An Adventure in Publishing

An Essay on Writing, Publishing, and Selling
by Edita Petrick

My paranormal romantic mystery, The Cracked Shadow, is coming out in print from Write Words, Inc. in August 2007. I’ve gotten some great reviews on it from reviewers of ParaNormal Romance and romance and mystery authors. Nothing can make you smile like a great review.

My second book that’s coming out this year is “The Sweet Poisoned Wine,” a romantic suspense from New Concepts Publishing. I just received an ISBN for it and it’s slated for art cover approval and preliminary edits for August 2007. I have also received a great review for it from ParaNormal Romance and have two more pending, so that’s another smile for today.

“Shadow” will be available on Amazon, “Wine” from New Concepts Publishing, Fictionwise and AllRomanceBooks. There may be other sources but I’m still new to NCP so I’ll find out as we move along the way of this process.

I’ve another book on consideration at Cerridwen Press and my “First Line Contest” entry at Samhain-Kensington Publishing contest, made it to the third round – I’m pretty proud of it even if it doesn’t make it farther than that. I mean being amongst the 50 selected entries in the third round is darn good and I’m happy with my 3-opening lines making it this far.

I’ve just finalized galleys for Shadow (and if I had to look at them one more time I’d scream) – finalized cover – and learned a ton of useful information about publishing that I’d like to share here…for example: (direct email from publisher)

Cover must measure 8.5 tall by 5.5 wide. NO text may come withing 1/2 inch of the edge, top, right side, and bottom, and 1/4 inch on the left side of the front. The cover is set up to wrap around the book, then the top, bottom and outside are lopped off, so the front has to be off-center by 1/4 inch.

Please ask your cover artist, too, to make sure the text is large and readable. To meet industry standards the title must be legible from 8 feet away in the 8.5 x 5.5 size, when facing out on a book shelf.

Let me explain some business facts. Amazon and Ingram are somewhat in disagreement right now. Lightning Source is owned by Ingram. Booksurge is owned by Amazon. Ingram lists all books by POD set up by publishers who use LSI as a printer, but even if they are listed, the stores won't order them because of the "no return" policy and because they are listed as "number of copies in stock 0" . I use Booksurge as a printer because Amazon automatically lists all books that use Booksurge as a printer on the website. They plan, eventually, to make BS a paper distributor, too.

No chain store will order from a POD publisher. Distributors start by ordering 200 copies, sell two, rip the covers off the other 198, and expect to pay for the two about 3 months later. Okay if you are a mass market publisher with 50,000 copies you got for 50 cents a piece and plenty of reserve capital. I pay upwards of $5 for printing every copy of my paper books and some are as much as $7. I cannot afford to pay $1000 for 200 copies and have them send 198 of them to the land fill. I will take returns, if the whole book is returned in good shape so it can be sold elsewhere. And the store must SHIP it to me.

Ingram gives a 40% discount to bookstores and that is their profit margin. I give them 30% and pay the freight on delivery (they pay for returns) so they make almost as much if they order direct. Independent book stores (not chains) will do this. All this information is on the web site under Author Info and FAQs.

Many discount places will allow you to list your merchandise on their website if you give them a couple of sample books. Then they will fill orders with the ones you send but will order replacements, and so on. Wal-Mart is one. And I've heard Target may start that soon. It's listed on the website you can hold a signing in a local store and take your own books. Same for Barnes & Noble, but they won't stock it on the shelves -- Or say they won't. I have one author who sold 400 copies of his ghost story book and the local B&N threw him a Halloween party. And they keep his book on the shelves, because the demand has been so constant.

So NEVER can be negotiable if the demand is heavy enough.

Amazon tried to buy Baker & Taylor (a paper distributor), but Ingram outbid them. Ingram owns Lightning Source. Booksurge used to print all LSI books, but stopped when Amazon bought Booksurge, and no LSI books get listed at Amazon unless the author does it through the "Amazon Advantage" auction deal. Don't you just LOVE businessmen?

Since the chain store policy is NO POD anyway, I think it's more important to be on Amazon, than to be listed on Ingram's microfiche. Because even if the title is on the fiche, it is always listed as "out of stock."

I think the above could be shared with the readership. I certainly found it very educational. I’m doing the promotion of the book by means that are available to me at this time – bookmarks, ads in the Romantic Times magazine that has about 20-30,000 circulation, business cards and of course, contests with Romance Junkies and prizes of hard-copy issue of my book. I’m leaving the Costco part to my daughter. She wants it that way. I’m agonizing over promotion means – doing the actual footwork of going to local stores and sending announcements to local papers. That part is something I truly, truly dread because I am not a salesman. Never have been, never will be – but promotion is something that can be learned. I know the real difference between a and one who has to learn it and fit him/herself into the role. My youngest son is the prototype of salesman who could sell ice cubes to an Eskimo – for huge profit. Just the other day, he sold his 5-year old basketball shoes to a friend – for nearly as much as what they cost new. I cringed standing beside him but his friend seemed overjoyed about the deal – it’s hard to find size 14s…I guess. But I’m the person who would have (and wanted to so badly) just give away those shoes to the kid with a smile. My son made enough on the deal to have two full tanks of gas and a decent fast-food meal.

So this is just my example to all those authors out there who have to promote their books – there is a huge difference between a salesman-born and salesman-learned. Don’t despair if you’re not a born-huckster. Just do what you can with resources available to you to promote your book.

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You can learn more about author Edita A. Petrick here, here, and here.