with a publishing company, they would register copyright; as the publisher, you do this yourself. Register with the Canadian Intellectual Property Office.

Does your book include long passages from other books, song lyrics, or other quotations? Unless they're in the public domain, you'll need permission to use them. Seeking permissions may involve a lot of digging. Talk to Access Copyright (the Canadian Copyright Licensing Agency) if you can't locate the owner of the copyright; in cases where rightsholders just can't be found, CanCopy is authorized to issue a license in their place.

Does your book include real people? Avoid privacy infringement and libel. Even if your subjects have died, their families may object.

     Consider professional editing, design, indexing and proofreading

Really. Editing can make the difference between a polished, readable book and an amateurish book with embarrassing gaffs. If possible, hire a professional editor (talk to the Editors' Association of Canada). If you just can't afford it, get a friend or colleague with an excellent grasp of language to go over your book. Don't do your own editing. Even the best writers need another eye to spot their errors.

Likewise, think about hiring a freelance designer. Design includes typeface, type size, paper stock, the size and number of pages, layout and cover design. Some books don't require anything fancy, and basic desktop publishing programs for a home computer can fulfill their needs. Other books benefit from innovative or careful design.

Many libraries won't buy non-fiction that lacks an index. The Indexing and Abstracting Society of Canada has members nation-wide.

Proofreading is looking for typographical errors, and is done after the layout and design (which can sometimes introduce errors into the manuscript). Again, this is too important to be done yourself; at a minimum, have a sharp-eyed, spelling- and grammar-savvy friend or colleague examine the typeset copy carefully for errors. Better yet, hire a professional.

     Plan distribution

Set up your distribution before printing your book. Bookstores will often sell books on commission (generally they'll want 40% of the cover price) but many bookstores do not work with individuals, preferring to keep things simple by working with only a handful of distributing companies. You may want to pay a book distributor to distribute your book for you.

Investigate selling your book through other channels. If your book would be of interest to tourists, consider selling through local gift shops. If it's related to a charity, consider getting them to help you sell it in return for a portion of the profits - we know of a writer who sold her romance novel as a fundraiser through a national heart foundation. Be creative in considering who can help you sell your book.

If you sell through mail order, don't forget to include the cost of wrapping your book for mailing, and postage, in your business plan.

     Plan publicity

Plan your publicity before going through the printing process, too. The best book in the world will never sell if nobody hears about it. Can you persuade a bookstore or other outlet to set up an autographing session? How about a book launch? Can you arrange to give talks at libraries, clubs and schools? Can you get radio, television, or even print interviews?

Many magazines and newspapers have book reviewers, who will need a free copy of your book in order to review it. Plan to give away some of your books to reviewers. Some places will not review your book, but will be happy to use the information in a news release. Be sure to send a news release ("Local Author Releases Book On History Of Town") to your local paper as well as any media who might pick up the story. Press releases can be sent by email, though some places still prefer faxes or post. (If you aren't sure what format to use for a press release, use ours as a model.)

You may also want to investigate paid advertising, though most writers find that this does not pay off in terms of sales.

     Print your book

Choosing the right printer to print and bind your book is very important. The process will be easier if you have carefully thought out your design and budget. Check the prices and work of several printers. Consider getting printing done elsewhere; sometimes the cost of shipping the books is less than the savings from having an out-of-province or out-of-country printer do the job. Request quotations.

     Put your book on legal deposit

In accordance with the National Library Act, a copy of your book should be deposited with the National Library of Canada. They say, "Legal Deposit is the means by which a comprehensive national collection is gathered together as a record of the nation's published heritage and development. Canadian publishers are required to send two copies of all the books, pamphlets, serial publications, microforms, spoken word sound recordings, video recordings, electronic publications issued in physical formats (CD-ROM, CD-I, computer diskette, etc.), and one copy of musical sound recordings and multimedia kits they publish, to the National Library of Canada." Contact them at legal.deposit@lac-bac.gc.ca for more information.

     Sell, Sell, Sell

Get out there and promote your book. Remember to keep meticulous records for the taxman, who will want his cut, and remember to charge the correct amount of taxes (books are exempt from the HST but are still, alas, subject to federal tax). Have fun, and don't forget to start writing your next book.

Copyright 2005 Writers' Federation of Nova Scotia. All rights reserved. These documents may only be reproduced for personal or non-commercial use, in their entirety, with this copyright notice attached.