Gary North

August 1, 2009

Lots of people want to get a publisher to publish their first book. They have a first draft.

It is better to plan your marketing strategy before you write your first draft. Almost no would-be author does this.

Very rarely does any publisher want to take the risk of publishing anyone's first book. It costs a lot of money to read the new manuscript, edit it, typeset it, print it, write ads for it, and get it into book stores. All this takes a year. The publisher thinks, "This had better be good."

An author who sends a complete manuscript to a publisher is saying, "I do not know what I am doing. I am high risk." Instead, send a letter of inquiry about the completed manuscript. Describe it. Say who the audience is. Say what makes it unique. Keep this to one page. Send a list of chapter titles. Offer to send one chapter. The letter is one page. The chapter list is one page.

Chapter titles and one chapter prove that he has a book. It also shows how well he can write. The $10/hour low-level employee who is assigned the hated task of reading manuscripts can make a faster judgment -- probably "no" -- when it's just a chapter list and one chapter.

The prospective author wants some famous author to read his work, evaluate it, and give him suggestions -- free of charge, of course. This says: "Your time is worth a lot to me. Fortunately, it's worth nothing to you." No sensible author does this. I have received these requests from strangers for many years. I have not agreed to such an offer in a long time.

I tell the author to set up a website related to his book. If he does not do this, he has no understanding of marketing. I am willing to critique his site for free.

Second, he should use Print on Demand (POD) technology to get his book in print. This may cost $500 to $1,000. He can sell copies if it is any good. One such outfit is Lightning Source.

All of this takes some marketing skills. Publishers want to buy books that have proven themselves somewhere. This lowers their risk. They want to deal with people who understand basic marketing. An author who does not understand this is behind the curve.

Publishers want to deal with agents. Agents screen out likely losers. But it's hard to find an agent. He wants to see a book and a Website. He wants to see traffic on the site and book sales. He does not want to waste his time.

Nobody wants to waste his time.

Before an author writes an outline of his book, he should ask himself: "How can I prove myself without asking anyone to waste his time?"

He must invest $500 to $1,000 (POD) and maybe 25 to 50 hours (Website and book typesetting) to prepare to promote a finished paperback book. This is cheap, given the time it takes to write a book. He probably should hire someone to design a cover. This may cost $200. It may cost more.

Book publishing is getting expensive. Profits are way down. Readership is declining for printed books.

Ebooks, yes. POD books, yes. But books published by a profit-seeking publisher are limited to low-risk authors. High-return authors are best.

If you have something to say, blog it. After a few years of blogging, write your first book. You will have an audience.

If your blog does not attract an audience, neither will your book. Publishers know this.

Would-be authors think their book is worth publishing. Most of them are wrong. Most manuscripts are rejected. Most books go out of print after one printing. The books are remaindered at $1 a copy. Almost no book makes it to a second printing.

It's better to have a blog or Website where people can read your ideas free and in bite-size portions. They would not have bought your book anyway. Maybe you will get enough traffic to justify writing, typesetting, and indexing your book. If so, write an Ebook. Sell it for $5. Make it available also through Print on Demand for (say) $14.95. See if you get sales. If you do, print 3,000 copies at $3 each and sell them yourself through the mail.

Become your own publisher. You will make more money this way than through book royalties (10% of retail) on half a print run before the book is remaindered.

I am a well-known author of dozens of books. I have had no book published by an independent book publisher since 1976. I have made lots of money in book publishing. My book royalties would not have funded the publication of even one book.

In 1977, I wrote my first self-published book. I sold 20,000 copies at $10 each ($36 in today's money). Then I sold 2,000 of the book buyers a $45/year ($162) newsletter subscription. About 20% renewed the following year. I learned my lesson: self-publishing is profitable.

If your book is good enough to publish, then publish it yourself.

The crucial factor is the audience that will buy your book. Spend your time developing that e-list or site membership list. If your first book is good, they will buy other books. This is where the money is. Don't let a publisher pay you 10%. He makes most of his money on the automatic sales of the follow-up books.

If you say, "But I don't know how to do this," learn how to do it.

If you say, "But I'm a writer, not a marketer," remember this: you're not a published writer. Book publishers want a published book author, not a first draft manuscript from an unknown would-be author.

I practice what I preach. Sign up for my free Tip of the Week. Here's why:

Follow-up: Sept. 24, 2009. Read this on how to use the Internet to promote your book. It's from the Washington Post.