In this detailed and revealing case study, Jo Parfitt shares the story of her bestselling cookery book entitled, Dates… Read the full story

In this detailed and revealing case study, Jo Parfitt shows you how a self-published book can go through many phases as it evolves. Read the full story

I realized when I started my second book that the mobile binder system provided the perfect way to capture my inspirational moments and organize my research material. I no longer had to start my book at chapter one, I actually started it 2/3rds of the way through, simply because I had lots of research material already collated for that particular subject.

By the time I had written about my current situation my mind had already worked out how the chapter before led up to this time and how the chapter following would be formed. I was no longer restricting my imagination and inspiration to just focus on that one story at a time, because all the stories were linked! I didn’t need to write all the chapters at once – just scribble a note to myself and put it in the relevant research section for later! I had these inspirational moments on the bus, walking the beach, standing in line at the grocery store and even in the shower. I just wrote myself a quick note so I didn’t lose the idea and then filed it away in my bookbuilding binder. I call these “inspirational bundles” and use clear pockets to keep each “bundle” of notes together, eventually these will inspire my chapter titles for my book.

So how much does this all cost? You can print just one book if you like and buy your books on demand averaging $6.50 a copy plus an initial set-up cost (starting at around $150 if you self publish using LightingSource) or you could opt to buy your own stock for back of room sales and reduce the cost per copy to $6. If you retail your book at $20 that means you net $14 for each sale! That’s a much better return than traditional publishers will give you (An average royalty is around 5% which would net you $1.50 per book – you need to sell nearly 10 times more books to get the same return!)

There are lots of options depending on how many you want to print, how many pages your book is and how it will be bound. These examples are taken straight from some of my quotes from a local Print on Demand printer based on approx 200 pages and full colour cover. There are many things to consider when choosing a printer/publisher including the quality of their print and paper (do you get bleed through on the print to the reverse page?). Most important is the level of service they are offering you, some allow free uploads (i.e. no set-up costs) but remember nothing is for free and there is usually a catch like signing over the rights to your book or only receiving a small royalty for each book sold. What other services do they offer? Do they offer educational programs to help you produce a professional looking book? Do they give advice on layout and design and what distribution services do they offer (i.e. Amazon, Barnes and Noble, online book store, ISBN No. Barcode and copyright) Is your book printed locally or is it shipped out to a 3rd world country where print and paper quality can be an issue.

There is a myth about being a first time author I’d like to blow apart. It is not just for the elite, you do not have to face hundreds of letters of rejection from publishers, you can afford to self-publish, and you do have time to write it in your busy schedule! I can show you how easy it can be and share a unique method to create and organize your first book. Read the full story