Guidance on publishing

pavb2

Hi All I've had a couple of pieces published on web sites competitions etc but I'm considering putting together an anthology of my own short stories.

I know before the advent of the net the way forward (correct me if wrong) would be to send to a publisher or agent and if successful have a hard copy produced.

Alternatively if I understand correctly self publishing (vanity publishing?) was the other option

Nowadays I see more e books, kindlle,amazon (ether?) etc but how does this process work does a publisher have to accept the book still or is it just like posting on the internet albeit for a fee.

Using my case what is the best option going forward.

Any advice apreciated

Dublin141

Most publishers won't look at that type of collection, but there are smaller niche publishers who might for the purposes of epublishing. If you self publish, you'll have to upload it yourself to Amazon and/or Smashwords.

I personally prefer to self publish rather than go with a small publisher for various reasons, but not everyone is comfortable being responsible for every aspect of publishing.

If you choose to self-publish, my one tip (aside from making sure it's edited properly, but that should be a given) is to make sure your book cover stands out.

FewFew

Smashwords seems to be the best spot to head to.

85% royalty from their site, 60% if it's sold through Amazon etc. Think Amazon's current royalty rate is 70% in some territories, 35% in others.

Smashwords also does the formatting for you on loads of different platforms, so that kinda takes the pain out of it somewhat.

Dublin141

Fewcifur wrote: »

Smashwords seems to be the best spot to head to.

85% royalty from their site, 60% if it's sold through Amazon etc. Think Amazon's current royalty rate is 70% in some territories, 35% in others.

Smashwords also does the formatting for you on loads of different platforms, so that kinda takes the pain out of it somewhat.

Smashwords aren't currently distributing to Amazon. They have decent royalties, but the authors take on the paypal charges which depend on the amount of books purchased in that order. They don't have many sales in comparison to other sites, so the real benefits are the distribution channels, the coupon codes, and the fact they're cheaper for those who live in countries with the extra $2 charges on Amazon.

Amazon's royalties are 70% for books priced between $2.99 and $9.99. Everything else falls under the lower rate.

Also OP, you'll have to deal with the tax issue. While you're applying for a tax number, you'll be charged 30% withholding tax.

pavb2

It seems e publishing is now the most popular choice I suppose (in my case) you have to weigh up spending the time working out how to do it as opposed to researching and sending off work to relevant publishing houses, accepting the inevitable rejection letters until if extremely lucky being accepted.

All time spent away from actually writing