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BLOG POST #247: Behind-the-Scene: Independent Publishing
The dreaded typo. We all hate them and try to fix them before anyone sees the finished productâwhether itâs a school paper, book report, news article, book review or a book.
Have you noticed we see what something SHOULD say, not always what it DOES say?
I remember being at a training workshop when the presenter projected a paragraph on the whiteboard for all to see. She said raise your hand when you see the typo. The woman I was with raised her hand. I read the paragraph, re-read it, I couldnât see the typo, in the middle of a sentence was the word âtheâ twice (the the). The sentence scrolled to the next line between the duplicate words. With one âtheâ at the end of a line and the next at the beginning of a new lineâI couldnât see the error.
Thank goodness people have relaxed a bit with typos (autocorrect may be a contributing factor). âTypos happenâ seems to be the attitude nowadays. This relaxed mode doesnât mean writers should lower their standard. A perfectly edited and proofread document should always be the goal.
You may have missed my post on social media where I shared that one reason I love being an independently published author is that I can fix a typo in five minutes and move on.
There are so many more reasons I love being Indie, I enjoy being the one to select the cover and determine the publication date. It would be nice to have someone else handle the marketing, but unless youâre a big name author, even traditionally published authors donât have that luxury.
When I first started writing to publish, I researched traditional publishing and vanity publishing (which seems to have all but disappeared). It took me a few years to have a finished product and by then independent publishing was gaining momentum. E-Books would be different if we didnât have independent publishing (Amazon continues to dominate in this area).
Hereâs a brief explanation of the differences between traditional and independent publishing:
INDEPENDENT (INDIE) | TRADITIONAL | |
Create the story | Author | Author |
Edit the book (may require several) | Author pays editor | Provided by publisher |
Make corrections to book content | Author | Author |
Final edit of the book | Author pays editor | Provided by publisher |
Make corrections to book content | Author | Author |
Proofread the book | Author pays proofreader | Provided by publisher |
Make final corrections to book content | Author | Author |
Format the contents | Author pays for service or does on their own (if they have the skill) | Provided by publisher |
Create the back cover blurb | Author pays for service or does on their own (if they have the skill) | Provided by publisher |
Create book cover | Author pays for service or does on their own (if they have the skill) | Provided by publisher |
Compile the book | Author pays for service or does on their own (if they have the skill) | Provided by publisher |
Publish the book | Author pays for service or does on their own (if they have the skill) | Provided by publisher |
Create and manage website | Author pays for service or does on their own (if they have the skill) | Author pays for service or does on their own (if they have the skill) |
Market the book (most often through social media) | Author pays for service or does on their own (if they have the skill) | Author pays for service or does on their own (if they have the skill) |
*Sales royalty (generally speaking) | 35%/70% of sale price
(non-exclusive/exclusive) |
10-15% of sale price |
*Estimated royalty per $4.99 eBook | $1.75-$3.50 | $.50-$.75 |
*Estimated royalty per $7.99 paperback | $2.80-$5.60 | $.80-$1.20 |
*Book size, fees, taxes, currency conversions, and discounts factor into royalties. |
What are your thoughts about this behind-the-scene glimpse of publishing? Join the conversation on the website. We talk about true-crime and books.
Do you know of a crime youâd like to share? Email me so we can discuss the details.
Thanks for reading! Wellness wishes to you and your loved ones.
-Robin
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